Why so small?

brotherjericho

Well-Known Member
Why do LED panel manufacturers try to shove so many diodes/chips into such a small space? I see this as the biggest weakness of LED panels: real effective coverage area.

If you put 60-80 3w chips into a 16 x 8 box, you are effectively creating not much more than that coverage area with 60 and 90 degree beam angles. Increase the beam angle and increase the coverage area, but lower the penetration.

So why not make bigger panels and spread the lights out more?
 

patrikantonius

Active Member
A small fixture is convenient for shipping purposes, I believe. But I totally agree with you, the bigger the better; and a bigger fixture can also provide the chips with better cooling. If I decide to build my panel I will size it as close as possible as my growing area.
 

Eraserhead

Well-Known Member
Just a little perspective of how big that light is....



If an LED panel is going to have big power, it needs to have big size.
 

The Dawg

Well-Known Member
WTF is an av.......and who makes that beast???^^^^^............I'm stoned so be nice.......:leaf:
An av Is A Typo I was Stoned When I Posted.I Was Informed That Area51 And Ferro Combined Forces To Make This Beast.Im Hoping To Get My Led Grow On In About A Week.:bigjoint:
 

Endur0xX

Well-Known Member
thats where they all come from anyway ... but it has lifetime warranty (on Fero's Website anyway) and if you buy it from FERO I don't think you would have to ship the light to China if you were to have problems.
 

Eraserhead

Well-Known Member
What up 'The Dawg?

I kinda figured av was a typo. :D

What strains were you running under the lights? The Power Skunk?

An av Is A Typo I was Stoned When I Posted.I Was Informed That Area51 And Ferro Combined Forces To Make This Beast.Im Hoping To Get My Led Grow On In About A Week.:bigjoint:
The AF-600 ships from the exact same place regardless if it is purchased from Fero of A51. For right now they will ship from China, eventually they will all ship either directly from Fero and/or Area 51. All warranty issues will be dealt with in N. America regardless which company the light is purchased from.

Guaranteed this light will not be found on Alibaba.






 

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
Just a little perspective of how big that light is....



If an LED panel is going to have big power, it needs to have big size.
So size does matter:) what are we looking at here 3w/5w???....Is it too early to talk about the cree/osram panel that's you said was in the making for this year??ha

An av Is A Typo I was Stoned When I Posted.I Was Informed That Area51 And Ferro Combined Forces To Make This Beast.Im Hoping To Get My Led Grow On In About A Week.:bigjoint:
Don't tell me your gonna be using this beast??........I have jealousy issues:bigjoint:

I almost came a little when I first saw that light... :D
I find that petite things with T&A are more up my alley..........I'm not judging ha



thats where they all come from anyway ... but it has lifetime warranty (on Fero's Website anyway) and if you buy it from FERO I don't think you would have to ship the light to China if you were to have problems.
True...................But mine came from the Netherlands, and yes it was plastered all over the box(doh!).....
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Eraser, can you please provide more details on big bertha there? Watts, 3w/5w?, coverage area, how many fans/what size, PAR readings, diode maker/bin, price, weight of the unit, any results of cannabis test runs, etc.?
thanks, it is a cool looking light
 

Eraserhead

Well-Known Member
I wish I had room to grow with that, I'm actually rocking the smaller one next to it, some experimental color mixes, seeing what ultra heavy on the natural white, and supplemental red and farred does. Looks good on paper. The 4260k (neutral) white I use has almost a perfect color balance and does put out a decent amount of light, when coupled with semi-narrow(er) lenses (I like the 80's the best as of right now-if they are in a large enough panel) it does emit some intense light. I'm trying those with supplemental colors between 640-670nm+730-740nm, then going to try again with added violet in the 410-435nm area.

The pic is from the LED diode manufacturers datasheet.

There is a 5w Cree XP-G / 5w LEdengin 660nm+740nm in the making right now, should be around in 6-8 weeks if all goes as planned. Planning on making it around the 175w area.

The big light above has mostly all 3w. The blue LEDs handle higher voltages, 4.5v and 1000mA (700mA constant current), so those have an absolute maximum rating of 4.5w, 3w constant power. The natural white handles 4v and 1000mA 700ma continuous, so 4w max, 3w continuous, and the reds are all 3v and 1000m, 3w. The farred is a double 2.4w chip, 2.4v and 1000mA Xs 2. 4.8w. Nothing gets powered even close to the maximum rating, everything is between 2.4-3.6v and 630mA. 1.51w for reds and the farreds, 2.26w for blues and whites. Each of the 6 120mm fans consumes 4.4w each. apx. 12-14% ac/dc conversion loss.

So size does matter:) what are we looking at here 3w/5w???....Is it too early to talk about the cree/osram panel that's you said was in the making for this year??ha


Don't tell me your gonna be using this beast??........I have jealousy issues:bigjoint:


I find that petite things with T&A are more up my alley..........I'm not judging ha

True...................But mine came from the Netherlands, and yes it was plastered all over the box(doh!).....
There is complete manufacturer PDF data sheets on both Fero's site and A51's for the LEDs. All parts # and bin selections are there as well. Full disclosure of exactly what the light is.

Expect a good amount of journals starting up using these in the next weeks. I'm giving a few away, plus doing a good discount for those willing to journal or do side by sides.
 

Gnomercy

Active Member
I think with LED's the biggest problem is penetration and also the reason why they try to pack so many diodes close together. Changing the angle is only going to make the depth of the light less in the lower area's of your plants where it is needed most. That is why they say 120 degree diodes are good for lighting signs and walls.
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all that info eraser! The only thing I would personally like to see now is how much the beast weighs and PAR readings taken at different heights using a quantum par meter. Not enough companies put that bit of info out, hint-hint.
 
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