What led strips to consider in 2024?

I’m wanting to build a new led light and am curious what brand and style of strips you guys would consider buying at current times with focus on reasonable price? The last led light I built was based on bridgelux gen 2 strips @3500k. Are the bridgelux gen3 strips doing well for you guys or are samsung doing better right now? Is 3500k still the preferred color temp? Also, last driver was a HLG but it seems like some of you are using the XLG ones. Isn’t the difference constant current vs constant power? If so what’s the pros and cons?

Heat sinks, I asked this topic before and some of you guys don’t run heatsinks…at least on the bridgelux strips. I used flatbar on the last one but I’d rather not waste money if it’s not necessary. Sinking is suppose to run the led cooler which gives you better color accuracy and extend the life from what I remember. For those that are not running sinks how have your strips fared long term and how do you support them, can you provide a pic or example?

Here's the one I built last with flat bar.

I've used bridglux gen 2, Seoul, and lm561 Samsungs, the lm561 builds have by far put out the most light per watt, not even comparable. 500 watts on a 4x4 build is giving me 900ppfd. bridgelux gen 2's not even close, the Seouls aren't bad but still a bit less efficient.. heat sinks not needed unless you're trying to drive them hard, which makes them less efficient, I always buy the cheapest and lightest aluminum angle or u I can find and use it for mounting purposes, and just use heat tape.

So, you do or don't use heat sinks? It sounded like you were saying you don't use them but then said something about angle iron and heat tape which is what I used. When people say ..."you don't have to use heat sinks unless you drive them hard" ...what is hard vs not hard? For example, lets say a strip can push out 50W at full 100% drive power...would driving said strip at 25W being consider soft or 35W etc? Do the manufactures put out a reference of when a heat sink is needed on their strips based on % of drive power? I understand what your saying, more strips at a lower drive current but what current is considered acceptable when not using sinks? Hope I'm making sense.

Well I guess technically they are heat sinks since they’re aluminum and heat taped, I only use them for mounting purposes. An L angle or u doesn’t offer a whole lot more heat dissipation over a bare strip. As for driving hard or soft I drive 4’ strips at 50 watts or less. I have bare quantum boards that are driven at up to 75 watts and they’re only warm. The strips rated power isn’t going to matter a whole lot, it comes down to surface area of the board/strip, watts per square unit of area. Efficiency would also come into play on a very small scale..

I've 3x these kind of bigger lights with 2 of them with 10strips and 1 with 8strips.
Got also some smaller ones built.
First season I used 'em I had half of that so 5 and for 4 strips.
20v 2800mA full power on 5strips version ran a tad hotter than I liked.
Didn't measure temp, but couldn't keep a finger on them for long.
So doubled the amount of strips and max current is now per strip 1400mA.
Now I'm quite happy with end results, they run pretty cool.

While running them cool you increase efficiency and amount of light they produce, not too much tho.
But the added longevity is a bigger deal.

Also the strips are glued to the aluminium with regular computer thermal paste in the middle.
And the strips are samsung LM301B and H's
The light in picture is run by 320W meanwell and max light power 280W

Yes, those are heat sinks..good ones to. I used aluminum flat bar with thermal tape.

Below is a pic of my old light.

Anyways, some people are saying they don't use any sinks so I'm like how are you mounting them? In your case you are using heat sinks. Where did you src that from as flat bar is gone up in price?

taproot said:

Yes, those are heat sinks..good ones to. I used aluminum flat bar with thermal tape.

Below is a pic of my old light.

Anyways, some people are saying they don't use any sinks so I'm like how are you mounting them? In your case you are using heat sinks. Where did you src that from as flat bar is gone up in price?

Click to expand...

I'm from Finland so the prices probably don't apply too well.
Have you thought of doing some kind of casing? Mount the strips into a sheet of aluminium, make lid for the casing and attach a small pc fan to pull the air from the gaps.
I reckon these will last decades, so I gave more thought for light distribution, passive cooling and longevity. I don't mind the few extra moles either.
I suppose if you could find some workable pieces of recycled aluminium you could get a bargain.

cage said:

I'm from Finland so the prices probably don't apply too well.
Have you thought of doing some kind of casing? Mount the strips into a sheet of aluminium, make lid for the casing and attach a small pc fan to pull the air from the gaps.
I reckon these will last decades, so I gave more thought for light distribution, passive cooling and longevity. I don't mind the few extra moles either.
I suppose if you could find some workable pieces of recycled aluminium you could get a bargain.

Click to expand...

Yes sir, I thought about using a sheet. Fact is ..I don't mind building it like I did the other one. It's just I keep hearing from a few people that heat sinks are not required if you run then soft..thus I'm trying to validate it and quantify what soft is from a mathematical / electrical standpoint.

I'm still interested from the led experts what are good strips here in 2024. And, what color spectrum people are using now etc. I've not been active for a few years so I'm just checking in on things. Are folks like the bridgelux gen3 or samsungs or what?

I think the samsungs are best in the biz now. Then it depends on the price.
There was bridgeluxes available where I bought my samsungs, but they really weren't on the same level with uMol/joule efficiency.
Below is chart taken from led-tech.de for 98x samsung LM301B 3500k strip.
Hope this gives an idea how the efficiencies move around.





And here chart for diode temperature

cage said:

I think the samsungs are best in the biz now. Then it depends on the price.
There was bridgeluxes available where I bought my samsungs, but they really weren't on the same level with uMol/joule efficiency.
Below is chart taken from led-tech.de for 98x samsung LM301B 3500k strip.
Hope this gives an idea how the efficiencies move around.


View attachment 5395035


And here chart for diode temperature
View attachment 5395037

Click to expand...

Fwiw, those values are really close to bridgelux gen3, at least on low power.

