Sadly my first run with the Solstrips didn’t work out…my first time with RDWC and I ended up with some root issues… however I am happy to report I am onto round 2 and the strips are doing amazing… I am running X-Sheets in replacement of HID… I had a huge learning curve with my girls as LED requires a much higher room them then HID did… however once I got that dialed int he growth and vigor has been insane…this is a dripper coco in 2 gallon square pots 2/3 filled… I Am just setting up the nets so everything is a bit of a mess, I did one side the other day and was just starting the other when the pictures were taken… these plants are 7 days into flower… a mix of Diesel and Blueberry Cheesecake … just some feminized seeds I picked up locally…quite the variety in phenotype, from tall and lanky to short and bushy . it really caught me off gaurd on how much warmer these lights needed room temps to be 84F with no C02, any cooler and the leaves showed really weird nutrient deficiencies…I am running GH 3 part with the occasional addition of Jack’s Calcnit …I am running 50/50 RO with tap, nutrient EC of 1.4-1.6 and a PH of 5.5…room humidity is currently at 62% and of course 84F …I use a Iponics 624 to control the room and will be adding C02 tomorrow … Anyways SolSheetX are for real, they grow awesome and once you get past the part of adding heaters to the room the growth is definitely better and faster then HID, no question at all whatsoever.
@bongedtobits cheers mate. I second what @baudelaire says. HPS and solstrips both work on around a 70/30 ratio of light to heat. HPS with 70 heat and 30 photons. Solstrips with 70 photons and 30 heat. Imo it’s a silly idea to not run LED in this day and age.
@nitro glad this run is going better for you. I think it’s safe to say the issues with your last run didn’t stem from your lighting bro
You won’t regret it @Bongedtobits it’s the best grow purchase I’ve ever made. 
I’ve been away for 4 days and the frost has more than doubled in that time. I only wish I’d bough my solstrips sooner.
Hi @HappyHemper 
check out my grow. Its 1x1m area with Four plants from seeds. I built my solstrip Light and its equivalent for a 1000w Hps. Its a first grow Under this Light it might Something you are looking for…
This is the build
I wish these things were around 20yrs ago. The Mrs just got around 8oz from a green crack auto in a 2’ x 4’ tent lit by 9 Solstrips running at only 240w 
I need some help or clarificatrion guys.
I’m running my new 3 Solstrips x2 2700K @ 100 watt system.
At that power the strips run at 33 watts each or so. If temperatures are fine, would it be best to have the light as close to the canopy? or should I try to keep it at 12 inches? I ask because I am using them between 4 and 6 inches from the canopy and temepratures are fine.
Here’s the plant after 1 week of flower
Any though @Baudelaire ?
for optimum use of all available light, 12" is perfect, it’s not about the temp as much as it’s about where the best light for them is.
I wonder.
What kind of yield as in gpw are you guys getting with youw Solstrip fixtures?
Hey there!
First grow with my rack got me this much
Grass monkey test got me this much
And the most recent grow got me this many
I run mine close to the lights, about 6-8". I am limited on height. The bad part about running so close is getting full coverage on the canopy. If the whole plant is getting light, go for it!
My first grow with quantum boards I was around 1.3-1.5gpw.
Same tech so this would apply to solstrips as well.
Individual results may vary based on environment, genetics and grower skill. Some strains won’t ever produce a lot. Like OGs
I’m going to be building a new veg and bud chamber soon and am really considering these for veg.
Could i just grab a couple SolStrips and hang them without heatsinks? I’d put a 250W hps in the same space with no cooling besides ambient ventilation no problem, so I figure these should make way less heat?
Also is the only difference between the x2 and x3 the type of driver used?
Very cool product!
Scissor hanz c99 x romberry x Jesus OG got me 9oz single plant in a 2x4ft tent. Using a Chinese 480w driver so probably actually outputting about 400w
You can certainly run the lights closer than 12 inches if the plants can take it. What you are looking for is the best height for optimum distribution AND intensity of light across the canopy. A simple light meter - buy one for $10 on Ebazon or download a phone app - can tell you a lot, even if they aren’t very accurate they can give you relative readings for your space. All indoor growers need to have a very healthy appreciation of the inverse square law of light intensity. Six inches from the canopy is twice as intense as 12 inches, and 12 inches twice as strong as 24 inches. A few inches can mean the difference between harvesting rocky nugs or larf.
LEDs aren’t "hot’ on the canopy - the heat just isn’t there. But you will get bleaching of your tops and top shade leaves from too much light if the lamps are placed too close (yeah homegamers, too much light is something you may have to deal with, perhaps for the first time).
The tell-tale signs are literal bleaching or loss of chlorophyll in the tops, but early on the shade leaves will turn a slight bronze or copper-green. Often they will get brittle as well and lose their suppleness. If you see that back off 6 inches or so. If you have a simple lux meter, aim for canopy-level readings in the 25-35K lux range.
-b420
You’ll find all of this information and much more at the Solstrip.com website, especially in the Photonics blog there, but to answer your questions simply, 1) you need some type of heatsinking component to run SolStrips at any amount of power worth doing (>25 watts). It can be an aluminum baking sheet (SolSheets), an extruded heatsink (SolStix) or aluminum bar or angle stock, but you need something for heat mitigation (and structural support).
The differences between the X2 and X3 SolStrips are several but mainly 1) X2s run on 24v drivers, X3s on 36v, 2) X2s have 96 diodes, X3s have 144, and 3) X2s are single CCT band, X3s are dual-band, with two-thirds of the diodes at 2700K and one-third at 5700K.
Perfect, thanks for the info!
Out of curiosity, why do all these LED lights require heatsinks? Will they melt themselves or something? I’ve never really found a good explanation as to why.
Heatsinks disperse waste heat generated by the diodes. Until we have 100% efficient LEDs, we will have waste heat to remove from the diodes. Too much heat for too long will destroy or greatly shorten the life of the diodes.
That’s kinda what I figured, thanks. Here’s an article I found googling that goes into this more in case anyone’s interested:
It definitely explains alot, I always wondered why LEDs couldn’t just be hung and cooled with a clip fan or something like smaller HIDs can, but it makes sense now. It’s all about dat junction.
Please note I’m not trying to shill for this company, I have no clue who they are lol.
I’d like to point out… Increasing light output and extending LED lifetime…
This is again the thinking that running them AT MAXIMUM output is wise…
At test current (which I read as 100%) they don’t require a heatsink (EB strips)
but when you run them at max current (200%) the heat does need managed.
When you start adding up heatsinks is it cheaper than adding more strips?
This isn’t aimed at SolStrips in any way… just that heatsink needs to be right
for the output… lower current - smaller heatsinks - more strips
Test currents are often at the optimum efficiency levels for a given LED diode, which makes the manufacturer look good, but does not factor in acquisition or design costs at all. Efficiency is an important metric for sure, but its not the only metric to consider. You can always buy more diodes spread across larger and larger PCBs, run them at 40% of maximum load and get the very highest efficiencies possible - but on a cost/benefit analysis basis you may not see a return on the extra investment in diodes and PCBs for years, maybe a decade.
What kind of lights will be available 10 years from now? No one knows, but they will probably be better than today’s LEDs.
I think a better way to look at LED lighting is to design around a 70-80% of max operating load with some heatsinking. There you still get the benefit of the LED efficiency and the lower cost of simple extruded aluminum heatsinks vs expensive PCBs and diodes. A SolStrip X2 white strip costs $20. An X2 SolSink costs $10. With shipping, call it $12. The math is pretty easy.