480 watt wiring

[The Grass Baas]

Hello there grow bro’s and ladies (could’ve used the word rhyming with bros but a bit rude)

I sat here typing out a massive questionnaire on how I would go about wiring a setup etc etc.

Basically I’m in need of a better wiring setup than the one that is currently being recommended.

Long story short, I’ve decided to build my own 480 watt led light with bridgelux EB gen 2 strips. The driver that is recommended in the build is one of those that splits its power into 2. So.....basically the build is of 12 strips. I’m wondering if anyone knows of any better wiring options than this. It seems as if there would be way too many wires involved. I’ve decided to take the 12 strips and mount them in pairs of 2 next to one another giving me 6 bars in total. (This is a build I found on LED gardener). So if I have 6 sets of strips am I able to join the pairs together via a series network or does each one have to be done individually as shown in the picture I will attach?

 
 So I am not the best artist or electrician, as you can see. I’ve made a drawing of what I have in mind. Since the strips will be in sets of 2, am I able to join those sets together instead of having its own line from the driver but rather from the buddy just next to him on the same bar? Literally a small wire connecting each pair ( in my exceptional sketch it’s the little red and black wires connecting the pairs of strips).

Hope I’ve made some sense. 

Any other recommendations will be appreciated. I’m basically looking for the most economic wiring (not financially but space wise)

Dankie

[PsyCLown]

I'd personally prefer to wire it up in the below picture with the Meanwell drivers and waco connectors.

 

However if the LED strips allow you to "daisy chain" them, then I'd say do that if you want it to be neat.

 

 

EDIT: In the first picture you're going to have to fit 2x wires inside the connector which will be a bit challenging if you are using 1mm or 1.5mm cable.

 

 

EDIT 2: This is the daisy chain type of wiring I am talking about.

I am not a fan of it, but if the strips allow it, then it will be the neater way to wire them. I have wired up multiple Quantum Boards like this before when I needed to get them installed and working quickly and by using as little cable as possible.

Edited January 20, 2021 by PsyCLown

[The Grass Baas]

I'd personally prefer to wire it up in the below picture with the Meanwell drivers and waco connectors.
 
However if the LED strips allow you to "daisy chain" them, then I'd say do that if you want it to be neat.
 
 
EDIT: In the first picture you're going to have to fit 2x wires inside the connector which will be a bit challenging if you are using 1mm or 1.5mm cable.
 
 
EDIT 2: This is the daisy chain type of wiring I am talking about.
I am not a fan of it, but if the strips allow it, then it will be the neater way to wire them. I have wired up multiple Quantum Boards like this before when I needed to get them installed and working quickly and by using as little cable as possible.

Hey man.

Thanks for the response. Daisy chain is the word I think I was looking for. Isn’t that pretty much what they call a series. Have a careful look, you’ll see the driver has 2 outputs. This allows for more amps if I’m not mistaken. Therefore I can use smaller wires. I think.

PS. My drawing skills are still better than yours


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[PsyCLown]

1 hour ago, The Grass Baas said:

Hey man.

Thanks for the response. Daisy chain is the word I think I was looking for. Isn’t that pretty much what they call a series. Have a careful look, you’ll see the driver has 2 outputs. This allows for more amps if I’m not mistaken. Therefore I can use smaller wires. I think.

PS. My drawing skills are still better than yours


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Sort of but not quite, typically series would increase the voltage - however when they're being daisy chained the voltage should remain the same. The Meanwell drivers we use are constant voltage and become constant current if you try push them past their limits.

 

I have not seen a Meanwell HLG driver with dual outputs, can you post a link to your specific driver? Having dual outputs with exact same voltage - in theory you should be able to connect them together and then get the combined current (parallel), I know you can do this with PC ATX power supplies and it is commonly done if you use one to try get a nice 12v power supply to power a car amp or whatever else. The black is typically ground, yellow is +12v

 

Yea, your drawing skills are a bit better. I do not claim to be an artist of sorts, you do not want to see me try and draw. lol

Figured the image would suffice to help you understand what I was trying to explain.

[The Grass Baas]

Sort of but not quite, typically series would increase the voltage - however when they're being daisy chained the voltage should remain the same. The Meanwell drivers we use are constant voltage and become constant current if you try push them past their limits.
 
I have not seen a Meanwell HLG driver with dual outputs, can you post a link to your specific driver? Having dual outputs with exact same voltage - in theory you should be able to connect them together and then get the combined current (parallel), I know you can do this with PC ATX power supplies and it is commonly done if you use one to try get a nice 12v power supply to power a car amp or whatever else. The black is typically ground, yellow is +12v
 
Yea, your drawing skills are a bit better. I do not claim to be an artist of sorts, you do not want to see me try and draw. lol
Figured the image would suffice to help you understand what I was trying to explain.

Hey man.

Here’s the link.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/mean-well-usa-inc/HLG-480H-42A/7704115

Honestly don’t know if this link is going to work.

As far as I understand the driver has 2 separate outputs so I think it’s recommended to use the two. There’s also 2 adjustment dials. I think they both adjust something different. Lol. I know sooooo much about this shit. I think this driver still puts out 12 amp but in 2 outputs. So it’s still 12 amps each splitting the current but also keeping it at 12amps each and not dividing it to 6amp each .

I feel like I understand this...maybe.

If you look at the original diagram which is found on LED gardeners website, it’s puts 6 strips on one out put and 6 strips on the other.

Thanks again for the help


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[PsyCLown]

10 hours ago, The Grass Baas said:

Hey man.

Here’s the link.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/mean-well-usa-inc/HLG-480H-42A/7704115

Honestly don’t know if this link is going to work.

