24 Watt LED Grow Light with Brightness Control

Step 2: Grow Light

Use a Current Regulator
High power LEDs require a constant current source so that they last a long time. This means they cannot be connected directly to a power source. There are many options for LED drivers. I used the MOSFET regulator below. Before soldering, you should test the circuit on a breadboard. The second diagram included the brightness settings. I used an on-off-on two pole switch.

Mount to a Heatsink
These LEDs also require a heatsink or they will get extremely hot. They were mounted epoxy. If the screws are too loose, you can glue them into the holes. The heatsink I used can hold a maximum of 8 LEDs. You can strain relief the wires with hot glue. With the heatsink fan, the heatsink doesn't get hot.

Tie the Wires Together

Comments

[diy_bloke]

Interesting, but it still is not very clear to me about the two schedules. are you using both? or did i miss something?

[diy_bloke]

ok I see now, the first schedule is a general one, the 2n is yr implementation of it

[atrumblood]

Just an FYI on the lighting schedule.

All plants have an internal timer that is controlled by the lengths of night and day.

to put it simply. Longer hours of day light tells the plant that it is time to grow. Also called the Vegetation cycle.

Shorter hours of day light tells the plant it is time to flower or reproduce.

The cycles for vegging are 18/6 or 18 hours of day light and 6 hours of darkness.
The flowering or reproductive cycle is 12/12 or 12 hours of day light and 12 hours of darkness.

I hope this helps clear things up for anyone with the same questions.

[hanlin_y]

Right now, I'm growing vegetables with short daylight schedules. This article talks about how the timing and wavelength of light affects flowering.
http://plantphys.info/plant_physiology/photoperiodism.shtml