We make an LED lamp for seedlings
At the moment, serious companies are not yet engaged in lighting
For seedlings. It is unprofitable for them because of the small demand and high cost of LEDs. Therefore, such products are produced in a semi-handicraft manner in small volumes.
And this leads to the fact that, at best, the price is very high, and in
Worst - luminaires do not match the “plant” purpose, or
It’s just a fake. At the same time they will look quite
Respectably.
In the near future, it is hardly worth hoping that the situation is fundamentally
Will change. So beautiful boxes will be sold with hundreds of indicator LEDs stuck in them, “mowing” under the vegetable ones. It will grow under them, but not in the right way.
And, if you understand what you are being offered at an expensive price, inappropriate
The product - then do the manufacturing yourself. It will cost you many times
Cheaper and definitely like your stretch marks.
Before considering the manufacturing technology of such a lamp,
It should be determined what it is intended for:
The purpose of the lamp is to illuminate seedlings, full illumination of seedlings without
Light from windows, lighting for a full growing cycle. It defines him
Power, quantity and ratio of LEDs by color.
Where will he stand - in the rack, on the windowsill, in the greenhouse, etc. it
Defines its design.
What is the size of the illuminated area. It also determines the size of the lamp and its power.
To make a lamp for plant seedlings, you will need:
1. LEDs with power up to 1 watt, blue (440nm) and red (660nm). In brackets
The light wavelength is indicated, which determines the "plant" purpose
LED. Today there are more powerful LEDs. They are declared as 3-watt, but at a current of 750 mA they are no more than two-watt. This is how lucky the seller is.
Are they hard to find? - then read the article "budget lamp" and its continuation
2. Any aluminum profile: corner, channel, brands, strips, sheets, etc. -
Aluminum bowls will also work. Aluminum is needed as heat conducting
Material. Copper is much better, but where to get it!
3. Insulated mounting wire of small cross section - 0.2-0.5 sq. Mm
4. Thermal grease or hot melt.
5. Power cord with plug
6. Power source - there are many options, so consider below.
Metal, file, drill or screwdriver, rivet, screwdriver.
The manufacturing steps are as follows:
Calculation of the required number of LEDs.
Study of the design of the lamp frame.
The manufacture of the frame.
The acquisition of the specified number of LEDs.
Selection of LED power supply.
Mounting LEDs on the frame.
Soldering LEDs in a circuit.
Checking the installation.
Checking the performance of the lamp.
Safe installation of the power source.
We are happy with the result.
Calculation of the required number of LEDs
Price is the only drawback of LEDs. And for the "vegetable"
Special. This is due to the fact that the need for "plant" is much less
Than in white LEDs for lighting. The smaller the batch produced -
The more expensive the instance.
But anyway, these LEDs should not cost more than 50r apiece,
So look. They are constantly getting cheaper. The cheapest way to buy them is on
Ebay.com auction Enter “led 1W 660nm” in the search bar and see hundreds
Offers. Quality is strictly monitored there ..
The total amount depends on the area of \u200b\u200byour containers, pots and
Glasses. On the one square meter seedlings are enough 30-50 watts LED
Power. That is, 30-50 pieces of 1W LEDs. This is provided that you
Only need illuminate seedlings in the presence of daylight. This is an experienced
Windows - the more you need to increase this rate.
There is no concept of busting in this case. More is better. How much to buy -
Decide for yourself.
While the seedlings are small, minimal power is enough, but with growth
Stem and leaf demand for light increases. And stretch marks are also different in
Dimensions. If the lamp is universal, for any, then there must be
Power reserve. If only for petunias, then 40WT / sq.m is enough.
Let's look at a specific example..
If you have a window sill 1.5 m long and 0.3 m wide - its area is 0.45 sq. M.
So for illumination of seedlings, 30-40 / 2 \u003d 15-20pcs is enough.
1. With confidence that seedlings will be planted on timecombination
red-blue select 2:1 .
2. If you unsure of timing - better to use more blue right up
Before 1 :2 or even 1:1 , which will allow longer to reach seedlings to better conditions. (this applies most of all to tomatoes, as it affects yield in the future)
So we get:
According to the first condition, 11 red and 4 blue - only 15 pieces.
By the second condition, 8 red and 7 blue. It is wiser to buy to the maximum:
11 red (660nm) and 7 blue (440nm) + stock \u003d 0 pieces. (1000rub).
Study of the design of the lamp frame and the manufacture of the frame.
