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High-Brightness LED Grow-Light

by mr_man on January 23, 2011

Table of Contents

High-Brightness LED Grow-Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: High-Brightness LED Grow-Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Circuit Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: LED selection, Bill of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Printed Circuit Board (PCB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 4: Heat-sink for LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 5: Luminare / lamp fixture / Lamp optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Brightness-LED-Grow-Light/
Intro: High-Brightness LED Grow-Light
Note: ** This is a work in progress. The design is not entirely complete, nor has it been built yet. Constructive suggestions and collaboration are welcome **

For more information on LED Grow-light design, see US patent #6921182 .

Step 1: Circuit Schematic

For the power supply, use one with a somewhat higher voltage. I chose 12v because it seems to be the most common brick voltage, although a 24 volt supply is even
better if you can find it. This allows you to put more LEDs in series. You can always guarantee that all LEDs in a given string are carrying the same current, so fewer
strings means fewer resistors. This reduces parts count, improves circuit board real estate efficiency, also the whole system is likely to be more efficient, produce less
heat, not overheat your plants, and keep your electric bill down.

Start the circuit design by arbitrarily adding LEDs to a string. Add up the voltages of all the LEDs in a given string, and adjust the number of LEDs per string to get as
close as possible to the power supply voltage. To do this it helps to mix and match LED colors in the string, since each color has a different voltage.

The main concern is that you don't exceed the LED's current rating. Ohm's law says that the resistor value in ohms that you should use is:
R = (Vs - V_LEDs) / I_LED

Where Vs is the power supply voltage,

V_LEDs is the sum of the LED voltages in the string, and
I_LED is the current in amps that the LEDs are rated for

If V_LED is just slightly less than Vs then you will only need a very low value resistor, like 1 ohm or less, assuming a 1 amp string. You shouldn't need to drop more than
a volt or two across the resistor. If you're dropping over 2.2 volts, why not just add another LED instead?

Just calculate the proper resistor value for each string, and after you've built the circuit, you can measure the current through each string with an ammeter to make sure
the current does not exceed the LED's spec, especially when it is operating at its highest temperature. You can also calculate the current by measuring the voltage
across the resistor and dividing by the resistance. (again, ohm's law).

The figure below shows a simple schematic example. 12 volt power supplies are very common and you should be able to find an extra one lying around that you can re-
purpose for this, or you can acquire one from your favorite surplus distributor. In this example it should have a capacity of 2 Amps or more. The resistor values may
need to be adjusted to limit the current in each branch to 1 amp, particularly given the LED's negative temperature coefficient of -4 mV/deg.C. I'm also looking into using
copper trace resistors, mainly because copper has a positive temperature coefficient of resistance which will help regulate current through the LEDs. So far the approach
looks promising. Also, in theory this type of resistor is free, and high-power, which is ideal for our design goals.

File Downloads

grow light 1D.sch (7 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'grow light 1D.sch']

http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Brightness-LED-Grow-Light/
Step 2: LED selection, Bill of Materials
Use high-brightness LEDs that can handle at least 700mA to 1 Amp of current or more, because they put out a lot more light for the money.

The most common Red LED is made of GaAs and has a wavelength of 625 nm. This isn't bad, but it isn't ideal for plants. A "super-Red" or "deep-red" LED emitting a
wavelength of 660 nm is better (FYI the LED material will have "Al' or "P" in addition to the "GaAs") . These are harder to find, and may cost a bit more, but in theory they
are worth the trouble to obtain. Order from a site like digikey.com or mouser.com or even superbrightleds.com where they actually list the wavelength and other useful
spec's.

For my LED selection, I used a Digikey search to narrow-down the list to 3 ranges of wavelengths that are considered suitable for growing plants, and then used a
spreadsheet to narrow this further to those having the greatest radiant output per dollar.
One "gotcha" I ran into is that for the Blue LED, the Cree XP-E appears to be a better value, however it is tiny so it will not be easy to heat-sink properly for maximum
current without using an aluminum-core circuit board (expensive for one-offs or prototypes). For this reason, it is probably easier to go with the larger Osram LEDs.

File Downloads

LEDs for grow light2d.ods (35 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'LEDs for grow light2d.ods']
Step 3: Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
The PCB layout was started using freeware from expressPCB
To keep the parts cost down, it helps to panelize the design. In this case 12 grow-lamps can be made from a single $51 order (plus shipping, and depanelization), thus
holding the cost of the circuit board to around $5 per grow-lamp.

File Downloads

grow light 1D.pcb (5 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'grow light 1D.pcb']
Step 4: Heat-sink for LEDs
For the LED heat-sink, a short piece of #12 AWG solid copper wire, (as found in "Romex" cable of the type used for wiring an electrical outlets), could be used to make a
solid copper through-hole via. Cut a very short piece of wire and shape this until its length is the thickness of the circuit board, about 0.062". One of these pieces can be
inserted into a large via in the PCB under each LED. This will conduct heat from the LED to the heatsink on the other side of the circuit board. This will keep the LEDs
much cooler than a solder-filled via, and so will provide higher light output, higher efficacy, and longer lamp life.

The copper vias will probably need to be reflow-soldered at the same time as the LEDs, so that all voids are filled with solder. (If this method of assembly is not possible
for some reason then this thermal design probably won't work very well, and alternative designs will have to be considered; see below**).

The bottom-side (or "solder-side") of the PCB will have a copper pad around the copper via to act as a heat spreader. As a simple rule-of-thumb, the heat-spreader will
be efficient out to a length of about 100 times its thickness. Expresspcb.com plates to a thickness of 0.0017", so roughly speaking, the heat spreader will be effective out
to a radius of about 0.17"

Here, heat-sink compound can be added and a surplus CPU cooler can be attached, having a finned heat-sink and an attached fan.

** If the above design doesn't work then one option for an alternative design would be to put the heat-spreader and heat-sink on the same side of the circuit board as the
LED (the "component side"). One idea would be to combine the heat-sink with the reflector by making it out of aluminum.

http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Brightness-LED-Grow-Light/
Step 5: Luminare / lamp fixture / Lamp optics
The low-cost LEDs that are commonly available tend to emit light over a very wide angle. In order to use this light it will help to have a reflecting lamp fixture. There are
many options for this. My favorite option for this is the aluminum reflector mentioned in the previous section.

Alternatively, you may already have a reflecting lamp fixture you can reuse for this project. You may have some shiny aluminum flashing, or aluminized-mylar, or a light-
colored material of some sort with which to make a reflector. Just make sure it is non-flammable, and use plenty of electrical insulation and waterproofing where
necessary to keep the electronics dry.

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http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Brightness-LED-Grow-Light/