LED Driver Questions

[Johnd651]

So I am playing with some LEDs and have decided to build a 4x4 configuration (4 strings of 4 leds each). The leds are listed as 5w, 6-7V, 600-700mA. Assuming the 4x4 configuration I was going to have 24V per string, and 2.4A for all strings. I was looking at a constant current PWM dimmable led driver, 24V, 2.5A. Would this work? Or should I look for higher voltage/current drivers?

 

[oreo54]

So I am playing with some LEDs and have decided to build a 4x4 configuration (4 strings of 4 leds each). The leds are listed as 5w, 6-7V, 600-700mA. Assuming the 4x4 configuration I was going to have 24V per string, and 2.4A for all strings. I was looking at a constant current PWM dimmable led driver, 24V, 2.5A. Would this work? Or should I look for higher voltage/current drivers?

First why the 4x 4 config?
This....
HLG-80H-C700(B or AB)
About $50

Could run all 12 w/ one driver and no complications. All leds in one string.
Voltage range 84-124V DC out 700mA constant current.
3 in 1 dimming 10v, 10v PWM, or a simple potentiometer.
Array is approx 78 watts (assuming 7V V(f) )

If you do the 4x4 each string gets 625mA , 70W total
(assuming 7V V(f) )
If strings fail "open" each remaining string sees more current.
833mA @ 3
1200mA @2 at which point it is likely to damage the remaining leds

Series/parallel is usually not considered the best method for high power constant current run leds.
Oh and unlikely a 24V max output driver will work to 100%
And CC drivers usually have a voltage range.. It's how they can control the current.

General reference..

Wiring LEDs Correctly: Series & Parallel Circuits Explained

Don't let electrical circuits and wiring LED components sound daunting or confusing - follow this post for an easy to understand guide!

www.ledsupply.com

If you want to go sort of "driverless" but cheap and easy..
Start with an lrs 75-24 Meanwell constant voltage caged frame power supply ($18). Voltage adj to 21.6-28.8V which will be very important in a minute.

LRS Mean Well Enclosed Switching Power Supplies

add 4 1/2 watt (double the recommended power handling) resistors, one for each string of 4
13x4 watts for the leds . 56Watts
1W waste heat..

Getting dimmers and controllers gets dirt cheap w/ constant voltage arrays in the 12-24 area.. Yea pushing the envelope at 26 volts.

Oh and it needs to be tested.. Increase or decrease Ohms to decrease or increase measured current draw.
Or increase or decrease voltage.

 

[Johnd651]

First why the 4x 4 config?
This....
HLG-80H-C700(B or AB)
About $50

Could run all 12 w/ one driver and no complications. All leds in one string.
Voltage range 84-124V DC out 700mA constant current.
3 in 1 dimming 10v, 10v PWM, or a simple potentiometer.
Array is approx 78 watts (assuming 7V V(f) )

If you do the 4x4 each string gets 625mA , 70W total
(assuming 7V V(f) )
If strings fail "open" each remaining string sees more current.
833mA @ 3
1200mA @2 at which point it is likely to damage the remaining leds

Series/parallel is usually not considered the best method for high power constant current run leds.
Oh and unlikely a 24V max output driver will work to 100%
And CC drivers usually have a voltage range.. It's how they can control the current.

General reference..

Wiring LEDs Correctly: Series & Parallel Circuits Explained

Don't let electrical circuits and wiring LED components sound daunting or confusing - follow this post for an easy to understand guide!

www.ledsupply.com

If you want to go sort of "driverless" but cheap and easy..
Start with an lrs 75-24 Meanwell constant voltage caged frame power supply ($18). Voltage adj to 21.6-28.8V which will be very important in a minute.

LRS Mean Well Enclosed Switching Power Supplies

add 4 1/2 watt (double the recommended power handling) resistors, one for each string of 4
13x4 watts for the leds . 56Watts
1W waste heat..

Getting dimmers and controllers gets dirt cheap w/ constant voltage arrays in the 12-24 area.. Yea pushing the envelope at 26 volts.

Oh and it needs to be tested.. Increase or decrease Ohms to decrease or increase measured current draw.
Or increase or decrease voltage.

