...All Things Vero...

[nvhak49]

nvhak49. sweet light.

Thanks it was super easy to make and my next one will be even easier since I know what I'm doing now, loving the coverage on it, hope the growth will explode now, stoked to make some more. Has anyone heard when the new Veros are coming out?

 

[bicit]

Alright so I just got off the phone with bridgelux. The new 130lm/w series (their term not mine) will be on digikey within 4 weeks. Additionally they are going to be the same price as the older 120lm/w series. So no price increases and higher efficiency. Can't get better than that.

 

[nvhak49]

So I just put a dimmer on my HLG-80H-700c B and when it's turned up all the way it's only reading 0.66mA an when I take the dimmer off it reads 0.75mA anyone know what's causing that? I have 4 Vero 18s hooked up to the driver.

 

[nvhak49]

Nvm now it's reading 0.70 mA all the up now, I just have it down to 0.5 tho

 

[Greengenes707]

So I just put a dimmer on my HLG-80H-700c B and when it's turned up all the way it's only reading 0.66mA an when I take the dimmer off it reads 0.75mA anyone know what's causing that? I have 4 Vero 18s hooked up to the driver.

mA or Amps?

Look at the spc sheet under the dimming.
When open/no dimmer attached, it could be 108% of rated(700ma)=756ma...right on what you have.
Then with a dimmer attached if it is truly exactly 100K ohm pot should put it at 700ma. But some pots aren't perfect and aren't quite a full 100k ohms and that is why it's a little short of full rated or over.
My 700ma hlg only gets to 680ma with the dimmer I have on it.

 

[nvhak49]

mA or Amps?

Look at the spc sheet under the dimming.
When open/no dimmer attached, it could be 108% of rated(700ma)=756ma...right on what you have.
Then with a dimmer attached if it is truly exactly 100K ohm pot should put it at 700ma. But some pots aren't perfect and aren't quite a full 100k ohms and that is why it's a little short of full rated or over.
My 700ma hlg only gets to 680ma with the dimmer I have on it.

It's mA I was reading it off my wall watt meter and it only does amps so I was reading it diff, but yeah my driver is rated for 700mA. Oh ok that makes since I was wtf is going on I did everything right haha. One more question how many volts are you running your fans on your heat sinks at, I have the two I have at 12v but honestly I think two fans on my set up is almost over kill it stays pretty cool, or I could just get a 5v phone charger to run them on.

 

[Mechmike]

It's mA I was reading it off my wall watt meter and it only does amps so I was reading it diff, but yeah my driver is rated for 700mA. Oh ok that makes since I was wtf is going on I did everything right haha. One more question how many volts are you running your fans on your heat sinks at, I have the two I have at 12v but honestly I think two fans on my set up is almost over kill it stays pretty cool, or I could just get a 5v phone charger to run them on.

If your 12v power source puts out enough amperage you can wire your fans in series like your cobs. At 6v you should still get enough air and less noise.

 

[bicit]

If your 12v power source puts out enough amperage you can wire your fans in series like your cobs. At 6v you should still get enough air and less noise.

You would want to wire it them in parallel with a 12v source.

 

[DonPetro]

Here is the lamp i built for my organic veggies, over-wintered herbs and holiday tree.

48" × 9" using 1/2" aluminum angle and 1/8"×1-1/2" aluminum flat stock. Very light weight.
5x Vero 10 with a 320mA driver.
20 minutes in "heatsinks" are maybe barely warm.

 

[Mechmike]

You would want to wire it them in parallel with a 12v source.

Why? I run 2 fans in series on my lights and they work just fine. In series the voltage is shared in balance by the fans. They turn at equal rpm just as they would if run from a single 6v source in parallel.

 

[bicit]

Why? I run 2 fans in series on my lights and they work just fine. In series the voltage is shared in balance by the fans. They turn at equal rpm just as they would if run from a single 6v source in parallel.

I misunderstood what you were trying to do. I see now.

 

[malachii]

Hi guys,

I've been reading and absorbing as much as possible. Lots of great info here for the aspring DIYer. I need some validation prior to clicking the checkout button(s). Please bear with me, I'm presenting all details.... I've got basically two questions. Is my light level appropriate, and what driver selection that I've listed is most appropriate? It's long winded, sorry. Also, does dimming provide similar energy savings to using lower-powered drivers?