OP: id rec checking out growlights Australia and cutter electronics if you want some more "growy" alternatives but prices go up a bit.

Rocket Soul said:

Fwiw, those values are really close to bridgelux gen3, at least on low power.

OP: id rec checking out growlights Australia and cutter electronics if you want some more "growy" alternatives but prices go up a bit.

Click to expand...

Bridgelux gen2 did me pretty good and those lights from the specialty makers are just too pricey. I figured I'd go with bridgelux or samsung but wanted the best strip for the money here in 2024. What I want to do is add on some strips with 660nm and some UV to try and get closer to what my CMH gave me in quality.

taproot said:

Bridgelux gen2 did me pretty good and those lights from the specialty makers are just too pricey. I figured I'd go with bridgelux or samsung but wanted the best strip for the money here in 2024. What I want to do is add on some strips with 660nm and some UV to try and get closer to what my CMH gave me in quality.

Click to expand...

Ive worked with blux ebs slim version; didnt like them very much to work with but it was the only way for me to get reasonably efficient 90cri from one of the major dealers. My issue with the slims; they are quite flimsy and have very little pcb to them. My second issue with these is the low watts per strip; loads and loads of connections, just too awkward for me; 16x 2 footers per 2x2.

Also, what happened to the old light? Why not juice it up with reds and uv since you already got the white midpowers?

Rocket Soul said:

Also, what happened to the old light? Why not juice it up with reds and uv since you already got the white midpowers?

Click to expand...

I might juice it up but it already has a spot, I have a new spot and wanted to build a new light. There's not anybody that sells reds, assuming you're speaking of 660nm, and UV only strips for a very reasonable price is there? Cutter is the only one I'm aware of and they are pricey. My option then is to get the cree leds and build something. Any reds and uv leds for diy you recommend?

ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/#more-2416

this is good info.

taproot said:

Yes sir, I thought about using a sheet. Fact is ..I don't mind building it like I did the other one. It's just I keep hearing from a few people that heat sinks are not required if you run then soft..thus I'm trying to validate it and quantify what soft is from a mathematical / electrical standpoint.

I'm still interested from the led experts what are good strips here in 2024. And, what color spectrum people are using now etc. I've not been active for a few years so I'm just checking in on things. Are folks like the bridgelux gen3 or samsungs or what?

Click to expand...

Thought I sorta gave some insight on this? Best bang for your buck is lm561c strips. Color spectrum 3000k always. I Use these in big rooms not tents bro lol.

taproot said:

I might juice it up but it already has a spot, I have a new spot and wanted to build a new light. There's not anybody that sells reds, assuming you're speaking of 660nm, and UV only strips for a very reasonable price is there? Cutter is the only one I'm aware of and they are pricey. My option then is to get the cree leds and build something. Any reds and uv leds for diy you recommend?

Click to expand...

The sticker price is somewhat confusing since its aussie dollars (much lower exchange rate than US$) and the price also includes 10% state tax which would be deducted at international sales.
Cutter also used to do discounts to first time buyers and have a FORUM10 discount code for another 10% discount.



For GLA: yes, they are somewhat pricey, more than the cutter strips, but they can safely be run at 50-60w each, they also come with the same tax/forum discounts. They are also excellent guys, used to sell here on the forum.

I would urge you to do the numbers with this in mind and figure out the price properly in euros ( assuming youre eu region); the actual price difference is a lot less than you would think. And if you factor in the costs of adding reds and uv it narrows even more, also having your monos integrated in your strips makes for a much more tidy build rather than adding monos separately; the soldering is alright, you learn very quick, but having all the wires around your strips is a bit of a pain.

I built a lot of different flower lights for buddies and some of my absolute favorites where cutter / GLA sourced: i
We got one running with 2700k 90cri + 660 + 400/365nm and one with GLA strips (they already include 660/730/405 in the base spectrum). They both flower very similar and both seem to give a superior product than just base white (though yield is quite similar). All my friends choose this bud over plain white grown in blind tests, you can smell and feel the difference. Yes, it does cost a little more per tray but i feel the difference is so small if you spread it out over several flower runs tat its very worth it.

As for sourcing monos: strips are a bit hard to find, ive used kingbrite a few times with no complaints, they can also make custom for you.
I would also encourage you to look at just sourcing ledstars and soldering depending on how many you want to run as long as you have planned for wiring.

Edit: theres also led-tech.de for monos but they tend to be expensive.

nxsov180db said:

Thought I sorta gave some insight on this? Best bang for your buck is lm561c strips. Color spectrum 3000k always. I Use these in big rooms not tents bro lol.

Click to expand...

When you keep saying 561c strips...hard to read when a person knows what is an actual 561c based model. That's not a model of strip at all. Multiple samsung strip models at the time used 561c's. Not just the F-series that you are probably attempting to reference.

With that said, 561's are freakishly old at this point, the worst reliability of any of the midpowers, and the lowest efficacy. Also high priced per diode than a better 2835.
As to why you may have liked them better...that have more diodes...not what diode are used.

You want to add anything for real here...actually state the strip model used. ‍

If I was looking for the best bang for the buck strip, or even the full out best srtip, I would be looking outside of the LED manufacturers and start looking at local CM's(contract manufacturers). Adura is a big name you probably recognize

But there are CM's in every local market. Adura, lumasmart, luxtech, WCI, Fozlux, New Energy, creative lumens... the list goes on. And they all make boards as good or better than Sammy or others.

How are the 301H and LM281B+ diodes. Abay has some decent deals.

Some top end sammy strip options in stock right now...

Horticulture strips... 301H EVO's so lower 437nm blue spike instead of 450nm like normal.

H-influx strips- L09 = 16S x 8P using 301B evo's.

Can't find any of the newer K series in stock yet, but they should be a really competitive value series to look at. 256 281B+PRO's.