The convenience of LEDs is that you can arrange them in your own way.
discretion over the illuminated area. If the width of the illuminated area
less than 250mm, then you can mount the LEDs on one "line".
In our example, 0.3m \u003d 300mm, then we make two rulers to ensure
uniformity of illumination of the entire area. For my 400mm shelves I take three
rulers.
A ruler is a piece of aluminum profile 100mm shorter than length
windowsill. For our example, it will be 140cm. Mark two rulers so that
so that 15 LEDs are reasonably located on them (16pcs would be more convenient, but
we save).
Remember that each LED emits a light cone with an angle of 70-120
degrees, so keep them apart so that these
the projections of the cones were at least slightly overlapping.
The frame is needed in order to hold the rulers together.
The main requirement for the frame on which the LEDs and
connecting wires - rigidity. At the same time, when selecting a profile for
rulers, we must take into account the heat removal area. We will consider this later.
For our windowsill 1.5m long we calculated the number of LEDs:
According to the first condition, you need 11 red and 4 blue.
According to the second condition, you need 8 red and 7 blue. Only 15 pieces, but we decided in
two position the lines - let it be 16 pieces.
So for each line we need to evenly install 8 pieces
LEDs.
We mark it first on paper, and then on a real profile. If the window sill
1.5m, then take the length of the lamp 1400mm, divide by 8 \u003d 75mm. Means
the distance between the LEDs will be 75mm. Everything is ready!
Now back to the question of choosing the profile itself for the line.
For normal heat removal from each LED with a power of 1 watt
surface area required 25 sq. Cm.
Having the length of the zone of the location of one LED 7.5 cm, calculate its width:
25 / 7.5 \u003d 3.3cm. This means that the width of our profile in expanded form, not
should be less than 35mm. e.g. aluminum corner 25 x 25 if
expand the width, it turns out 50mm. It fits, and with a margin is good.
The thickness of the metal for heat transfer does not play a special role, it is not necessary
splurge on "thick" profiles - they are expensive. But the second condition is durability
- rigidity.
In our case, even the thinnest (1mm) corner is suitable. Convenient
use a U-shaped symmetrical profile for rulers. He has an area
always more than the corner.
We mark the profile along the length: from the edge 75/2 \u003d 37.5 mm - the first LED, then
through 75mm we make another 7 marks. High precision is not required.
In order not to damage the LEDs when the frame is flipped side down,
it is advisable to provide stops at least 10 mm high at its edges (higher
LED). In the photo of a three-linear lamp, side panels from
square:
(do not pay attention to the interweaving of wires - this is experimental
option with switching the ratio between blue-red)
So with the lamp frame clear. You can fasten two rulers into the frame with screws,
I give preference to exhaust rivets. They fasten and fasten them
Profiles
Mounting LEDs on the frame. soldering LEDs in a circuit.
After the frame is ready, proceed to the installation of LEDs. If
LEDs "on the stars", then you need to drill for each LED
two mounting holes for marking.
When mounting, do not forget about the uniform alternation of red and blue
LEDs, according to the selected ratio between them.
LEDs need to be pressed to the profile for thermal contact. Great effort
aluminum does not allow, therefore, heat-compensating is required
gasket. The simplest "thermal pad" is a viscous thermal grease that
fills all the bumps and due to the presence of copper particles in its mass well
transfers heat from the LED to the ruler (profile). Clamping methods
There are many LEDs: screws, self-tapping screws, rivets and a finger with hot glue.
Hot melt adhesive "Alsil-5" or "Radial", lett mount LEDs without drilling and thermal paste -
smeared, pressed, held and ready. There is also
There are various self-adhesive thermal tapes, if you get it - good
option.
In the photo is a riveted LED. I also use 2.5mm screws,
which I screw in profile. (Not the most aesthetic option ... but the hype is not
vs)
Please note - a 3.2 mm diameter rivet hat had to be bitten
side cutters, so as not to touch the conductive areas. If you find
rivets 2.4mm, then this will not need to be done.
After mounting all the LEDs on the frame, remove with a cotton swab
excess thermal paste squeezed out from under the sprocket. Please note: not
blur the silicone lenses of the LEDs. Cotton wool with alcohol will help with this.
Let's start soldering the LED chain. LEDs have
marking the polarity, connect the "+" of one with the "-" of the next. Soldering iron not
more than 40vt. Standard soldering technology - strip, tin, solder,
flush the solder area with excess flux.
Note: this is a time consuming but most effective option.
In the attachment, my first article of 2011.
