LED Grow Lights overview » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_light#LED (Wikipedia)
Our LED Grow Light project
Being this is our first time building a grow light, we wanted a grow light rated between 30-40 watts. This would keep it rather simple. Our project ended up at 38 watts (approx 40 watts with fan running). This LED panel runs cool with the fan on at half speed. The LEDs are however running below their max of 700ma to 750ma. I have 2 700ma 20watt drivers that I could change to which are dimmable (PWM). The LEDs would run brighter and hotter but should be ok.
If all works well this year, next year we will build a more powerful one. This year we’ll call it a prototype 🙂
Our project consists of
- 2 Blue 3watt LED (455nm) (eBay)
- 2 Extreme Blue 3watt LED (445nm) (eBay)
- 8 Deep Red 3watt LED (660nm) (eBay)
- 6 Red 3watt LED (630nm) (eBay)
- 200mm computer fan (spare parts bin)
- 24-51v DC 680ma LED Driver (110v AC Input) (eBay)
- 12v Power Adapter (for fan) (spare parts bin)
- 8′ aluminum channel (got at Princess Auto)
- Thermal Glue (dealExtreme)
- Wood recycled from old furniture
Photos
Possible mods for this project
- setup an Arduino to:
- monitor LED panel and LED driver temperatures
- use to regulate fan speed based on temp
- display readings on an LCD panel or via Web Browser
- possibly monitor soil moisture
- Automate panel with current home automation setup using wall adaptor (i.e. have LED panel go on after sunset and OFF at sunrise)
- Add removable side panels lined with foil. The side panels would reflect the light back into the main grow area reducing waste of light.