Wish we took this tech seriously here in the States. It would save an incredible amount of energy.400 volt? WTF? You are in the UK? What are you tapping power off some local electric rail line? Trainspotting again. Blimey.
Yes. I had forgotten. I thought some DEs even run at 480 v? I know people have said that you save energy runny at 240 V versus 120 V as far as amp but others have said it does not make a difference.
The advantage of using higher voltage is that smaller wires can be used and you can still have lower heat losses in your wires. Problem is that 400V will kill you much quicker than 120V will.
+1
The guy I worked for at GE once got hit by 12,800V at the top of a power pole. He survived by some miracle and spent 9 months in the hospital recovering.
Perhaps I was unclear; The 400V is OUTPUT, between ballast and the lamp itself. Input power is still the usual 120/240V, and I'm sure there are other options for the electrical systems in other countries. I'm sure 240V is marginally more efficient.
My Meanwell drivers will work on anything from 100V to 277V. It should say right on the driver. The higher the voltage they're plugged into, generally the more efficiently they work.
No doubts there, cant believe i didn't think about it though it may be minimal on smaller scale. I think that the daily startup is less stressfull on all parts involved and where the biggest benefit might be
Yes the HLG series drivers will work from 100 to 277 VAC. The efficiency gained at relatively low amperages (like the 600W and below that we generally use) is really negligible. You don't really see much efficiency improvement until you get close to max on the 120 circuit - 1800W. If your pushing close to that much power then it is advised to move to a 240V circuit.
Thanks! I should've thought to check out @ttystikk before. Don't know why it didn't dawn on me to do so, lol.
Trying to find @ttystikk journal right now. Could you please tell me the name of your journal also...if you have one? I think I saw a post from you earlier today talking about your set up. Would like to check it out of you don't mind. Thanks.
No Journal but I did post a lot in the club Quantum board page. My sig has a link when I was in week 5 of flower while testing the QBs. I was one of the first on here to order them and start growing with them. Many people on here shunned the Quantum boards and thought they were nothing more than glorified diode led. I understood right away that they were COBs just spread out.
Sorry to be a PITA but there's no signature line that shows the link you mentioned. Could just be my phone or me not knowing how to navigate this format. Thank you though
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