Potential Parts for BIG DIY LED Lighting

[edwardchuajh]

Just to share here what I found on a site for people interested in doing much larger LED lightings DIY.

Cree XR-E Q5 Emitter on Premium Star (228LM at 1A)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394

These guys are like USD$4+ when you buy 10+ pieces, and they output a color temperature of 6500K (CCT), which should be ideal for plant growth. And each outputs typically 3W. Free shipping!

700mA 40V-68V Constant Current LED Driver (110V~240V AC Input)
http://www.bestofferbuy.com/700ma-40...ut-p-7626.html

The cheaper one at DX website is sold out, but I found another HK website, free shipping too!

Just stumbled upon this LED driver just today, if I have not bought my existing setup I'd have bought this This driver runs a minimum of 10 Cree LEDs up to a maximum of 17 Crees. That's an insane strip of LED light!



Running at 700mA the Crees should output about 200lumens per LED, if using 15 Crees that's a total of about 3000lumens! (~ 38W t5ho at 80lumens/watt) Or if you use wattage to compare, the LEDs output a total of 3W*15 = 45W. Have been looking for comparison to t5ho tubes, but not sure if these comparisons make any sense, esp wattage since LEDs are supposedly more efficient.

This interest of mine in LED lights was sparked by ervine on this forum, here is his post:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=59437

According to his calculations with a light meter, he concluded that his 3 Crees was giving a light output equivalent to 4 times of a 11w PL light. So a rough estimation I am drawing is that 15 Crees should give an equivalent of 5 * 4 * 11W PL = 220W PL! Plus with cheap $2 optics the LED light should be able to be focused all into the tank, making your plants very happy! Though I think all fauna will become blind.

After mounting the LEDs onto large heatsinks (should be cheap at SLT) and using the aluminium erector set mentioned somewhere else on this forum to make a rail, it should make a pretty cool LED light! and not as impossibly expensive too! (~ $75USD)

Last note: if I do start my new 3ft, I'm gonna do a 30 Crees setup and test its performance.

Right now, shall test with my 6 Cree setup

[Wackytpt]

nice information.

Want to help give it a try on my 3ft tank. haha...

[edwardchuajh]

wah you so fast.. camping forum ah? was about to come back and update some more information =)

LOL anyway seriously, after I try out my 6-Cree light for 1.5ft tank and do some measurements I let you know again hehe.. Wouldn't mind helping you do up a 3ft light also, should be fun and can gain experience =)

Plus, you should have lobang for *ahem* engineering a more decent light rail or heatsink/stand right? haha

[Blue Whale]

^o^/ Support group is here! Remember to break down your material costs so we can also know the final costing for your 30 CREED Setup.

Here is one contact:
Continental Electronic Enterprise
10 Jalan Besar, #B1-25, Sim Lim Tower
Singapore 208787
Tel: 6293 4674, 6292 2032

Just above this shop there is another shop doing LED also. 1st shop after left door (after bank). You could call and ask first before going down.

[Wackytpt]

We can discuss it again.

I was thinking of doing as a night light strip for my tank.

Cheers

[edwardchuajh]

BlueWhale: Thanks!

Wacky: Hmm your night light is using white light not blue light? I think night light a bunch of the super bright blue LEDs at $1+ a piece running of an old handphone charger (or any charger) will be able to work =)

[bezz]

I bought 18 cree XPE from www.cutter.com.au for my marine tank setup. You may want to check out their XPG which is 30% brighter than XRE and much more efficient (consume less electricity).

I will be following your thread with interest

[edwardchuajh]

Thanks bezz! (sadly my previous post poofed, have to retype =P )

I just checked them out and they look really promising =) But they can take up to 1500mA of current, so one might need to start looking for another LED driver to use them more efficiently. And the light output is sick! 132lumens/watt! XRE is only around 60-70.

May I ask if the 18 Crees you bought were individual LEDs which you DIY'ed and mounted yourself for the marine setup? Quite interested to know of your experience =)

Lastly, I intend to keep this thread as one to share parts that will be useful for people looking to DIY LED lights, will start another one to document my own 6-Cree setup. If possible I think I might make it into a tutorial to share the knowledge since I learnt quite a bit and will be useful for the rest =)

[eddy planer]

Edward

can you check your power supply means sure is 12 v DC. I believe the LED light which delivery to you, must come with power supply adapter.

I'm also pending to purchase them, about 18 Luxeon 5 Watt LED lights from Sim Lim where i had checked it out, this LED light's output of up to 120 lumens from single white emitter and is 2x brighter than MH and I were temporary blinded for 2 mins!