It is known that healthy and strong seedlings are the key to a successful harvest. The climatic conditions of central Russia do not allow all vegetables to be grown by sowing seeds directly into the ground. Of course, you can buy ready-made seedlings, but many summer residents prefer to grow it with their own hands at home.
Planting seedlings of vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplant is carried out in the winter months, when daylight hours are short. The situation is aggravated if the windows of the apartment face north or the apartment is located on the ground floor. But seedlings for normal development necessarily need light, with insufficient lighting, seedlings will be sluggish, weak and elongated. Therefore, gardeners can not do without additional lighting.
The illumination is carried out by lamps, in the spectrum of which there is blue and red color. Red light positively affects the germination of seeds, and starts the process of photosynthesis and growth in seedlings. The blue region of the spectrum is responsible for cell division, the emergence of new strong sprouts.
Any vegetable seedlings require artificial lighting, and lighting methods can be different. Sodium lamps provide good warm light, but because of their high cost, they can hardly be used for home-made illumination of plants. Phytolamps are also expensive, and I also require the installation of a special mirror reflector, because their light in the pink and violet spectrum is favorable for plants, but harmful to the human body. Metal halide sodium lamps are cheap, but have a drawback - there is little blue light in their spectrum, which negatively affects the development of plants. Therefore, the most acceptable options are fluorescent and LED lamps.
LED seedlings - benefits
LED lamps are preferable to fluorescent ones, because they are durable and allow you to choose the right spectrum for lighting seedlings, they are sold in any hardware store, consume little electricity, are easily installed and operated. In principle, you can screw an LED lamp into the cartridge and wait for the results, but venerable summer residents advise using an LED assembly or LED strip for backlighting.
LED seedling lighting
In order to assemble a source of additional lighting for seedlings at home, you need: UVR 1 LEDs (red and blue), hot glue, a base for attaching LEDs (a board, a school ruler, an aluminum profile, and so on), a switching power supply - the so-called driver with power corrector 220 V, 9-15x1 W, 310 mA, cord and plug.
Diodes are assembled and attached to the driver. It must be connected to the switch and the plug. To ensure optimal lighting for growing seedlings, it is necessary to alternate the LEDs in the following order: 2 red - 1 blue and so on. If the seedlings will be grown in a closed box, and not by the window, then you still need to purchase LEDs of milk and pure white color, which will create the effect of morning and daylight. But then you need to take a double switch and connect the wires so that you can control the light.
LED strip light for seedlings
The simplest and least labor-intensive way of manufacturing backlighting from diodes is the use of LED strip. You will need: 4 corners 20x20; two LED strips - red and blue, driver, cord and plug. The assembly scheme will require only to attach the tape with the lights to the corners and connect the driver, observing the polarity.
LED phyto-tape for plants is a real find for those who like to grow spicy greens, flowers or seedlings of vegetable crops at home. Phyto-tapes can be used for illumination of plants in greenhouses, conservatories, on balconies and window-sills, on racks, as well as in semi-illuminated rooms.
Plant Fittings in Moscow
In the assortment of the Fitosvet24 online store there are LED phytobands of various capacities and lengths (from 1 meter to 5 meters).
Advantages of using phyto tape:
1. Economical - a day of continuous operation of a meter tape will cost only 10-20 cents.
2. Does not take up space on shelves, and therefore can be used where space is very limited.
3. Available - in the range of phyto-lighting equipment, diode tapes have the lowest cost.
4. Safe for people - does not contain mercury and other substances unsafe for humans and the environment.
5. Universal - suitable for growing plants by hydroponics, aeroponics, in the soil.
6. Long-lasting - the service life of phyto tape reaches 100,000 hours.
7. Autonomous - a constant functional mode of operation is ensured by low energy consumption.
8. Unpretentious - does not require any additional costs for the entire period of operation.
9. Easy to install - most phyto-tapes are attached to the base using an adhesive layer applied to one side.
You can buy phyto tape in our online store. We deliver lamps in Moscow and the Moscow region. Phyto tape for plants, which is not a problem to buy in Moscow, can also be sent to any region of the country by Russian Post.
Buy phyto tape for plants in the online store Fitosvet24
Installation of phytoband is not difficult. Before installation, the phytotape needs to be cut into pieces of the required length (corresponding to the length of the rack with the plants), connected with a parallel wire (if there are several segments), insert the switch and connect to the power supply. During installation, you should adhere to some recommendations:
1. The distance from the plants to the light source should be no more than 50 cm.
2. About 5 meters of tape is required per square meter of area to be illuminated.
3. The distance between the pieces of tape should be about 15 cm vertically and horizontally.
4. In the area of \u200b\u200boperation of the tape, the ambient temperature should be
the area is -20 + 60 C.
