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How much heat do LED's actually put off?

Phychotron

Member
Lights suck air in at the top and blow out the sides, at least mine do anyway. All you need is a fan in the top area sucking air out and an open vent toward the bottom for the air intake. I suggest a temp/humidity controller for the fan so it will keep it stable. The efficiency depends on how cool the air going in the tent is.

I turn my 750cfm fan up to about 1/4 to 1/2 speed and just unzip the bottom of the door. It stays at ~80, same as the room its in. When I first set it up though I had to crank the fan to full, cause my apartment was 85+. Soon it will be cold enough to just leave the fan on low. An alternative is to just leave the doors open and it will do the same.


I was thinking that if you have a 4x4 tent, get a 4x4 piece of plywood and cut out the holes for the fixtures. Basically separating the heat up top from the light below. I think this would make it easier to use CO2 without an air conditioner.

Does anyone know anyone who's using CO2 and LED? I don't see how you could run co2 and the lights for very long before the heat builds up and you need to vent it out. It depends on your wattage, efficiency, tent size etc... I'm using over 1000w right now in a 4x8.
 

hempfield

Organic LED Grower
Veteran
If the fans sucks air from outside and blow it onto the internal components , this is bad. This because only the components right next to the fan will be touched by the cold air and you really don't know the air flow path.

But if the fan suck the air from the inside and blow it outside (up) , then the surrounding air must replace the air extracted from the unit, and a thin layer of air will flow over the internal components, extracting the heat.

The warm air then rises (due it's smaller density) to the ceiling and there is the point from where it should be extracted by the exhaust fan.

I always ask myself why so many growers keep the carbon scrubber on the floor or next to the floor, when the right way to use it is to have it as higher as possible (because the warm air naturally elevate, carrying all that terpens molecules).

:2cents:
 

habeeb

follow your heart
ICMag Donor
Veteran
-fans can be switched out if noise is a problem.. I use noctua fans, slightly less air flow, but are very quiet

 

hempfield

Organic LED Grower
Veteran
Very interesting picture, I never had the opportunity to see what is inside a commercial LED light, but as an engineer I can say that I am not impressed in a good way.

First of all, the heatsink is flat, so not to much air will touch it. Secondly, the drivers are mounted directly on the heatsink, which also reduce it's cooling abilities. The fan are also placed to close to the heatsink and the gap between them is to small.

:2cents:
 

rives

Inveterate Tinkerer
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
It does give you a pretty good understanding of why they under-drive their leds, though, doesn't it?
 

vukman

Active member
Veteran

vukman

Active member
Veteran
Very interesting picture, I never had the opportunity to see what is inside a commercial LED light, but as an engineer I can say that I am not impressed in a good way.

First of all, the heatsink is flat, so not to much air will touch it. Secondly, the drivers are mounted directly on the heatsink, which also reduce it's cooling abilities. The fan are also placed to close to the heatsink and the gap between them is to small.

:2cents:

Hi Hemp....a lot of companies use the flat Al. plates for heat sinks.. It really doesn't make sense to me why because they can get their damn materials cheap over there. I guess manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers all look at the 'bottom line' when doing business.......:-(

My first LEDs I bought have a flat heat sink as well but there is substantially more room in them than what is pictured here....

I have to agree with what rives says here.........yes,,,, it's fully visible and understandable why they under drive the chips so much now...
 

Arthritis_sucks

The Dude
Veteran
Heres my extreme flower 180w unit i got last week. when put together the.components rest a good half inch from heat sink

 
Last edited:

BrownThumb

Member
Just wondering if you have room for a small tent? That way you can vent the heat out of it and at least control the growing environment......

All the best
Hi V!

My mother made the same suggestion in regards to getting a tent. It's ridiculous... I have all of my clothes that hang in the closet compressed so that if I need a shirt, get out the F.ing crowbar...LOL

I am not sure what I am going to do, but I certainly do not want to go through a whole summer like this...NO WAY!

On the bright light out the window...It seems like I was just reading that is actually a violation of the grow your own rules here in CA... I think if the light is visible at all you can get a spanking. Please correct me if I am wrong on that. I think the world has gotten way too touchy feely...
 

medmaker420

The Aardvarks LED Grow Show
Veteran
very nice fans there habeeb.. Noctua produces an excellent quality product and they do a lot of testing on air flow and noise as well. The notches cut out of the fins help to stop cavitation which reduces the noise level considerably...

very nice...:yes:

almost makes me want to flip my fans and notch em

wheres my dremel :biggrin:
 

BrownThumb

Member
If the fans sucks air from outside and blow it onto the internal components , this is bad. This because only the components right next to the fan will be touched by the cold air and you really don't know the air flow path. ... ... ...

:2cents:

We can tell the flow of air by braille. Subjective of course and I suspect more difficult on smaller units, but I do it all the time and know exactly where my unit gets hottest. It's just before the air exits the unit on the side which makes perfect sense. It is a non symmetrical egress, however. I suspect that has to do with it being the side facing out of the closet space into which I am stuffed.
 

habeeb

follow your heart
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Very interesting picture, I never had the opportunity to see what is inside a commercial LED light, but as an engineer I can say that I am not impressed in a good way.

First of all, the heatsink is flat, so not to much air will touch it. Secondly, the drivers are mounted directly on the heatsink, which also reduce it's cooling abilities. The fan are also placed to close to the heatsink and the gap between them is to small.

:2cents:


whatever you got to say to make you feel better about your home economics LED project...
 

MrCopyZ

Member
Kinda a less educated answer.

I had a AdvancedLED DS100 on in my new grow with no exhaust running and the temps only got to 100F in 6 hours when it started at 78F.
 

Snook

Still Learning
Veteran
Can LEDs be run, efficiently, vertically? and might a 'hood' be constructed (as in a sealed HID hood) so as to have cool air pushed in and hot air sucked out of the LEDs fixture? might verical mounting cause a hotter mother board at the north end by rising heat? Where a vertically mounted HID, light is generated 360degrees. Is a vertically mounted LED, 180degrees? or less? , Savings on electricity, A/C and the like, are what is moving me to LEDs but the prevention of potental fires is what moves me the most.
 

BrownThumb

Member
I am using a little one as supplemental side lighting, so why not hang it vertically? As a matter of fact, I was going to do that but got worried about hanging too much weight off my clothes rod. Seriously, I already have a 384 watt unit over the plants, don't want to risk it. It helps a lot having that extra side light, IMO. It only hits the one side of everything, but it covers the lower portion of that side and and filters through to the rest as well as bleeding over the top to the taller plants. It's a Blackstar 180 I am using as supplemental, so I can get the plants right up to the light as long as they don't touch.

I am sure someone could put together the hood your suggesting, too. I am probably not that someone, but someone else for sure!
 

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