Pushing meanwell drivers past their rated wattage

Nope_49595933949

Well-Known Member
We are new to LED and indoor growing in general. Is it common for a company to push a meanwell driver 25% past the rated output of the driver? The driver in question is an HLG-120H-54A.
 

Orblight

Well-Known Member
I'm curious about this also. I just brought a spider farmer se7000 8 bar light and it says it's a 730w fixture but the driver that came with it is a 680w driver.
 

1dude1seed

Well-Known Member
Running electronic past their rated specs almost always makes things run hotter. Just like many things electric, I prefer to keep things dialed in roughly 20% below stated max. Not just for the safety headroom, but keeps things a bit cooler. That’s irrelevant if your drivers are outside the tent. YMMV
 

cobshopgrow

Well-Known Member
there is a isolation transformer in every meanwell driver.
going over 100% will make this transofrmer warm/hot, especially if youre on 115V (twice the A to 230V).
this will become the bottleneck of your efficacy.
 

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
I've had new lights that didn't match the drivers wattage output, there's a little +/- grub screw on the meanwells i have to fine tune the power to the stated output.
 

cobshopgrow

Well-Known Member
The Meanwell drivers have built in over current, voltage and temperature protection. The driver will go into safe mode and not operate much past their rated specs.
in the case of constant current, b type drivers thats right.
but constant voltage/A type ones can go quite a bit over their "rating" by setting the screw.
well you know that, but shouldnt be forgotten.

over temp protection will kick in quite late, or, one prob wont have his/her driver near that for a longer time.
 

7CardBud

Well-Known Member
I looked at the data sheet and it does say you might be able to run it at 120% voltage before safe mode kicks in :mad:
I think this is pretty much a troll thread anywho.....for like $10 more you can buy a 180W driver and run it at 140W.
What's the point of pushing a 120W? I personally don't like sniffing fishy exploded capacitors...but to each their own.
 
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