4x4 lighting

Howdy gents, Looking into a new light for a 4x4 area. Pretty inexperienced with what is currently on the market and was wondering what advice you guys have to offer. Being just a "Hobby" grower I have checked out the HLG 550 V2 ECO, what else should I be comparing it to? I'm not opposed to some DIY, but I have no idea what I am looking at/for when it comes to building something similar. Any suggestions are welcomed!

im in the same boat thinking diy would be the way to go the led portion of the site is awesome for diy good luck with your search.

6 qb96 elite v2's on two hlg-320h-54a drivers, three boards per driver wired in parallel. You'll have to do the wiring and either build a frame, or hang the lights individually, but you'll have a killer light. You could also go with just 4 qb96's on those two drivers, but the extra two boards are worth it.

Let us delve slightly deeper, into the abyss!

4x4 tent? Open area? Are the ambient conditions in the general area stable?
Sufficient lighting is a major factor, but without at least marginal control of the other environmental factors, lighting selection has diminished relavance.

Fluffy Butt said:

6 qb96 elite v2's on two hlg-320h-54a drivers, three boards per driver wired in parallel. You'll have to do the wiring and either build a frame, or hang the lights individually, but you'll have a killer light. You could also go with just 4 qb96's on those two drivers, but the extra two boards are worth it.

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Speak Engrish dammnit!

I'm happy with my hlg 550 but I feel like a 4x4 area is hard to cover since the light diminishes at the edges and the board is kinda small. but everything it is hitting is really dank

Fluffy Butt said:

6 qb96 elite v2's on two hlg-320h-54a drivers, three boards per driver wired in parallel. You'll have to do the wiring and either build a frame, or hang the lights individually, but you'll have a killer light. You could also go with just 4 qb96's on those two drivers, but the extra two boards are worth it.

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I agree with this. The HLG Eco is all white LEDs with no added red, but the 96's have white, plus 630nm and 660nm reds.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Chip Green said:

Let us delve slightly deeper, into the abyss!

4x4 tent? Open area? Are the ambient conditions in the general area stable?
Sufficient lighting is a major factor, but without at least marginal control of the other environmental factors, lighting selection has diminished relavance.

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Tent in a stable environment.

Fluffy Butt said:

6 qb96 elite v2's on two hlg-320h-54a drivers, three boards per driver wired in parallel. You'll have to do the wiring and either build a frame, or hang the lights individually, but you'll have a killer light. You could also go with just 4 qb96's on those two drivers, but the extra two boards are worth it.

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What kind of power draw would I be looking at with 6?

Around 700w with both drivers maxed out.

Fluffy Butt said:

killer light

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QB 96 Elites are outstanding.

Fluffy Butt said:

6 qb96 elite v2's on two hlg-320h-54a drivers, three boards per driver wired in parallel. You'll have to do the wiring and either build a frame, or hang the lights individually, but you'll have a killer light. You could also go with just 4 qb96's on those two drivers, but the extra two boards are worth it.

Click to expand...

Or even those 6 qb96 on 1 x 480 driver or 2x240 drivers. 40w per foot is a lot. It doesnt hurt to have extra juice, but with extra power comes the temptation to turn things up too far. Careful with over lighting, its one of the most popular noob mistakes.

And this is were I start to get confused, can any one explain what the different driver options accomplish? Is it better to run one 480 driver for all six, two 320h drivers for 3 etc or two 240 drivers for three? Do all three option accomplish the same thing? I am guessing that they will all run the boards at a different level of power? How does one decide which option is best?

I like the idea of one driver for all six due to only buying one driver and having to only mount one etc, but I don't know how much weight that holds over all.

As far as the drivers go, the first number is the wattage, second number is the voltage. You probably don't need the full 700w if you're in a tent without co2, so a 480h or two 240h's would be fine.

One driver for all six would make things easy, but two would allow you to run the two halves of the light at different power levels, which could be useful if you have strains with different flowering times or stretch.

Fluffy Butt said:

As far as the drivers go, the first number is the wattage, second number is the voltage. You probably don't need the full 700w if you're in a tent without co2, so a 480h or two 240h's would be fine.

One driver for all six would make things easy, but two would allow you to run the two halves of the light at different power levels, which could be useful if you have strains with different flowering times or stretch.

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Also with multiple drivers, if 1 driver malfunctions, you'll still have some light in your garden. Whereas if you only have 1 driver powering your whole light, and that malfunctions, you're SOL until you can get a replacement in (unless of course you keep a backup on hand like some people).

potpimp said:

Speak Engrish dammnit!

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I still get lost as I dream / plot out my upgrade in my 4x4.

I find cut / paste / google to be a good, but two edged tool. I search with one question and come back with five!

I never see people recommending qb132's... did I miss out on something here? Isn't the fascination with these new bar lights the fact that you have leds spread over a larger area? I can run my 132s within 10" of the tops without bleaching, I dont, but I can. Seems like the most effective setup for price vs power is 16 qb132 panels with 4 hlg-240h-c1750 drivers off ebay. 1000w if you want it, plenty of spread. Why am I alone in this haha?

Barristan Whitebeard said:

Also with multiple drivers, if 1 driver malfunctions, you'll still have some light in your garden. Whereas if you only have 1 driver powering your whole light, and that malfunctions, you're SOL until you can get a replacement in (unless of course you keep a backup on hand like some people).

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Multiple drivers also means you've got the ability to split them up if the grow space is ever expanded or redesigned and light relocation becomes a desire or necessity.

IrkinBollikans said:

I never see people recommending qb132's... did I miss out on something here? Isn't the fascination with these new bar lights the fact that you have leds spread over a larger area? I can run my 132s within 10" of the tops without bleaching, I dont, but I can. Seems like the most effective setup for price vs power is 16 qb132 panels with 4 hlg-240h-c1750 drivers off ebay. 1000w if you want it, plenty of spread. Why am I alone in this haha?

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you're not wrong. price vs power they are very nice. i think the reason is spectrum. many people are looking for either higher CRI whites or red light supplementation since 70 or 80 cri white leds like those in the 132 lack the red and far red found in other lights.

132s are nice and can be used to cheaply make a cieling of light very close to the canopy. different strokes for different folks. if the 132 was 3500k 90cri i'd make a light with em.