This Luxeon 5 watt LED light is a bit pricey for me as i have to purchase at least 18 LED light (DIY) for my 6 ft palu and my new project.

Edward please try to upload your LED light while you can.ok

[edwardchuajh]

Hi Eddy,

Didnt chat much with you that day during the outing =)

But back to the LED Lights, its always better to use the LEDs in series with a regulated constant current supply. rather than a fixed voltage DC supply.

I bought the LEDs and the supply separately, and the supply is a 0-24V 700mA constant current supply.


Since the Crees I am using is about 3.7V each, the supply can vary its voltage from 0-max 24V to provide a constant current of 700mA through the LEDs in series. Which means I can connect up to a max of 6 Crees to each driver I have. The above mentioned driver should be more applicable for you hehe.

And Luxeon is yet another often seen competitor to Crees, but I'm curious why it is 5W and yet only giving 132lumens.. perhaps lower current was running through it, I think the 5W Luxeon can output more. The 3W Crees I'm using is supposed to output ~200lumens at 700mA. Haha and yes, THEY BLIND PEOPLE momentarily please do not stare directly.

Oh, can is it possible me to PM me the price you got quoted? and is it 18 single LEDs or are they sold as a lightset? I didnt seem to be able to find anything bigger than an unknown 1W LED. I personally feel 5W LEDs a bit too pricey right now, as compared to buying more 3W LEDs.

And yes! I want to upload asap also.. now I everyday checking if my package is arriving =) =)

[tawauboy]

.... The 3W Crees I'm using is supposed to output ~200lumens at 700mA. .......

at 700ma, the most you'll get will be about 170 lumens. the light output does not increase linearly with drive current.

and for cree xr-e, the light output ranges from 80~107 lumens; divided into 5 binnings or brightness groups. so you may not get all leds that can output 107 lumens at 350ma drive current.

seoul semiconductor leds from p4 range is another led that can be considered. these p4 use cree dies but have different packaging.

[edwardchuajh]

Hi tawauboy,

Yep, I havent read the datasheet for the Cree regarding lumen output at 700mA, but I think 170lumens sounds right.

But regarding bins I'm getting the Q5 bins which is the one with the highest lumen output for the XR-E.

Let me update my post with data from the datasheet =)

[edwardchuajh]

Ok from what I gather the Q5s output 107lumens at 350mA from the datasheet, and 228lumens at 1000mA from the website (dealextreme)

thx tawauboy for the clarification

and I checked the Seoul LEDs already, they're monsters which run at 2800mA for an insane amount at light. I think 2.8A of current quite scary for DIY :P

I got links for the Seoul LEDs and respective driver at dealextreme. Let me post them when I get home

[tawauboy]

that is p7 and has 4 dies connected in parallel in a single package. it's similar to having 4x 3w leds. saves space.
the down side is heat and the need to use thicker wires to minimize power loss.

for 3w, you should be looking at p4.

[edwardchuajh]

Ahhh ok now I get why the P7s uses such high current.

Maybe I can collate a list of potential LEDs from diff makers like Cree, Seoul, Luxeon etc and table the data to show which are the ones more suitable for plants

[Blue Whale]

>"< Just for background information, Edward is currently studying in U. Hence he is taking his spare time to do this LED Lightings. Please keep in mind of costing too. If the light come out with a great result with minimum costing, it could be a model of the rest. But when the rest tries diying, you could upgrade as needed or intended.

[felix_fx2]

edward and eddy.

next time we all meet up, teach me a thing or 2 about LEDs.
I have zero clue to how to build them.

[tawauboy]

.....
Maybe I can collate a list of potential LEDs from diff makers like Cree, Seoul, Luxeon etc and table the data to show which are the ones more suitable for plants

you can add osram to the list. look at goldendragon+ and ostar (4 or 6 dies).

i doubt you can deduce which leds are more suitable for plants by looking at their datasheets. the white leds are blue leds with a yellow phosphor coating. through colour mixing, we get a white light. so white leds emits predominantly blue light wavelengths with a smaller emission at visible light wavelengths.

[eddy planer]

Thomas,

Its seems you know about LED light..

Can you please recommend us the suitable bright LED light to prevent disappointed performance?

[edwardchuajh]

Well the Crees have been known on other forums to be tried and tested for plant growth, which is why I'm going for them rather than others.

In the datasheets the CCT is usually mentioned, so I'd pick a LED which outputs in the 6500-8000K range. Isn't that how we choose which flourescent light is more suitable for plant growth too?

And felix, haha I can share what I know, but it's all mainly online knowledge. So will not be professional knowledge heh. But you're more than welcome to try! Then can have one more person to share experiences lol and making your own light is pretty fun too