Light build/design help

I'm looking at building a light similar to the greengene Plc design. I think it was 2 320hlg with 8 bars.

I would like to build a 12 bar version with a similar power ratio, so 3x 320's or equivalent.

I've done a bit of research and I think I'm going to go with the bridgelux thrive LEDs strips. I wanted to get the Plc setup but that's not an option anymore.

I'm needing help determining my power supply, not sure what the formula is to figure out the strips power requirements and necessary power supply.

Thank you for any help

Mr.Estrain said:

bridgelux thrive LEDs

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Those are for human centric lighting and have terrible efficiency. If you're not in the business of burning cash you should look somewhere else.

Lou66 said:

Those are for human centric lighting and have terrible efficiency. If you're not in the business of burning cash you should look somewhere else.

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What's the best strips you can get?

Mr.Estrain said:

What's the best strips you can get?

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Depends on your goals.

If you just want a light that grows plants look at the diy quantum board thread. If you want the "best" you have to do some reading yourself and figure out what's important to you.

Cutter.com.au have the same type of strip as greengenes was selling in many flavors. Diodes range from decent to really good, you have a lot of price options. Same type of design: 96 white and 4 monos. I think you can mix and match a fair bit. However Cutter has not been the best at email communication with me always.

If youre doing a 2 driver design you can chose different spectrums on each driver. Can be a good way of adding both reds and uvs.

What I do:

Calculate the light requirements for the area I want to cover. The magic number is 0.015. This is a roughly accurate multiplier to convert lumens to ppf for 3000-3500K white mono LED's.
If I want to cover a 4x4 and target 1000ppfd/m2 output, a 4x4 is 16 sq.ft, or 1.48 m2, so I would need 1500ppf.
1500 / 0.015 = 100,000. Therefore 100,000 lm is needed to provide 1500 ppf.

Looking at the strips to be used, see how much lm each strip puts out. This will vary depending on how hard you drive them. Datasheets will have the average lm output at nominal currents. If you drive them harder than nominal you can use less strips but you will decrease efficacy, increase heat and heatsinking requirements, and reduce lifespan. If you drive them softer you will need more strips and wiring and complicate the build a bit.

So if you needed 100,000 lm, and the selected strips put out 5000 lm at nominal and you go with that you would need 20 strips.

An easier way is to aim for 6000-7000lm per sq ft (6,666 lm is about 100ppf).

Now you decide on a way to wire them up, parallel or series, or a combination, and the required wattage.
These videos will explain it much better than I



I use mostly Samsung strips because of their handy dandy Engine Calculator and you can find some really good sporadic deals on them at Arrow, like these 4-ft F-Series 3500K $6.56 or this 600W 48V 95% Efficiency Driver $145

Now days it may be cheaper to get a pre-made. HLG has some new bar type that the driver is not mounted to fixture, which is reason why i always made my own.

Rocket Soul said:

Cutter.com.au have the same type of strip as greengenes was selling in many flavors. Diodes range from decent to really good, you have a lot of price options. Same type of design: 96 white and 4 monos. I think you can mix and match a fair bit. However Cutter has not been the best at email communication with me always.

If youre doing a 2 driver design you can chose different spectrums on each driver. Can be a good way of adding both reds and uvs.

Click to expand...

MedicinalMyA$$ said:

What I do:

Calculate the light requirements for the area I want to cover. The magic number is 0.015. This is a roughly accurate multiplier to convert lumens to ppf for 3000-3500K white mono LED's.
If I want to cover a 4x4 and target 1000ppfd/m2 output, a 4x4 is 16 sq.ft, or 1.48 m2, so I would need 1500ppf.
1500 / 0.015 = 100,000. Therefore 100,000 lm is needed to provide 1500 ppf.

Looking at the strips to be used, see how much lm each strip puts out. This will vary depending on how hard you drive them. Datasheets will have the average lm output at nominal currents. If you drive them harder than nominal you can use less strips but you will decrease efficacy, increase heat and heatsinking requirements, and reduce lifespan. If you drive them softer you will need more strips and wiring and complicate the build a bit.

So if you needed 100,000 lm, and the selected strips put out 5000 lm at nominal and you go with that you would need 20 strips.

An easier way is to aim for 6000-7000lm per sq ft (6,666 lm is about 100ppf).

Now you decide on a way to wire them up, parallel or series, or a combination, and the required wattage.
These videos will explain it much better than I

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4ZeBGl9K1KS0VOElerZym9GeFiVK9AnC&si=SP158WADXsuVKi0x

I use mostly Samsung strips because of their handy dandy Engine Calculator and you can find some really good sporadic deals on them at Arrow, like these 4-ft F-Series 3500K $6.56 or this 600W 48V 95% Efficiency Driver $145

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The guy at cutter said these are what I want...