This makes sense. I haven't looked at LED circuits or played with this type of stuff in years. I was originally thinking of an array to be able to control the color blend (405nm, 440nm, 460nm, and 10,000K). But I think based on some reading I will only want to control the on/off and ramp time, which i should be able to do using PWM with an Ardunio.

Thanks

Also, is there a guide to the different meanwell series drivers codes? I cant seem to find anything on google.

 

[oreo54]

This makes sense. I haven't looked at LED circuits or played with this type of stuff in years. I was originally thinking of an array to be able to control the color blend (405nm, 440nm, 460nm, and 10,000K). But I think based on some reading I will only want to control the on/off and ramp time, which i should be able to do using PWM with an Ardunio.

Thanks

Also, is there a guide to the different meanwell series drivers codes? I cant seem to find anything on google.

If you are going to use Arduino pwm I heartily suggest using Meanwell ldd's DC/DC drivers and a power supply


I don't know of any " comparison" table type thing.

Most AC/DC dimmable drivers are at least 10v analog. You add complexity since you need to " translate" the 5 ( 3.3V) pwm to 10v analog or 10v pwm.

 

[Johnd651]

If you are going to use Arduino pwm I heartily suggest using Meanwell ldd's DC/DC drivers and a power supply


I don't know of any " comparison" table type thing.

Most AC/DC dimmable drivers are at least 10v analog. You add complexity since you need to " translate" the 5 ( 3.3V) pwm to 10v analog or 10v pwm.

I wish the D series of HLG-80H-C700 was an in stock item and not custom order, since it has the timer built in. I'm not married to pwm, and this will be a sump light to test. I'm not married to ardunio, other options to automate ramp up and down?

 

[Johnd651]

Also if I get the 3 in 1 dimmable and decide 100% on, does it make a difference if i use potentiometer or resistor?

 

[oreo54]

Also if I get the 3 in 1 dimmable and decide 100% on, does it make a difference if i use potentiometer or resistor?

Well for manual dimming a fixed resistor ( for a fixed output) should be fine.
10k-100k range and only dims down to 10%
So you need a timer.

Plenty of options w 5v pwm
No so much w/ 10v.
Cheapest at $100 is ghl's product.

You can always convert pwm for like $5

Convert 0-100% PWM digital signal into analog signal, Input 0-100% PWM signal of 3.3V level, output 0-10V voltage.
Module Working voltage: 15-30V DC (power requirement of power supply: >100MA), PWM signal receiving frequency range: 100HZ-3KHZ (1-3KHZ is recommended).
Widely used in signal interface switching of PLC, single chip or other industrial control board.
Under the module size, easy to use in different places. Embedded microcontroller technology. Easy to operate, you can fine-tune the potentiometer.
Compact size, Model: 3.3P-5V, Input 0-100% PWM signal of 3.3V level, output 0-10V voltage, Insert the jump pin at 5V, the module is easy to use in different places.

Btw I never looked into the d series.
Did like that they added the ab series
My first lights used the Meanwell ac/DC drivers but soon discarded them to build w the Meanwell ldd drivers as did most diyers at the time except for large arrays and people with Apex and related controllers.
The smooth dim to off was a big part of that.
Then there was the flash.. :)

 

[oreo54]

Meanwell LDD driver: for those who want to dim to 0 using Arduino

This is a little test video I made using Meanwell LDD-1000H and Bridgelux BXRA-40E2200 Neutral White array: http://youtu.be/ek-nXz5Eltw The array itself is very powerful, so its not going to dim to moonlight brightness, but regular 3W LEDs do. They barely glow at 1/255 level. Enjoy!

forums.reefcentral.com

Have fun ..177 pages of history ..

 

[Johnd651]

Meanwell LDD driver: for those who want to dim to 0 using Arduino

This is a little test video I made using Meanwell LDD-1000H and Bridgelux BXRA-40E2200 Neutral White array: http://youtu.be/ek-nXz5Eltw The array itself is very powerful, so its not going to dim to moonlight brightness, but regular 3W LEDs do. They barely glow at 1/255 level. Enjoy!

forums.reefcentral.com

Have fun ..177 pages of history ..

I think I might just go with this off the shelf 0-10V Wifi/BLE controller.

