You dont actualy need any active cooling when running your driver on 100%? Its summer Time here and I am having a problem with high temperatures. I am using Kind led Light and it produces a lot of heat to my opinion :-/
I Just bought my self 12 solstrips 3500k and two Red/blue strips. I want to buy the same driver as you did. Do you agree? To my calculation the strips will be running on 70% with my driver on max so that should be ideal right?
This does NOT include any loss from the driver or the led strips themselves.
As far as ventilation goes, I use 2:1 ratio with an active exhaust and passive intakeâŠthe air for the intake pulls from is from 60Âșf - 70Âșf (16Âșc - 21Âșc). This cycles the air enough to keep a consistent ideal temp because light puts off heat toward the plants and is warm radiant heat, temps stay within 70Âșf - 75Âșf (21Âșc - 24Âșc) without much effort on my part.
I just use my ventilation and the light array to maintain temp, there is no active cooling on the light array itself.
Ok. So my plan is to build my self a solstrip Light. squared shape. Dimension will be 900mm each side (35in). I will do the construction as you did. From L shaped aluminium profiles. Then I will Have 7 pieces of aluminium hetsinks that will be 900mm long and 30mm wide. So each heat sink will hold 2 strips in 7 rows. The rows of strips will be 150mm(6in) appart.
Haha. Something like this. Sorry, I am bored at work
That should work right? Heat sinks are very simular as @Baudelaire offers on his websites. Only a bit wider and taller (900mmx35mmx40mm)
Edit: What do you think about the hetsinks price? I am able to get them in Czech Republic for 3500 crowns =140 euros = 165 dolars all of them. Is it fair price?
Posting a picture of the sink profile would help, but the general dimensions suggest youâll have plenty of sink for the job, especially if you will be running it at less than 500w. Looks like a nice design.
Are you tapping or taping to mount your strips?
Whatâs your wiring plan? Iâm about to announce a new design option for the X2 strips that feature separate + and - connectors at each end of the strip. The 2-connector design makes parallel wiring of SolStix racks much cleaner and easier - you just run wire from one strip to the next, no other connectors or Wago nuts needed. Iâve got plenty of the 2-connector strips in 3500K in stock now, let me know if youâd like to try them out.
I will screw the L profiles together with the heat sinks plus termal paste between them? Or no termal paste? is it necessary?
The solstrips will be taped to the heat sinks with termal tape. I got the same tape as you sent me with the solsheet X.
Well I would like to try them out But how? I dont have any spare money at the moment. Only chance would be to return you the regular strips and exchange them for the new ones but that would be very complicated I think
About the watt power. Do you think its ideal to run them at 70%? My box will be 1x1x2m big. So 100K lumens should be enough right? OR should I run two separated drivers? 2x320W?
70% is ideal, but your sinks should be able to handle driving your strips at 100% if you choose (efficiency be damned). I donât see any need for thermal tape in your design. If you think you can manage tapping a few M3 screw holes, Iâd tap the sinks to allow for easy removal of the strips later on. Not critical, but easier to make adjustments or modifications down the road.
Is your canopy area 1 x 1m? Then youâll have plenty of light with 12 strips running 480w at 12"/250cm above the tops. Maybe a little too much, make sure you can dim.
Yeah 1x1m. I Just bought the dimmeable driver. The same you sell on your websites. I will run 12 strips 3500K plus 2 Red/blue strips in the middle. I Just Have to wait for the components
And ok, I wont use the termal paste. You are right about the removing in the future
Note quite - he said not to use the thermal TAPE. When you screw the strips onto the heat sinks, you should still use the thermal PASTE. The paste makes the heat sinks far more efficient at cooling and also help make the contact area more uniform for better cool of all parts of the strips.
The problem with the tape is it sticks tooooooo well after a while and makes it very difficult to remove the strips from the heat sink without damaging them. The paste on the other hand does not glue anything together.
I bought this paste and it was enough to mount a total of 8 solstrips and have plenty left over.
Oh I get it now Thanks a lot @anon32470837. So the paste doesnt stick so well to the strips right?
I already experinced the problem with tape when I put together the Solsheet X I taped them on to wrong baking sheet and I had to remove them with knife. It was insane to get them of, but they werent damaged after fortunetly.
I just ordered the driver and heat sinks. I should have all the parts by next week I will do a new topic about the build.
