DIY LED questions

Thought I would start a thread about DIY yourself build for those who are quite as tech savvy as the rest.

I have a few question about power supply and how to choose what drivers etc..

I would love to build my own lights even as supplemental at first then move to a bigger unit perhaps.

I have yet to find in my search on the web just how you work out what drivers you need.

Say you have 40 x 3W diodes... is there an equation you need to work out what would suit best?

I also live in a country that uses 240V... does this come into the equation...



thanks guys

Constant current drivers vary in value quite a bit, so in my designs I am basically designing the modules around the drivers that I want to use. For example these drivers are only $6 and have an efficiency of 88%. They run at about 630mA-650mA which is perfect for some of the best and cheapest LEDs available (Cree XM-L2, Cree XP-E2 reds, Luxeon ES).

Here is another cheap option, these run a bit harder 680-740mA, cost 2X and efficiency is 84% but I love them for driving Cree CXA3070s.

If you want to run COBs fasttech has 1A for $11 and 1.6A for $11. Meanwell offers similar currents for about $20 each.

The softer you drive them the higher the efficiency. Since we run our lights for long hours, electricity prices can be volatile and drivers/heatsinks are a significant cost, it pays to design toward high efficiency. Good luck!