HLG q.v. 288's optimal driver set

Howdy, I've been picking up tips and bits here and there reading through this forum but wanted to make my first thread to consolidate my understanding of HLG quantum boards.

From what I gather please point out my mistakes:

The new 288 qbs can be run in series or parallel.
Series = constant current =dimmable?
Parallel = constant volt = non dimmable?

Do not have to worry about thermal run away in series?

Question: if I wanted to run 4x288 boards for max efficiency what driver should I use in series? Or is parallel better?

Ty

when you say run the boards at max efficiency what do you mean by that? because by definition that would mean running them at 500ma which is like 23watts each which is only 92watts total.

if you run them at 1050ma (49 watts per board) you lose ~ 5% efficiency but your total amount of light increases because of the increase in power....

what size is the footprint you are trying to cover?

banke1 said:

when you say run the boards at max efficiency what do you mean by that? because by definition that would mean running them at 500ma which is like 23watts each which is only 92watts total.

if you run them at 1050ma (49 watts per board) you lose ~ 5% efficiency but your total amount of light increases because of the increase in power....

what size is the footprint you are trying to cover?

Click to expand...

I see. Sorry for noob question.

I should rephrase: I want to light a 4x4 flower space using 4x boards

what are the different configs of drivers / advantages vs disadv
i hope for universal dimming of the 4 boards.


also hypothetical, i have a friend, who wants to light 100 sq feet and would likely use ~6 of these 4board set ups, would that change driver rec per the entire set up? (when having to considering breaker circuit limits)

You need two HLG-240H-48A's(2x ~260w) or 2 HLG-320H-48A(2x ~320w) for each two boards in parallel or one HLG-480H-48A(~550w) or HLG-600H-48A(+600w) to wire 4 boards in parallel. I would not use a CC driver because of it's lethal voltage, the 288 boards are designed to run with a saver voltage and parallel wiring. 4 boards with HLG-600 or 2 HLG-320's is enough for a 5x 5' area, the smaller driver combi is enough for a 4x 4'. And make sure you get the V2 boards, they are 5-10% better.

And don't worry about thermal runaways both driver CC and CV/CC will run the boards with constant current in direct drive mode. Current flow will stabilize when the boards reach the thermal eqillibrium.
HLG-xxxH-48A allows dimming within 50-100% via build-in potentiometer.
HLG-xxxH-48B has additional dimming wires and can be dimmed to off(HLG-240 only down to ~6%) via 100k poti, 0-10v or PWM. 100k potentiometer is the easiest way because there's no need for an additional voltage source. You only connect the blue and white wires coming from the driver to the left and the middle prong of the potentiometer, that's it.

I have wired these boards in a few different ways. Maximum output for 4 boards was achieved with an HLG-480H-C2100, close to 550W at the wall. Series wiring, of course, but I see the high voltage as an advantage because you can install the driver remotely with very little line loss.

Other configurations I run include 4 boards on a HLG-480H-54A and 2 boards per HLG-185-54A. I run both V1 and V2 boards. They both seem to like these drivers. Pay attention to the data sheets as the larger drivers have a different cc voltage output range than the smaller ones. In this case the HLG-480H-48A would run out of steam and may not even light the V1 boards, but the 240-48 works fine.

ok so cc = series
cv = parallel
(wiring of boards)

and either set-up allows for dimming.

do i have this correct:
When calculating total voltage of a cc driver wired in series: each board adds voltages and draws same current as rated by driver, so get driver thats rated to output correct voltage based on board count; and get the desired current ----WHAT CURRENT DO I DESIRE?? 1050 vs. 2100?? vs 1400?; 500 too dim light?
when calculating total voltage of a cv driver wired in parallel each board pulls same voltage as rated by driver and the current is divided among each board; eg: the HLG-185H-54A will deliver 49~58 V to ea board 3.45A max {if 2 boards current to ea baord ~3.45/2, not accounting for losses?}



@Randomblame ty for answering my initial dumb question about maximizing the MuMole/Joule

@shimz i greatly appreciate you sharing your personal exp

I am a big fan of remove mounting of driving away from light space for moisture / heat issues

Looking at the chart on HLG website :



So i get why my initial question is dumb, I'm not trying to maximize efficiency of the boards, I'm trying to safely (longevity of led diodes) run as many boards on a single 240V 20 AMP breaker,fewer drivers reduces clutter but considering 2board/driver

gona expose more of my ignorance with this question,
is using a cc driver @ 1050 deliver 49.33 W@board
vs using a cc driver @2100 deliver 102.82 W@board

so therefore @cc of 2100 more than double the PAR from board vs 1050, and thus half the boards required to light same sqft? with a (2.85-2.63) .22MuMole/Joule @ board lost, which i assume translates to little $ lost in electric costs for minor efficiency decrease running at higher current?

Yupp!
Series wiring = voltage adds up
Parallel wiring = current is divided

You need around 500w for a 4x 4' area, like mentioned in my first post. If you want it more efficient you need to use more boards running with less current. 4 boards at 2,4A are ~480w(2,58μmol/J eff.), 4 at 2,8A would be ~580w(2,53μmol/J eff.), 6 boards at 2,1A would be ~620w(2,63μmol/J eff).
To be more efficient you need either better LED or you need to use more of them and run them lower.
LED, COB's, boards, srtips... all LED's are getting more efficient when running lower(less current).

For V1 boards you'll need 54v driver for V2 you can use the 48v one, because LM301b needs slightly less voltage like LM561c at the same current(better eff.).


One thing, do not expect the same numbers from Atreus288.2 compared to QB V2. They use probably not the same binnings. Without lab tests it's easy to claim it's SK bin.
QB V2's are made directly by Samsung using only their best selections(voltage and flux bins), according to HLG these diodes are not widely available for everyone, at least for now.
For my taste all this boards are too small and act almost like a COB with bigger LES(light emitting surface).

Samsungs 4ft double row F-strips(also 288 S6 diodes in 16s18p) are IMO a better solution because they have much better distribution.
2 4ft single row F-strips(144 diodes) are even better than 1 DR strip for the same reason.
F-strips are also cheaper and you can get them for ~50 or 25 bucks at digikey or from arrow.com.
Okay, it's more wiring effort but on the other hand you need only some aluminum C-channel to keep them cool. Not to mention these alu c-channels are much cheaper than extrudet heatsinks.

In my signature you can see my strips based lamp using 20 single row 2footers at max. 525mA(HLG-240H-C1050B, 10s2p). Each diodes gets only ~60mA(63mA max.), that's slightly below LM561c test current and result in ~2,8μmol/J eff, maybe 2,6μmol/J on system level. 1440 diodes are equal to 5 QB V1 but I've paid only ~200 bucks plus VAT instead of 325.