I'm looking to light my 3x2 grow area with 8x Vero 18s because the price is good on them, and they're efficient at 127lm/w. I'm trying to determine appropriate driver options before making my purchase. I'm looking for advice. For the record, I'm used to a 400w HPS bulb in my area, at around 45,000 lumens (e.g. not a new bulb) and how it performs. I'm looking for better coverage, and reduced electrical costs, since I (may be) plan to move to perpetual autos - meaning 18 hours/day, instead of 12 - so reducing the electrical bill will be important.

I'm looking at 8 of these these 3500k Vero 18s: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/BXRC-35E4000-F-03/976-1156-ND/3913133

These should be appropriate for both flowering and vegging - considering my planned autos... in the following configuration:



My calculations are are follows (had trouble formatting, sorry):

amps, volts, watts, lumen %, lumens, lumens/w
0.35, 27.10, 9.49, 35.00%, 1,372.00, 144.65
0.47, 27.70, 12.91, 46.92%, 1,839.16, 142.46
0.70, 28.40, 19.88, 70.00%, 2,744.00, 138.03
1.05, 29.50, 30.98, 100.00%, 3,920.00, 126.55
1.40, 30.40, 42.56, 129.34%, 5,070.00, 119.13
2.10, 31.60, 66.36, 185.71%, 7,280.00, 109.70

At their intended level of 1050ma, they put out 3920 lumens each, so I'd have 31360 LED lumens of output (5227lm/sqft) compared to what I'm used to at 7500lm/sqft with my HPS. Now, I hear (without fully understanding) that LED has improved spectrum, and I'll certainly have better coverage - so I'm hoping that this apparent decrease in power will not reduce yields or quality. That brings me to my first question:

1. Is this the appropriate level of light for my space using LED? I see people using quite a bit less.

2. What's the best way to drive it? I can use a single expensive 200w driver, running two strings in parallel, but I'll be at 700ma. I can run 8 drivers but they are normally inefficient. I can run 2 expensive 200w drivers (one per string), but that's spendy. What would you guys do?

Thanks!

 

[Mechmike]

Hi guys,

I've been reading and absorbing as much as possible. Lots of great info here for the aspring DIYer. I need some validation prior to clicking the checkout button(s). Please bear with me, I'm presenting all details.... I've got basically two questions. Is my light level appropriate, and what driver selection that I've listed is most appropriate? It's long winded, sorry. Also, does dimming provide similar energy savings to using lower-powered drivers?

I'm looking to light my 3x2 grow area with 8x Vero 18s because the price is good on them, and they're efficient at 127lm/w. I'm trying to determine appropriate driver options before making my purchase. I'm looking for advice. For the record, I'm used to a 400w HPS bulb in my area, at around 45,000 lumens (e.g. not a new bulb) and how it performs. I'm looking for better coverage, and reduced electrical costs, since I (may be) plan to move to perpetual autos - meaning 18 hours/day, instead of 12 - so reducing the electrical bill will be important.

I'm looking at 8 of these these 3500k Vero 18s: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/BXRC-35E4000-F-03/976-1156-ND/3913133

These should be appropriate for both flowering and vegging - considering my planned autos... in the following configuration:

View attachment 3370635

My calculations are are follows (had trouble formatting, sorry):

amps, volts, watts, lumen %, lumens, lumens/w
0.35, 27.10, 9.49, 35.00%, 1,372.00, 144.65
0.47, 27.70, 12.91, 46.92%, 1,839.16, 142.46
0.70, 28.40, 19.88, 70.00%, 2,744.00, 138.03
1.05, 29.50, 30.98, 100.00%, 3,920.00, 126.55
1.40, 30.40, 42.56, 129.34%, 5,070.00, 119.13
2.10, 31.60, 66.36, 185.71%, 7,280.00, 109.70

At their intended level of 1050ma, they put out 3920 lumens each, so I'd have 31360 LED lumens of output (5227lm/sqft) compared to what I'm used to at 7500lm/sqft with my HPS. Now, I hear (without fully understanding) that LED has improved spectrum, and I'll certainly have better coverage - so I'm hoping that this apparent decrease in power will not reduce yields or quality. That brings me to my first question:

1. Is this the appropriate level of light for my space using LED? I see people using quite a bit less.

2. What's the best way to drive it? I can use a single expensive 200w driver, running two strings in parallel, but I'll be at 700ma. I can run 8 drivers but they are normally inefficient. I can run 2 expensive 200w drivers (one per string), but that's spendy. What would you guys do?

