Quote:
Originally Posted by donlite
My company makes LED commercial fixtures. The most important thing is the heat sink. The amount of heat sink area needed is dropping on a almost weekly basis. You want to make sure you are getting the latest LEDS. We use rebel LEDS from lumileds. You need to find out the surface area per watt needed for the heat. The other problem is that if they run a little hotter than spec they may only last 5 or 6 years instead of 10. That is not a big deal. I use 1watt LEDS for my tank and have no noisy fans and they work fine. You can check out this site (nothing to do with my company). http://www.luxeonstar.com/, Good luck, Don  |
Good suggestions Don but it may not be that straightforward. The heatsink surface area will depend on the application. Heatsink requirements will differ depending on whether you have an open exposed heatsink in a relatively cool room or whether you have it enclosed in a hood or housing with little passive air flow. My best advice is use a heatsink with the most surface area you can given weight and space limitations etc. Low RPM fans are near dead silent and will help move air and cool the heatsink. Cooler is better and overkill in thermal management is preferable to overheating.
Also 1W LEDs will be limited in the maximum PAR and depth penetration so it depends on what ner'T' is trying to accomplish. You can always dim down or underdrive 3W emitters leaving additional headroom for future growth but you can't push 1W emitters beyond their limits if you need more light.
ner"T' maybe you can give us more info on your goals for livestock and your tank dimensions?