SSK-1560ZGE-2790-2835CR

So would 2x per bar with 8 bars cover a 4x4? That would be 16 of these?

Also, what kind of UV or violet? And what ratio would those need to be added? Can I fit those in between the evenly spaced "regular" strips?

The watts would be volts x amps so they look like I would be wanting to push these at like 40ish watts?

So a 640 watt 36v power supply, then a potentiometer to dim it?


Thank you all for you input and help, we are almost at the finish line!!

If I were to do the 16 strip setup would this power supply be optimal?

It would give me 37.5 watts max per strip. I figured I'd be running the strips anywhere from 30-35 watts regularly so I feel like that's a good fit.

But

I remember gene saying two 320 was more efficient?

So would that be better?

I'll use a potentiometer to dim with both

Getting pretty excited!

Rocket Soul said:

I have nothing outstanding, thanks and yes; some years ago. Sometimes i had the feeling that it was hard to get updates, like not being sure if i should write to general email (many times no reply) to you or Ben. I dont know how you structure your correspondence (maybe loads of people working the same "general" email account?) but like being left on read. Ive heard it mentioned by more around that time.
But everything eventually arrived well and ive had some very good deals so i still rec you guys. But warn about patience.

OP: sid you make a decision on what to buy?
You linked a hlg600-48 which i dont think its the right driver.

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I was going to get those strips I mentioned from cutter. But if there's new strips with the same xpg3 red and better whites, I might pony up to get those, depending on the price tag.

I think the 48v 320 was for the veg strips I was looking at. I'm pretty sure I'll need the hlg320-36 for the cutter strips? I was going to gland the outputs from the 2 320 and run the 8 bars in series with the connection in the middle similar to the Plc design

Do you guys knows what they proper term for a display box between the light and power supply that displays power consumption?

What UV spectrum is most effective? Those strips are pricey!

you can always do something like this ;

Mr.Estrain said:

What UV spectrum is most effective? Those strips are pricey!

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Tbh I would either get a light that has uv in it or skip it entirely.
My reasoning is that UV can do a lot of bad (eg very short internodes) and taking a standard light, slapping UV on its side is probably not going to be ideal. But a fixture with UV built in will be tested (assuming its any good) and not perform terribly.

So either get a cheap white + red spectrum or a premium, true full spectrum, fixture.

Mr.Estrain said:

I was going to get those strips I mentioned from cutter. But if there's new strips with the same xpg3 red and better whites, I might pony up to get those, depending on the price tag.

I think the 48v 320 was for the veg strips I was looking at. I'm pretty sure I'll need the hlg320-36 for the cutter strips? I was going to gland the outputs from the 2 320 and run the 8 bars in series with the connection in the middle similar to the Plc design

Do you guys knows what they proper term for a display box between the light and power supply that displays power consumption?

What UV spectrum is most effective? Those strips are pricey!

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Cutters clone of plc strips are usually a little bit more than 36V, you can check the 36A driver which gives you a few more volts with manual voltage regulation

Since youre using 2x320w drivers for what i understand to be a 4x4: youll have plenty light, you may not need the most expensive strips. Id rec their cree strips rather than blux thrive.

UV: many ways to go with uv. you can get some results from just using 400nm. We used 400+365nm in a 2:1 ratio and had nice results. About 8 % of wattage but using china diodes.

Another way of going would be using 2 separate spectrums for your strips, one for each driver: one with red sup one with uv sup. Id use something very red for the uv strips for red/blue balance, 2700k 90cri or something like that.

I've looked into the UV and found some stand alone fluorescent options that I can Daisy chain and run on a separate timer. From what I understand you only want to use them on the last 3-4 weeks and minimally at that. Much less costly as well than doing led uvs.


I'm going to use those cutter strips and that's the driver I was looking at, the hlg320 36a, thank you for confirming it is the right one.

Mr.Estrain said:

I've looked into the UV and found some stand alone fluorescent options that I can Daisy chain and run on a separate timer. From what I understand you only want to use them on the last 3-4 weeks and minimally at that. Much less costly as well than doing led uvs.


I'm going to use those cutter strips and that's the driver I was looking at, the hlg320 36a, thank you for confirming it is the right one.

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We use uv straight thru flower. Works fine. Uv leds can be expensive depending on where you source them but arent really that much cost, got mine at 1$ per led on alibaba. Got no experience with flouros but from what ive seen in tests: near uv 400nm beats uvb fluoros. Also they usually need more distance to cannopy than a bar light can offer.