Thanks!

2 Meanwell HLG-120H-C1050B will work well. The voltage needed to drive 4 is about 82% of the max output of the driver which is over 92% efficient. The driver maintains over 90% efficiency all the way down to 60% of rated max voltage.

 

[malachii]

2 Meanwell HLG-120H-C1050B will work well. The voltage needed to drive 4 is about 82% of the max output of the driver which is over 92% efficient. The driver maintains over 90% efficiency all the way down to 60% of rated max voltage.

If I wanted to overdrive them a bit would the HLG-185H-C1400B also work for me in a similar efficiency (driver, not cob)?

If I dim down to approximately 1050, will the efficiency still be good I suppose the efficiency will start to drop below 90%.

This is another question - does dimming retain efficiency?

 

[Mechmike]

If I wanted to overdrive them a bit would the HLG-185H-C1400B also work for me in a similar efficiency (driver, not cob)?

If I dim down to approximately 1050, will the efficiency still be good I suppose the efficiency will start to drop below 90%.

This is another question - does dimming retain efficiency?

The 1.4a option is a better one. I recommend the HLG-185H-C1400B (edit-baked) because it has the external dimming option which gives a much wider dimming range. As far as the driver retaining efficiency while dimming, I think they do but I am not positive about that. The efficiency gained by the cobs themselves when driven at lower currents would certainly be greater than any possible losses at the driver.

 

[malachii]

The 1.4a option is a better one. I recommend the HLG-185H-C1400B (edit-baked) because it has the external dimming option which gives a much wider dimming range. As far as the driver retaining efficiency while dimming, I think they do but I am not positive about that. The efficiency gained by the cobs themselves when driven at lower currents would certainly be greater than any possible losses at the driver.

Thanks. Looks like I'll need to spring for two of those drivers - either of which will do. Thanks. Can you point me towards the better dimming options? I've seen some people using an external rheostat, but I don't see why that's different than the models with an internal potentiometer.

 

[Mechmike]

Thanks. Looks like I'll need to spring for two of those drivers - either of which will do. Thanks. Can you point me towards the better dimming options? I've seen some people using an external rheostat, but I don't see why that's different than the models with an internal potentiometer.

The internal dimmer on the A version is limited to dimming to about 50%. The pot is accessed through a hole in the top of the driver with a tiny screwdriver. The B version is dimmable for nearly the entire range depending on the potentiometer selected. To dim one driver you'll need a 100k linear taper potentiometer. To dim 2 drivers with one potentiometer you can use a 50k pot and wire both driver dimming circuits to that pot. Then Meanwell data sheet explains the dimming function pretty well.

 

[JavaCo]

Thanks. Looks like I'll need to spring for two of those drivers - either of which will do. Thanks. Can you point me towards the better dimming options? I've seen some people using an external rheostat, but I don't see why that's different than the models with an internal potentiometer.

The answer is in Mechmikes post you quoted. The A version of the driver with internal pot dims to about 50% ( 700mA - 1400mA ) The B version will dim to nothing 0% (0mA - 1400mA) But you really dont want to dim lower then 20% as driver efficiency takes a dive when dimmed lower then that. If you add a 20k resistor to a 100k pot on the B version it will keep the driver from going below 20% dimmed.

 

[Greengenes707]

@voon @guod @alesh and anyone else who might know how or be able to help me...
Can someone show me how to enter new whites into the color calculator program? Like based off chromatic coordinates or something from the data sheet. I'm trying to see if I can see the spectrum of the different CRI's in each kelvin that aren't on the data sheet spd.
It would be much appreciated if someone has the time. Thanks.

 

[alesh]

@voon @guod @alesh and anyone else who might know how or be able to help me...
Can someone show me how to enter new whites into the color calculator program? Like based off chromatic coordinates or something from the data sheet. I'm trying to see if I can see the spectrum of the different CRI's in each kelvin that aren't on the data sheet spd.
It would be much appreciated if someone has the time. Thanks.

Ahh that's tricky. I know of no way of doing it without SPD charts for given CCT/CRI version. You can calculate xy chromaticity coordinates from SPD, you can calculate CCT and also CRI. But this is one-way only calculation.

From what is known about LEDs we can assume:
2700K has the same SPD as 3000K with smaller blue peak.
3500K has the same SPD as 4000K with smaller blue peak.
Check out this data sheet from Samsung. I believe that the SPD's could be very similar for Veros.