Quick Driver Question
- Thread starter DukeFluke
- Start date
Theyre Bridgelux gen3 38v btw
One thing I can't get my head round is, if pushing the voltage of the driver to it's max gives me extra watts, how is the power limited by having a higher voltage driver than rated for the Strips? Is it a safety feature?
And if so, can I simply adjust the voltage down on the driver?
I'm asking because I can get a few of these 48v drivers quite cheap
One thing I can't get my head round is, if pushing the voltage of the driver to it's max gives me extra watts, how is the power limited by having a higher voltage driver than rated for the Strips? Is it a safety feature?
And if so, can I simply adjust the voltage down on the driver?
I'm asking because I can get a few of these 48v drivers quite cheap
Cheers dude, how much less are we talking about?
I mean, if I could get three drivers for the price of two otherwise, would it be a good investment?
7CardBud
Well-Known Member
Diodes need current to run and enough voltage to overcome the forward drop over the series of diodes. Watts law A=W/V, a higher voltage at a set wattage will yield less amps. So, for a certain fixed watt driver series, the current will be reduced as the volts increases.
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B type dimming needs 100k or higher for full power. Potentiometers (pots) can be below their rated spec due to manufacturing tolerances so many people add a 10K resistor in series.
Regarding the internal pots, I think it's only the HLG-320H-xx with A or AB dimming that has just one internal pot, for current.
It looks like max voltage can vary depending on the wattage of the driver. I've seen 38.5v and 40v max for 36v drivers in datasheet.
HLG-240H is 38.5v in datasheet, 39.3v in test report. I think a 36v driver with A or AB dimming and 40v max would be the best match. A little extra is needed to cover wire loss.
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Volts x Amps = Watts
The 48v driver is 10 amps so 38 volt strips x 10 amps = 380w
42v driver is 11.4a, 38v x 11.4a = 433w
36v driver is 13.3a, 38v x 13.3a = 505w
Thanks man. So, how come the 42v driver is recommended for the 38v strips?
Is it the case that with the 42v driver I can only get 433w from the 480?
7CardBud
Well-Known Member
I would get the 42A. Better to get a driver that will deliver 433 watts than a driver that might deliver 505 watts.
@1212ham also mentioned manufacturer tolerances. What happens if over time, on a some hot day the strips
now need 39.5volts to overcome forward drop? The 42A will have the extra voltage to compensate, will the 36A?
@1212ham also mentioned manufacturer tolerances. What happens if over time, on a some hot day the strips
now need 39.5volts to overcome forward drop? The 42A will have the extra voltage to compensate, will the 36A?
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
Hey Duke! The issue is also tied to whats your desired drive current: if you want to push 1050ma then go for a a 42. But remember that efficiency drops off very fast on those blux strips, over 10% from 700-1050 ma. Id try yo run them at softer, 500-700ma. Then you could either try 2x240-36A. Alternatively if you want to really able to max out lighting the you can go for 3x185h-36A: they go all the way up to +41V and push up to 5.9A. But if youre running these at max you want to have them fanned down as youd be running as far as you can over spec.
Learn how to check the meanwell web: google meanwell hlgXXX-XXA to find the model on the meanwell web, click and scroll down to "report" and download the pdf. Most of the important info is on the first page. This is the 185-36A
Learn how to check the meanwell web: google meanwell hlgXXX-XXA to find the model on the meanwell web, click and scroll down to "report" and download the pdf. Most of the important info is on the first page. This is the 185-36A
To zero in on this, we need to know the amps per strip, how many do you plan to use?
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Poorly worded, meant to ask how many strips? I'd suggest 20, or more.
I can use as many strips as necessary, I've got a load of 90cri 2700k to use and want a flower light that gives me about 500w
Thanks for that buddy. So, theoretically the 3 x 185s can do 740w based on those numbers?
The 480h-42A does 540 at max based on the test report, which is all I'll need tbh.
At 480w, I'd need 25 strips on the fixture to keep them around 500ma, have I worked that out right?
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
I wouldnt rec to keep them on full power cuase they arent speced for that wattage but yeah, about that. Youd probably need to use a number dividable by 3 for your strips, either 24 or 27 should do.
How come mate?
If there are 24 strips on the fixture, that's only 20w per strip. If I use 26 it's just18w. At nominal current on the data sheet they're at 26.8w
(I'm talking about the 112cm strips btw)
Thanks bud. What options do I have with the Blux strips doing it that way?
Rocket Soul
Well-Known Member
I meant the drivers. If you juice them up to 250w they are going to run over standard wattage and probably quite hot; theyre only ment to dissipate 200w thru the chassis.
If youre talking about the 4 foot strips youre well into efficient territory. 20 w on a 2 footer and efficiency is markedly down, especially on the slim version.
Remember the slim version has slightly dodgy connectors which dont work well with 1mm stranded. Not sure what AWG that would be