5. The angle of illumination depends on the model of the plant tape and varies in the range of 40-120 degrees.
LED phyto tape for plant illumination is an effective tool for lighting and illumination, easy to install and safe to use. Subject to the installation conditions and the proper selection of the required light output, the result will exceed the expectations of the owners.
I like to conduct various experiments, making LED lamps as a techie, not burdened with deep knowledge in biology. However, the "incomprehensibility" in the results and curiosity made me delve into the process of photosynthesis and this turned out to be a rather fascinating occupation.
I think that for home growing seedlings, LEDs are better than any phytolamps, because they lack the inherent disadvantages of lamps:
- High power consumption
- Heat dissipation does not allow very close to the lamp rastyuha
- Enlarged volume for placement
- Short service life
- High electrical safety requirements
- Inability to adjust the spectrum for different growth stages
I mean monochrome LEDs "plant" spectrum440nm (blue) and 660nm (deep red). Let me remind you that monochrome LEDs emit light in a very narrow range, plus or minus 10 nanometers from their peak emission.
What kind of light is needed for plants by scientists, botanists have identified for a very long time and according to their recommendations they make phytolamps. Scientific research continues uninterrupted, but to us, summer residents, their results are not available.
Plant LEDs continue to be very expensive due to very low demand and output.
In the summer of 2013, the price of a Chinese one-watt LED is around 40 rubles.
Brand high-quality LEDs are much more efficient and several times more expensive - almost unavailable for purchase.
Since they constantly ask questions in PM, I decided to experiment with seedling illumination using not “plant”, but ordinary, more affordable full-light white LEDs. Their “non-vegetation” is that they, unlike monochrome ones, have very wide range radiation, and the peaks of the blue and red regions in their spectrum do not coincide with the peaks of photosynthesis (440 and 660).
But at the same time they are many times cheaper and it was encouraging!
I explain what reasoning prompted me to use white LEDs:
1. Under ordinary fluorescent lamps (not phytolamps) seedlings are growing. Although their spectrum is "non-vegetative" - \u200b\u200bso why not try the same spectrum of LEDs
2. Biologists today claim that in the blue region of photosynthesis there are two chlorophylls that regulate plant growth. Their photosensitivity peaks diverge in both directions from 440 nm, i.e. stretched over the blue area. And at quality of white lights, the blue region is just widely stretched, especially in “cold” whites. So can try to do without even the blue?
3. Mostly sold LED phyto-lighting fixtures for the most part do not have accurate information on the spectral composition. They shine red-blue, but this spectrum is often very inferior, usually 460-620, instead of 440-660. That is, all the same, "inferior plant", but the seedlings are growing well.
Here is an example: the price is huge - 12000r, and there is a lot of information, but there is not a word about the spectrum, so why buy a cat in a poke:
4. There are cheap powerful white LEDs in the form of premium tapes and hard strip modules, which can dramatically simplify the design of the lamp. White LEDs are designed for lighting, their production is growing at an unprecedented pace and therefore they are constantly becoming cheaper.
5. They are very easy to connect and simple power supplies can be used to power them, no need to look for expensive drivers. You can use old adapters.
For the experiment, I made several lamps from ribbons and stripes and grew seedlings of peppers and flowers under them. Tomatoes shone only a couple of weeks. And the results surprised me so much that I changed my unscientific attitude towards the “right” LEDs.
In the photo: the lamps stand where it is possible to "stick" the seedling box, even to the shelf of the kitchen cabinet.
I was attracted by the simplicity and versatility of using white LEDs in everyday life. I wanted to illuminate the premises in the country in the summer, it was required - in the winter I illuminate the seedlings
I made the following conclusions:
- Seedlings can be grown seedlings under the white LEDs in the form of ribbons, strips and modules.
- In this case, it is necessary to increase the overall power of the lamp in order to compensate for the insufficient light output of white in the peak regions of photosynthesis.
To make it clearer what we are talking about, we consider the spectral characteristics of white LEDs. Since they are made for lighting, they try to bring their spectrum in every possible way to white light, people’s usual incandescent and fluorescent lamps. White LEDs allow you to make this choice in a wide range of colors from the "warm white" color of the incandescent lamp to the "cold" luminescent white.
The main characteristic of the white LED is colour temperature radiation. On it you can understand what the light is "by eye". It is indicated in degrees Kelvin. The warmest (almost yellow like DNAT) light starts from 2700K, the coldest (blue-white, like DRL) - 6500 - 13000 K.