Indeed @Fisch you should be using thermal compound (not tape or glue)âŠtap the heatsinks with an M3 tap then screw and secure the LED strips with the thermal compound inbetween the LED and sinks.
Btw youtube is a good resource on how to tap aluminum, itâs quite easy. Plus $7 for the tap set.
1 x 1 meter space is great! Specially with the driver and the amount of strips, but I would plan for 16 to 24 inches (errâŠ40 - 61cm) above the canopy. Also just insure your ventilation is effective (no holes, pulling intake from cold air, exhaust not blowing back, etc) This will keep you cool all summer
Mine arenât even connected to the panel, on pc risers and sit above the âheat sinkâ
but the metal does direct airflow with whatever heat rises. The ones at 1050mA
havenât shown any excess heat.
Even at lower power levels, you may (or may not) have uneven cooling on the strips. It all depends on how even/uniform the contact is with the heat sinks.
Where they make good solid contact with the heat sinks (at the screw points), the ledâs will be running cooler than elsewhere, where there is less/no contact and less heat transfer. That might or might not lead to uneven aging over time, depending on how much hotter the hottest parts get.
You might consider using an IR heat gun to test various points along the strips - where they are screwed on and in between. If no points are getting tooooo hot you will be fine for a long time.
Still, any differences in cooling will lead to differences in output and/or premature aging over time. That might take a loooong time to show up though.
All the time⊠but inconclusive as they never register anything more than 5 over ambient unless it crosses one of the leds itself on front side. And YES can get away with it at low levels in small spaces, but not recommended practices for beginners.
Am still trying to determine a useful backing material for both structure and heat management, Easiest to mount direct with bolt/screw but nylon fasteners would not cause shorting issues with pressure. One bar is running hotter than Iâd run mine (other grow room) but with 3 strips on a bar instead of 2, yet is still not where Iâd consider adding anything more than a fan.
Lifetime??? at least one grow cycle⊠anything over that is beyond some to plan forâŠ
Most LEDâs have an MTBF of at least 50,000 hours to maybe as much as 100,000 hours. Thats about 2,777 days of veg time or 4,166 days of flower time.
You can run them at close to max spec and still get years of use out of them. Or over drive them by a tiny bit more and they die very rapidly. Its a matter of degree.
Here is a good refference on this.
Factors affecting LED lifespan
There are a number of factors that affect the useful LED lifetime. By ensuring that the LED is protected from adverse conditions it is possible to ensure the maximum lifetime is maintained.
Temperature: One of the major issues in ensuring the maximum life is obtained from a LED is keeping the temperature down. Excess temperature will considerably shorten the life. To prevent the LED chip running over temperature there are a number of elements that can be included within the design
Good thermal path from LED chip to mount: It is necessary to ensure that the heat can be effectively removed from the LED semiconductor itself. This is the first step in ensuring the LED junction temperature does not rise to high and adversely affect the LED lifetime.
Good bonding between LED and external mount: It is necessary to ensure that the LED package is effectively bonded to the element on which it is mounted. The thermal resistance should be as low as possible, possibly using thermal mounting grease t ensure complete contact.
Good heatsink: In order that heat is removed effectively from the overall assembly the heatsink on which the LED is mounted should have a low thermal resistance. It should also be located so that heat will flow away from the heatsink. For LED lighting, this is particularly important because often lamps will be located within small light fittings and this will not aid cooling, and hence the LED lifetime will be reduced.
LED drive level: To obtain the best LED lifetime, the LED should be driven well within its ratings. Overdriving a LED will drastically reduce its lifetime, although it will increase the light output.
Power supply: The power supply needs to match the light emitting diode for optimum LED life expectancy. Not only should the voltage be regulated, but the current also needs to be closely controlled to ensure the LED does not run outside its ratings, or even too close to its maximum ratings.
Environment: General conditions such as vibration, and temperature extremes - even when not operating - place mechanical stresses on the diode which will reduce the LED lifetime. Ideally, a LED should be operated within a stable dry environment. When this is not possible, a shorter LED lifetime should be anticipated.
Although it may appear obvious at first sight that the LED life should be as long as possible, this may not always be the main requirement. It is possible that in some cases light output is more important than LED lifetime, and in this case it may be permissible to overdrive the LED to obtain the additional light. Additionally budgetary constraints may limit the inclusion of more effective thermal management, and in this case a decision can be made to balance LED life expectancy against the cost.
But how? I dont have any spare money at the moment. Only chance would be to return you the regular strips and exchange them for the new ones 
