Changed my driver to double the power but light doesn’t seem any brighter?
- Thread starter SaHt420
- Start date
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
54a has voltage arjustment, 54ab is the one im unsure of since the datasheet is unclear.
The A-type dimming holes arent great since its hard to get any precision with them and also a bit flimsy and can break at times if youre not careful.
ANC
Well-Known Member
Digikey would be able to get a picker to check the part for you relating to the unclear bit on the datasheet.
I haven't checked the specific driver, but I know driver stocks in many models are low or 0 at the moment...
A good trick with digikey is to search with out the letters at the end... one of the search result will be something like 5 models of the driver
clicking on it sorts the data so say all the HLG 320H-54XX drivers are listed as well as stock and availability on one screen. then pick your poison from what is there... I am making lot of second selections lately because of this... (I have a small LED company)
SaHt420
Well-Known Member
Ok imma prolly just get the c2800 wire it in series after I talk to dude who runs one
SaHt420
Well-Known Member
Oh I plan to but I want two qb648s in this 3x3 at 300w. But I plan to put boards on all my drivers
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
Have you figured out hanging height versus plant height? And how much you lose to pot height? 150w diablos are very intense.
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
The A drivers have Io and Vo adjustment but the 320 AB drivers only have an Io dial. GLA has sold a lot of these over the years so I can confirm that is the case as I've seen and tested both models in the flesh (metal).
Personally, I see no real advantage to voltage limiting most LED panels as it's a tricky business. As soon as the temperature of the LEDs changes, the current also changes quite a lot (edit: assuming you are not ALSO current limiting – which you can do). It can be an advantage to limit maximum voltage as a way of also limiting the maximum current, but you can do this anyway with the Io dial. Removing the Vo dial removes one more thing that users can fark up if they don't know what they're doing. When dimming A drivers, we always recommend only adjusting the current dial.
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Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
You need to be careful with these Mean Well drivers because they ALL have greater current capacity than their ratings. The Mean Well test report shows the 54V driver range is up to 6.6A, even though it is only rated to 5.95A.
We've tested a lot of HLG-320H-48A and AB drivers over the years and the highest output I have seen from some batches is almost 390W, which is around 8A at 48.5V and well above even the Mean Well test report. Some batches have a higher capacity than others and there can be significant variation, from 360-390W on the same LED panels.
When you get the driver from the factrory, it will be set to its maximum rated current. However, there is always a little extra juice to be had by turning up the current dial.
If it were me, I would ask HLG how much current is the maximum advisable for those boards on those heatsinks in your country (you might live somewhere cold or hot – growroom ambient temperatures can affect heatsink performance as well as active cooling, such as blowing a fan over them).
Once you know the MAXIMUM, then choose a driver that will meet – but not exceed - that maximum. Don't look at the driver rating, look at the test report. That way, you cannot fark it up. Only choose a bigger driver if you know what you are doing so as not to exceed the maximum recommended rating. You can drive the LEDs at high currents if you actively cool the heatsinks.
This is the test report for the HLG-320H-54 series. Note the specs on the left-hand side and the actual output circled:
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
I hate to sounds like a broken record but . . .
1. Find your parameters first: maximum current per board based on your environment
2. Decide how much power you need based on your area (300W in a 3x3 is in the ballpark. It's probably the minimum you want for flowering, but you could go a little higher depending on the strain – as long as it doesn't exceed the recommended current for those boards)
3. Choose a driver based on the above.
If you have the answers to 1 and 2, we can help you with 3.
1. Find your parameters first: maximum current per board based on your environment
2. Decide how much power you need based on your area (300W in a 3x3 is in the ballpark. It's probably the minimum you want for flowering, but you could go a little higher depending on the strain – as long as it doesn't exceed the recommended current for those boards)
3. Choose a driver based on the above.
If you have the answers to 1 and 2, we can help you with 3.
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
Possibly. What some people here might be forgetting is that HLG also knows that Mean Well drivers punch above their weight, so when they make a driver recommendation they cover all bases by suggesting the driver that won't exceed their recommended current no matter how much you play with the current and voltage dials.
We do exactly the same (I'm affiliated with Grow Lights Australia, in case you were wondering).
Here is a 500W light: https://growlightsaustralia.com/product/high-light-420-gen2-470w/
We pair this light with a HLG-480H-54A or AB driver even though the LEDs only need around 48.5V at maximum current. We do this on purpose because we know that – no matter what you do to that driver – it will only ever output 9.8-9.9A, which is just below our 10A maximum. So there is no way for the customer to overcook the light. It's a failsafe.
You'll notice the same light comes in a 370W version which uses a HLG-320H-48A or AB driver. This driver will output, on average, over 7.5A – which does not exceed the 10A rating. Mean Well rates this driver at 6.7A at 48V (320W) but its test report shows it can go up to 7.675A and we have seen them go higher (as mentioned above).
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
Real-world info there. I'm guessing 331W at the wall is maxed out? 56V x 2 (112V) x 2.8A = 313.6W / 94% driver efficiency = 333.6W or thereabouts.
Seems to me the OP has his answer.
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
I only went with that driver for the voltage range since i was basically guessing, due to a lack of good info on the datasheet. So i guess your math could be used to find a driver appropriate for a parallel setup.
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
If it works for you, then swapping from parallel to series is not that hard. The main reason I prefer parallel is because it keeps voltages lower and is a bit safer. By my estimate, a HLG-320H-54A or AB (now that I've seen the Samsung datasheet) has the potential to pull 30-40W more than your C2800, but it can always be dimmed. Comes down to how much power the OP wants or needs.
ANC
Well-Known Member
This is my take too and was my final recommendation too... I agree the A-type drivers can out out a lot more juice.... normally get about 720W for a set of two. XLG series tends to be more like 330 to 335W.
We test all the drivers when we have batches... recently did a 24 light 320W driver based order.
SaHt420
Well-Known Member
Sweet setup imma grab the same driver