Then, to increase the proportion of blue, I supplemented the lamp with a tape with blue 14vT / m LEDs (because I had it). And to be objective - I did not notice the special need for the addition of blue - perhaps because it is not a plant spectrum. You need to look at your first results.
I even dare to consider that such a white ribbon gives a lot of blue - the hype is not "thin". There is a lot more blue in the cool white ribbon. I tried to compare tapes of different manufacturers, but failed. But then I came across a Korean ribbon with a certificate for 10000K. And the 13000K white LEDs quite tolerably ensured the normal growth of seedlings of peppers and flowers. Tomatoes just were not very happy. I suppose that the tomatoes and peppers, upon reaching the budding phase, the white ribbon is no longer able to give the right proportion of red. There is enough blue in it. I wanted red LEDs, but did not have time to add - seedlings managed to grow
to be continued
Peppers are unhurried plants, in the sense of fruiting. Yes, and tomatoes, and something else ... With our short summer, many inhabitants of the garden have to grow through seedlings. It seems that there is enough space on the windowsills, and it’s warm in the apartment, but the light ...
Something needs to be sown already in February (and in January it would be nice!), But surely light from eleven to four, in cloudy weather - generally gray.
LEDs for seedlings
In recent years, fluorescent tubes and incandescent lamps (something else is actually not for the home, and energy-saving lamps are not for seedlings), an excellent alternative has appeared - LEDs.
And the spectrum is given the correct one (for photosynthesis), but there is a choice, and the efficiency is outstanding: if you roughly compare the watt diode and the watt of an incandescent lamp, the diode of the same "power" gives out light almost more than an order of magnitude! And does not warm.
Now there are ready-made fixtures for plants, but their cost at a penny cost of components is amazing! And I tried to collect the ersatz of the sun myself.
Not being a dock in electrical engineering, he went the simplest way: as a light source - red and blue. The absorption spectrum of chlorophyll light has two peaks - 440 nm (blue) and 660 nm (red). The radiation parameters of the tapes are approximately consistent. Individual diodes can be selected more precisely, but they are more difficult to connect and mount.
About LED strip as a light source for plants
So, the tape It consumes a certain power - W / m. Mine (SMD 3528) - 4.8 W / m. 60 diodes per meter. A windowsill with a length of 1.5 m. This means that a piece of tape of the appropriate length will “eat” 7.2 W at a supply voltage of 12 V.
You can cut it according to your needs, only in groups of three diodes (everything is drawn directly on the tape).
Based on this, we select a power supply - 12 V and the required number of watts for one and a half meters of tape (power consumption depends on the length of the tape and is measured, respectively, in W / m). 20 percent more in power, with a margin, but no less.
And without any additional resistors (they are already in the tape), in accordance with the polarity. marked on the tape and on the power supply, carefully solder to the "garland" of diodes.
There are different schemes for connecting tapes. It seemed to me the prettiest when each ribbon is fed by its own block. It turns out a little more expensive, but not fundamentally.
So, we soldered: the tape to the block, the block to the power cord (with a cross section of at least 0.5 mm 2, there is no need to save). Everything is shining!
Do-it-yourself seedling stand
But it would be strange to just throw the ribbons on the seedling pots. We mount them on an aluminum profile, which will serve as both a reflector and a radiator (the latter is not critical for the tape). And since it is on a glue basis - everything is very simple!
Any profile now - just choose!
Better harder. Then I went broke, took a specialized one, and it cost more than all the electrical fittings, including wires ... But you can find it at a price that you can’t take into account much.
One point: on the side of the conductive tracks under the adhesive layer, the tape is insulated, but the soldering place and the growing wires can give unnecessary contact. Therefore, the profile area directly under the “tail” of the tape is either smeared with varnish or insulated with a piece of adhesive tape.
Is everything checked? Is it burning? Glue tapes! The tape adheres to the profile firmly. But nevertheless, where the soldered wires grow from it, it would be nice to secure them somehow. I went the simplest way - poured epoxy here!
A pair of power supplies that harmonize the voltage tapes and the 220 network is somehow good to combine and secure under the windowsill if there is not enough space on it (which is why I made a margin on the length of the wires).
Places of soldered contacts can be insulated as you like, but it is very convenient - using a heat shrink tube.
The entire diode-electric filling of the profile took less than a thousand rubles, and the profile itself (or any suitable surface) can be found very cheaply - the choice is huge now!
And such a thing turns out.