i definitely dont understand par all the way and some other technical aspects of lighting so forgive me if this sounds ignorant and or dumb.
I feel like lighting companies are selling us wasted space… i feel like i buy more frame and empty space than actual LED’s
– I realize they know more than i do.
These HLG lights have waayyy more empty space than used space.
Now you can clearly tell the difference between the 2 brands as far as luminosity/par goes…now forgive me LED GENIUS…
I swear i could sandwich these two lights perfectly and the offset would make you think its designed to be that way. The light bars dont interfere with each other and theres enough room in between the center bars for the heat sink/ballast/power unit
I feel like lighting companies could be doing better for us by providing DIY light builds with different…wait a mintue forgive a silly old welder…theres got to be one out there
Are there any DIY build your own light board companies?
I’ve been using HLG lights for 6 years now. They use to sell kits and they still sell the boards, QB96’s, and stuff seperate but they just don’t have as many DIY options anymore. Awesome company. I just recently called them looking for older boards and the lady was super cool. As they always are. She went up in the attic to check and got back to me. I got a bunch of awesome older boards for $15 a piece. The older 5000k V1’s are the best I’ve had for vegging?
They are strong lights so they spread them out for more even coverage. There’s overlap so the whole ceiling doesn’t have to be completely full. I prefer multiple boards since it gives you more flexibility. I have all my boards at 90 watts usually. I also rarely adjust the height and just let the plants grow. If they get too tall I supercrop.
Anyways, there are lots of people building their own lights still.
The old style Quantum Boards have a hot spot in the centre and give an inferior uneven light spread, and also run hotter than the rack/ladder style light fixtures which usually use more efficient led diodes, thats my take on it anyway.
Some even say the older style lights that leds replaced are even more far superior so it depends.
Personally I say it doesn’t really matter so long as the wattage is proper for your space. I’ve seen people with experience grow unreal plants with not the best lights, and newbies with no experience grow shit in expensive set ups.
I got a hlg 750 rspec because i got a really good deal on it. Originally planning on a bar style light. Since they have a more even light distribution, but I have noticed better lower development since switching but could also be other factors in play.
In a 4x4 tent, ive never needed to use full power on the HLG 750. I think the highest ive gone without plant stress was around 70%. Might be able to push them harder with more practice, the light is still pretty new to me. Probably will get a bar light for my next light.
Cocoforcannabis.com has some really good reading and lighting comparisons. Also found some good explanations and testing from migro on YouTube
folks are changing to “bar” lighting better coverage and one can add to them have a QB panel , next update to single bar led’s HLG offers them I think - better coverage
The designers are trying to produce even illumination within the footprint of the fixture. Whereas the older style of fixtures, without spreading optics, tend to have a much ‘hotter’ center point readings.
Heat dissipation is certainly a very important design consideration. Most of which can be overcome in the design phase depending on the LED density and power output. Typically the higher the density, the more difficult it is to remove the heat generated and typically the more expensive the materials are required. With the bar approach, the power density trends moderate and also ‘spread out’ across several PCBs such that heat dissipation is less of a design concern.
Also, LEDs tend to become less efficient as they ‘heat-up’. For instance,
Eventually, fixtures reach a point of quiescence with the surrounding environment such that the output power and temperatures will stabilize:
The better the heat dissipation, the cooler the fixture and the higher the LED efficiency, in general.
I prefer using smaller footprint fixtures with high output and more of them. With a PAR meter, you can tune them by dimming, changing the height, or increasing/decreasing the space between those fixtures.
For enclosed areas, such as a sealed room/tent, LED efficiency and associated heat becomes a key concern.
I picked up some extra QB 96 boards only for around the same price, and they sent 3 heat sinks anyway. I have also been running QB 132’s 3500K since 2019, late 2019 if I’m not mistaken. Anyway, I bought some v1 132’s by contacting them (3500k v2s had so many burnt leds), they are great, I’m used to running the 3500k’s and always excellent quality, I hit them up awhile back and she came back with some V2’s 3000K and I have those on ice. Regarding hot spots, it’s the crossover light that is causing it from the boards being too close together, I know, I run 4 of them in a 2x4. I use a clip fan for veg, and two for bloom and keep the fans right at canopy level so it hits the boards and plants, my setup does well at 230 watts, but older chips so slightly inefficient, a few watts is all, nothing to be worried about… My 2x2 has a cheap Vipar that dims up to 100 watts, I prefer a bit more per 2x2, but that’s just what I’m used to. I can go over 300 watts with the 132 and 96 setup, but never have and just isn’t necessary. I like the fact you can keep boards or strips closer and save vertical height. Downside to 96’s… they do run on the warmer side (have your exhaust in check), but make great “Winter” lights. Alright… my 2 cents… ya’ll keep them thumbs green.
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