Shelly Plus 0-10V Dimmer

0-10V DC smart dimming controller Designed to manage 0-10V dimming drivers, Shelly Plus 0-10V Dimmer offers precise dimming with remote control. It is retrofit and can be used with any regular switch you have at home.

us.shelly.com

 

[oreo54]

I think I might just go with this off the shelf 0-10V Wifi/BLE controller.

Shelly Plus 0-10V Dimmer

0-10V DC smart dimming controller Designed to manage 0-10V dimming drivers, Shelly Plus 0-10V Dimmer offers precise dimming with remote control. It is retrofit and can be used with any regular switch you have at home.

us.shelly.com

Yea got to admit I'm probably a bit behind on the current lineup.
And made in Bulgaria not China for a change.. :)

Looks to have a built in AC relay (ss?) as well.....

 

[Johnd651]

Yea got to admit I'm probably a bit behind on the current lineup.
And made in Bulgaria not China for a change.. :)

Looks to have a built in AC relay (ss?) as well.....

Finally... built and tested the light itself... now for the power.

 

[Johnd651]

Yea got to admit I'm probably a bit behind on the current lineup.
And made in Bulgaria not China for a change.. :)

Looks to have a built in AC relay (ss?) as well.....

The one thing that is killing me is a lot of the power supplies seem to go up to 54V. Since it is 10x 6-7V diodes, that limits me.

 

[oreo54]

The one thing that is killing me is a lot of the power supplies seem to go up to 54V. Since it is 10x 6-7V diodes, that limits me.

Not following you here.. The type of driver that uses 0-10v analog is usually a variable voltage-constant current driver..
In this case 54-90V DC out.. Keep in mind you also can't go under which is often the limiting factor.
If you ran the above 10 in series you just need a IDLC-45A-500.

Of course that creates a 30-35W light.
(6-7v) x .500

 

[Johnd651]

Not following you here.. The type of driver that uses 0-10v analog is usually a variable voltage-constant current driver..
In this case 54-90V DC out.. Keep in mind you also can't go under which is often the limiting factor.
If you ran the above 10 in series you just need a IDLC-45A-500.

Of course that creates a 30-35W light.
(6-7v) x .500

Yep, that's the issue. There's a lot of CC power supplies that have variable voltage, but only up to 54V.


They are 5W, 6-7V, 600-700mA diodes. I ended up building 10 in series, so I need something bigger then 50W, CC 700mA, capable of at least 60V.

Would that make this IDLC to small?

 

[oreo54]

Yep, that's the issue. There's a lot of CC power supplies that have variable voltage, but only up to 54V.


They are 5W, 6-7V, 600-700mA diodes. I ended up building 10 in series, so I need something bigger then 50W, CC 700mA, capable of at least 60V.

Would that make this IDLC to small?

I would not run those at their " listed" wattage....
Therefore the idlc driver is not too small.
Just make 2 for 70w approx total.

All those Chinese black boxes run 500 - 550mA. But they also have max dc voltages as high as 110v.
27 and 28 " 3w" (3.x volts each) leds in series.
Not your problem per se but similar
Only drivers similar ii ever found were Inventronic that had similar specs to black box drivers and like Orpheks bars.

Just need to design around what you can get.
You may just not have found what you want or it may not exist exactly as you want.
Part of the process...

 

[areefer01]

Meanwell LDD driver: for those who want to dim to 0 using Arduino

This is a little test video I made using Meanwell LDD-1000H and Bridgelux BXRA-40E2200 Neutral White array: http://youtu.be/ek-nXz5Eltw The array itself is very powerful, so its not going to dim to moonlight brightness, but regular 3W LEDs do. They barely glow at 1/255 level. Enjoy!

forums.reefcentral.com

Have fun ..177 pages of history ..

This was a very, very, fun thread. Another gem.

 

[Johnd651]

I would not run those at their " listed" wattage....
Therefore the idlc driver is not too small.
Just make 2 for 70w approx total.

All those Chinese black boxes run 500 - 550mA. But they also have max dc voltages as high as 110v.
27 and 28 " 3w" (3.x volts each) leds in series.
Not your problem per se but similar
Only drivers similar ii ever found were Inventronic that had similar specs to black box drivers and like Orpheks bars.

Just need to design around what you can get.
You may just not have found what you want or it may not exist exactly as you want.
Part of the process...

Yep... realized that after the fact. If i cut the voltage back to sub 54v... I have power supplies galore to pick from