5050 SMD MicroHerb light

.......
A dear friend,music bar owner,asked me if I could build him a led light ,to put underneath the lowest shelf of bar ,so he could have some light ,during the night-working-hours ,so to see better behind the bar and during the morning hours ,to let the lights switched on ,so to grow some fresh , green ,leafy herbs ,that he uses in the drinks / coctails ( peppermint,mint ,stevia,ect .. ) .....

5050 smd leds ,are perfect for this kind of job ....

Some strips of 5050 modules ..(working directly at 12 Volts.. ).
Parallel connected on a "bus " power line...


A power unit from an old external HDD ....Capable of delivering up to 3 A.

..
And the building of a "dimming power regulator " ,based on a LM 137 power regulator ...

.........


A flip switch sets two "working levels " ....
"LOW " setting ,activates dimming control ...(for use as a dimmed bar "working" light ..)
From totally "off " ( 0 volts ) up to "max" (~9.9 volts ) ....

"HIGH" setting ,bypasses the dimming ,providing " max " power ..
(Still through LM 137 , set at ~ 9.9 Volts max ,instead of 12 V ..
For longer operational service life ... )

very nice!
i think that this is a very good idea for decoration even at home!
i'll think about it..

or for someone in a really small grow space ?


me gusta

System installed ...
My friend really liked the light ...
Now,he wants to see ,the "day performance " ....
It's growing abilities ....

System led config :
Each module has 4 5050 smd leds ( each led has 3x 20mA chips ...So each module ,in fact ,is something familiar like having 12 epoxy leds )

x48 modules ....( ~ 576 ordinary epoxy 20mA leds .....)

Mostly red & blue ..
(For tasty & aromatic herbs ..Along with small_compact size ,wanted .....)
And few CW & WW .....

It has worked in the past ...
Some out there ,might remember to what I'm referring to ......

Really nice project SDS! Viable commercially, even....

Nobody want to be the only bar in Hellas still serving old herbs in their cocktail.

stardustsailor said:

System installed ...
It has worked in the past ...
Some out there ,might remember to what I'm referring to ......

Click to expand...

your first led panel expirement grow...?

SDS, I want to build an under the cabinet herb light in our kitchen for my wife. I currently have red 5050s and cool white 5630s. Do you think these would suffice? I have some warm white 5630s on the way as well, but it'll be a few weeks. Any recommendations on ratios for savory herbs? Also, for density - how many LEDs per square foot of coverage.

caretak3r said:

SDS, I want to build an under the cabinet herb light in our kitchen for my wife. I currently have red 5050s and cool white 5630s. Do you think these would suffice? I have some warm white 5630s on the way as well, but it'll be a few weeks. Any recommendations on ratios for savory herbs? Also, for density - how many LEDs per square foot of coverage.

Click to expand...

What is it about starting to grow MJ that makes the wives put us to work growing veggies and herbs? My wife is also wanting me to set something up for herbs, etc., in the kitchen, under the top cabinets. She also wants me to get some veggies going. So, started researching, and luckily, found this thread (thanks for asking the question, caretak3r, and bumping this up).

Glad I found this thread, SDS, it's really inspiring and shows a lot of the versatility of the 5050 and other type strip LED lights.

caretak3r said:

SDS, I want to build an under the cabinet herb light in our kitchen for my wife. I currently have red 5050s and cool white 5630s. Do you think these would suffice? I have some warm white 5630s on the way as well, but it'll be a few weeks. Any recommendations on ratios for savory herbs? Also, for density - how many LEDs per square foot of coverage.

Click to expand...

Yes ....For small ,leafy plants ,Reds & CWs would be enough .... If you 'll have enough CW in relation with reds ( for example 1:1 ratio ..) ,the plants ,
will stay compact (wished characteristic for growing under kitchen shelf ) and full of aroma/taste (again wished ....) .
You do not opt for yields ,at this case ....
Some WW will help ,also ....
Experiment ,a bit ....
Nothing to lose ...

As for coverage per Sq.Ft .....> 40-60 x 5050 leds ,will do ...

markcogwell - I bought lights in 5M strips @ $15 each. I have a few different projects I'm working on. For this herb light, at SDS recommendation at 40-60 LEDs per square foot, that works out to $2-3 per foot for lights cost. If you don't need a dimmer, you're looking at ~$10-20 for a power supply or you can make use of one you have laying around.