Rocket Soul said:

We use uv straight thru flower. Works fine. Uv leds can be expensive depending on where you source them but arent really that much cost, got mine at 1$ per led on alibaba. Got no experience with flouros but from what ive seen in tests: near uv 400nm beats uvb fluoros. Also they usually need more distance to cannopy than a bar light can offer.

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I was going to get the migro UVB 310 lights. I feel like it's the best solution for me considering cost, application and performance.

Anyone have a link to a 80/20 aluminum extrusion supplier in Canada?

Ordered the strips and drivers last night, it's my xmas present this year.

I was going to use this to get an idea of my power usage with the potentiometer. Anyone got a link to a better/cheaper version?


If not I'll just go with that one, I feel like it should work fine and it's not breaking the bank.

Merry Christmas!!

Mr.Estrain said:

I'm looking at building a light similar to the greengene Plc design. I think it was 2 320hlg with 8 bars.

I would like to build a 12 bar version with a similar power ratio, so 3x 320's or equivalent.

I've done a bit of research and I think I'm going to go with the bridgelux thrive LEDs strips. I wanted to get the Plc setup but that's not an option anymore.

I'm needing help determining my power supply, not sure what the formula is to figure out the strips power requirements and necessary power supply.

Thank you for any help

Click to expand...

In 2023 this seems like a very expensive long way around to get to a quality grow light. There are so many options with many being much cheaper than DIY.
I built a system with Thrive strips in the past - beautiful spectral output and growth but the ppf per watt was low compared to other diodes that are better suited for use in grow lights.
Is waterproof a concern?
Finally broke down over here and bought full Bios Lights for my grow, both veg and bloom. Endeavor 650's for flower and Icarus Lii for veg and never looking back these things are such high quality!

OneHitDone said:

In 2023 this seems like a very expensive long way around to get to a quality grow light. There are so many options with many being much cheaper than DIY.
I built a system with Thrive strips in the past - beautiful spectral output and growth but the ppf per watt was low compared to other diodes that are better suited for use in grow lights.
Is waterproof a concern?
Finally broke down over here and bought full Bios Lights for my grow, both veg and bloom. Endeavor 650's for flower and Icarus Lii for veg and never looking back these things are such high quality!

View attachment 5354804View attachment 5354803View attachment 5354805

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That's a nice unit. I looked them up and they are more reasonable than they used to be. I looked into built units but I priced it out and it was still cheaper to diy for me. The cutter strips were 550, 2x hlg32036a were 400, the aluminum is approx 150(just have to find a local supplier), the meter was 50(they were local) and some miscellaneous connectors, wire, potentiometers and tape will be like a hundred, tops.

That's all in cdn $. A comparable built light is North of that by a fair bit for me with shipping. I looked and even thought the same thing but in the end I think the performance I got for dollar is unbeatable and why I went that way. It was closer than I thought though and that did surprise me.

Mr.Estrain said:

That's a nice unit. I looked them up and they are more reasonable than they used to be. I looked into built units but I priced it out and it was still cheaper to diy for me. The cutter strips were 550, 2x hlg32036a were 400, the aluminum is approx 150(just have to find a local supplier), the meter was 50(they were local) and some miscellaneous connectors, wire, potentiometers and tape will be like a hundred, tops.

That's all in cdn $. A comparable built light is North of that by a fair bit for me with shipping. I looked and even thought the same thing but in the end I think the performance I got for dollar is unbeatable and why I went that way. It was closer than I thought though and that did surprise me.

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Theres a few benefits to diy:
- for spaces with unusual dimensions.
- being able to control what diodes are used; both as in assuring you get bonafide diodes rather than china quality as in being able to get a specific spectrum you like.
- safety: ive seen some brands use dodgy connectors and drivers which caught fire or melted: when getting these yourself and thru safe outlets you know youre not risking your place.
- being able to make a light with custom functions; separate veg and flower settings, uv/far red etc

Ohd is right though in that its not that economical to diy anymore, lights have grown cheap and components gone expensive. Bought new drivers recently and a 120w HLG MW today cost more than a 240 before covid.

But i think the main benefits to diy is self sufficiency: you can stop worrying about warranty; what ever you can build you can repair if it breaks, just get a spare of any part when doing the initial buy so you can replace if anything goes bad.
And last but not least: the extreme satisfaction in building your own light, especially when you start beating your own records and expectation. Yes, im somewhat of a diy addict/junkie. But that feeling you get when you turn it on for the first time, see the bright light, turn it up until it hurts your eyes, blinking with a checker field of little dots of after-image in your sight and go damn, thats bright, re-doing harvest numbers of your first dream run with the light cause you have a hard time believing them... Its very hard to beat.