As far as I understand the driver has 2 separate outputs so I think it’s recommended to use the two. There’s also 2 adjustment dials. I think they both adjust something different. Lol. I know sooooo much about this shit. I think this driver still puts out 12 amp but in 2 outputs. So it’s still 12 amps each splitting the current but also keeping it at 12amps each and not dividing it to 6amp each .

I feel like I understand this...maybe.

If you look at the original diagram which is found on LED gardeners website, it’s puts 6 strips on one out put and 6 strips on the other.

Thanks again for the help


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I see, anything below 48v has the dual outputs. Never used any Meanwell LED drivers below 48v, only their LRS range at 36v.

Does it not state the output on the driver itself?

I think you are right though, that they are dual output but both outputs are capable of delivering the full current - that would make the most sense to me.

I see Meanwell use 1mm cable, so they may have added two output for one to split the load between the cables for safety. The lower the voltage, the higher the current for the same watts therefore the dual outputs on the lower voltage versions.

 

The two built in potentiometers are likely io (Current adjustment) and vo (Voltage adjustment) - this is normal on the A and AB Meanwell HLG drivers.

[The Grass Baas]

I see, anything below 48v has the dual outputs. Never used any Meanwell LED drivers below 48v, only their LRS range at 36v.
Does it not state the output on the driver itself?
I think you are right though, that they are dual output but both outputs are capable of delivering the full current - that would make the most sense to me.
I see Meanwell use 1mm cable, so they may have added two output for one to split the load between the cables for safety. The lower the voltage, the higher the current for the same watts therefore the dual outputs on the lower voltage versions.
 
The two built in potentiometers are likely io (Current adjustment) and vo (Voltage adjustment) - this is normal on the A and AB Meanwell HLG drivers.

Dude Yes!!!!!!!!! Totally on the same page. That is exactly how I understand it. I think it is a safety thing since you won't be sending one load down one wire. Lol. Agreed on the potentiometers aswell.

So now I'm trying to figure out what would be the best way to wire them up.

Thanks again

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[PsyCLown]

6 minutes ago, The Grass Baas said:

Dude Yes!!!!!!!!! Totally on the same page. That is exactly how I understand it. I think it is a safety thing since you won't be sending one load down one wire. Lol. Agreed on the potentiometers aswell.

So now I'm trying to figure out what would be the best way to wire them up.

Thanks again

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

You could connect both positive wires and both negative wires together then daisy chain them for neatness.

 

Alternatively, this way will probably be the 2nd best option, also a bit of a daisy chain but not to the same extent as what I posted and both outputs can be used without joining them together so wire thickness isn't as much of a concern then.

 

[Stefan]

How long is each strip? I’m interested in this design and may use it as a blueprint for me one day.
 

I was thinking if you ran the lights in this configuration (my picture below) then it can be neatly wired and Daisy chained. 

I left a big gap in between left and right side merely for illustration purposes. The driver can sit on the two mounting beams in which the wire can neatly run without too much exposure 

Also I think you mentioned you have two dimmers on the driver so this way you’ll be able to dim one side of the light if you running different strains or plants at different stages 

[The Grass Baas]

How long is each strip? I’m interested in this design and may use it as a blueprint for me one day.
 
I was thinking if you ran the lights in this configuration (my picture below) then it can be neatly wired and Daisy chained. 

I left a big gap in between left and right side merely for illustration purposes. The driver can sit on the two mounting beams in which the wire can neatly run without too much exposure 
Also I think you mentioned you have two dimmers on the driver so this way you’ll be able to dim one side of the light if you running different strains or plants at different stages 

Hey man.

Thanks for the input. I'm sure this will help me alot.

Each strip is 1120mm long. This specific model comes in 4ft, 2ft and 1ft strips. Obviously I have the 4ft.

I don't know if those two potentiometers actually adjust each output. If I'm not mistaken; one does constant voltage and the other constant current. Not left and right output.

The idea of splitting the way you did in your perfectly drawn diagram is definitely an option. I've had to look around and ask some electricians about this as I'm not 100% sure which options I have. Still trying to figure out what impacts what when wiring up different ways.

This build so far is working out great. Still trying to source some good aluminium heatsink. I've settled for aluminium flat bar but have gone abit thicker than normal. Hopefully this helps with the heat dissipation...

If you're interested in builds like these, head over to a website called LEDgardener.com. It's great and helps alot. I would suggest starting off with going to the "Builds" tab and on the next page (you can go to older posts at the bottom of the page) you will find at the bottom of the page an article on strip builds. It has all the info you need there once you know how to navigate.

Good luck

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[PsyCLown]

12 minutes ago, The Grass Baas said:

I don't know if those two potentiometers actually adjust each output. If I'm not mistaken; one does constant voltage and the other constant current. Not left and right output.
 

I am very certain it is one for voltage and one for current, so you cannot dim the two outputs separately unfortunately.

 

13 minutes ago, The Grass Baas said:

This build so far is working out great. Still trying to source some good aluminium heatsink. I've settled for aluminium flat bar but have gone abit thicker than normal. Hopefully this helps with the heat dissipation...
 

If heat is a problem, a fan work otherwise right angle alu to make a fin of sorts and a larger surface area to help dissipate the heat.

Pitty you didn't plan on building this sooner as I threw out some amazing aluminium extrusion which was really beefy and would have been ideal for such a build. I actually used the aluminium for my build with the Bridgelux EB2 LED strips. Had some left over and nobody on the forum wanted it and I was tired of storing it so it just chucked out, bit of a waste but too late now unfortunately.

 

I ended up selling the light (was 4x 1.1m strips running off an LRS driver) as I prefer the Quantum Boards and the LM301B diodes are more efficient as well and the form factor just works better for me.