Lighting Grow Northern Live Tech Talk

[Gonzo]

Hello everybody, hope this will be very usefull thread.

Some questions for GN:

- what protocol is used by data link on our lights?

- shall we expect air channels and diaphragm filled with dust after long use? If yes, can it be opened for cleaning?

 

[GrowNorthern]

A quick question regarding the command unit when it becomes available. If I have read correctly, would you be able to program a gradual increase in light intensity replicating sunrise and a corresponding gradual decrease for sunset?

I'm not sure if this would have any benefit's in yield etc. but, it would certainly replicate a more natural environment as happens for outside grown plants as opposed to dark straight to full intensity in an instant!



MikeyB.

Yeah this would be possible, were now looking at producing two different command centers a low cost wired version for smaller systems and the wireless version for medium to large systems. This wouldn't be a pre-set program on the wireless version but you could easily create a command schedule on your computer inputting the time and power level into the software for a day or period of time and then loop it. With the wired version again we didn't plan to make this a pre-set program but were hopefully going to be able to program schedules via usb so again this should be possible.

I'm not sure about what benefit this would have for autoflowering plants grown under completely artificial lights unless there was an over-abundance of light at full power. However I do think it would be interesting to see if autoflowering plants would benefit from a full day light dimming schedule with a Gaussian/bell curve distribution of light intensity over a 24 hour period rather than a dark period. One possible benefit could be the plants mature in a shorter time frame whilst maintaining the health of a plant which is grown with less hours of a constant light intensity over 24 hours.

 

[GrowNorthern]

Hello everybody, hope this will be very usefull thread.

Some questions for GN:

- what protocol is used by data link on our lights?

- shall we expect air channels and diaphragm filled with dust after long use? If yes, can it be opened for cleaning?

The data protocol is DALI (Digital addressable lighting interface).

The Synjets are much more resilient to dust and water than most most air movers and have an L10 life of 200,000 hours. The outer casing of the HS1 has no vents in the lid so hardly any dust will settle in the unit when horizontal. However it is important to keep the side vents in the casing and exhaust vents dust free and also make sure that dust or water don't get trapped between the holographic diffuser and the LED's when removing and replacing the diffuser. In any case we recommend cleaning the HS1 case, optics or other components with inert dry gas like http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/air-dusters/7805221/.

 

[Corgy]

The data protocol is DALI (Digital addressable lighting interface).

The Synjets are much more resilient to dust and water than most most air movers and have an L10 life of 200,000 hours. The outer casing of the HS1 has no vents in the lid so hardly any dust will settle in the unit when horizontal. However it is important to keep the side vents in the casing and exhaust vents dust free and also make sure that dust or water don't get trapped between the holographic diffuser and the LED's when removing and replacing the diffuser. In any case we recommend cleaning the HS1 case, optics or other components with inert dry gas like http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/air-dusters/7805221/.

Thank you Sir GrowNorthern for that

please keep the coming.

Can I ask, when do you expect the "non-standard" optics to be available and a shot-from-hip-no-questions-asked-later what will the price(s) be?

Definitely LED, repeats to himself, but which one.....

 

[MikeyB420]

Many thanks for your detailed reply, certainly interesting food for thought!

Yeah this would be possible, were now looking at producing two different command centers a low cost wired version for smaller systems and the wireless version for medium to large systems. This wouldn't be a pre-set program on the wireless version but you could easily create a command schedule on your computer inputting the time and power level into the software for a day or period of time and then loop it. With the wired version again we didn't plan to make this a pre-set program but were hopefully going to be able to program schedules via usb so again this should be possible.

If you don't mind? A few questions:

1. What would you deem a small system?
2. Any idea as to when command centers will be available?

I'm not sure about what benefit this would have for autoflowering plants grown under completely artificial lights unless there was an over-abundance of light at full power. However I do think it would be interesting to see if autoflowering plants would benefit from a full day light dimming schedule with a Gaussian/bell curve distribution of light intensity over a 24 hour period rather than a dark period. One possible benefit could be the plants mature in a shorter time frame whilst maintaining the health of a plant which is grown with less hours of a constant light intensity over 24 hours.

Can we ever have an over-abundance of light if properly controlled?

Gosh, you get my schoolboy physics all in a lather when you mention the Gaussian/bell curve, your thoughts of even quicker maturity must be worth looking into? Final question, if using a dimming schedule would the HS1's use less power or is the 75w a fixed amount?

Sorry to throw in more questions but, the idea of running 4 HS1's instead of my one existing LED light is tempting my bank balance!



MikeyB420.

 

[Gonzo]

Yeah this would be possible, were now looking at producing two different command centers a low cost wired version for smaller systems and the wireless version for medium to large systems. This wouldn't be a pre-set program on the wireless version but you could easily create a command schedule on your computer inputting the time and power level into the software for a day or period of time and then loop it. With the wired version again we didn't plan to make this a pre-set program but were hopefully going to be able to program schedules via usb so again this should be possible.

GN, thank you for your answers so far, Ivegot some more questions:

- every light within wired array will be connected over data link with command center and cc will be connected to any PC with DALI software installed via USB? Is that correct?

- Will comand center be used temporarily for programming drivers only or all the time? I hope drivers retain commands and execute them without command center connected.

- Will be possible to connect a single light directly to PC via USB/DALI cable and use DALI software to program this single driver/light without control center?

- Will command centre be powered via PC/USB or plugged into electrical grid?

- Do DALI bridge and DALI command center mean the same thing?

 

[Mossy]

Look at this..

Replies: 15
Views: 303
Members who have read this thread: 52

And you haven't been Open a week..I Think we were Waiting for you GN..Thank You....:grat:

 

[astronomy420a]

you brit's are killin mei have a tax reufund within a week, and it will be gonebefore you guy's build the u.s. version:no::Cheers::Sharing One:

 

[GrowNorthern]

Thank you Sir GrowNorthern for that

please keep the View attachment 427078 coming.

Can I ask, when do you expect the "non-standard" optics to be available and a shot-from-hip-no-questions-asked-later what will the price(s) be?

Definitely LED, repeats to himself, but which one.....

The first two new Holographic diffusers are hopefully going to be available later this month along with some quantitative information on the output and coverage of each diffuser.

I can't confirm a price right now to buy an extra holographic diffuser as an accessory but I can confirm there will be the choice of the three diffuser angles when you buy a new light.

 

[GrowNorthern]

1. What would you deem a small system?
2. Any idea as to when command centers will be available?

One wireless command center controls 1-64 units so it can be used on small to large lighting systems however the cost to build the command center is really expensive at the moment so its only really going to be a useful for saving energy and system automation on a larger scale.
The wired version will be fraction of the cost of the wireless version. It wont have the full functionality of the wireless version but for simple dimming and timing schedules it will be really useful.

Our main focus right now is developing the US version of the HS1 and ironing out any bugs in the fabrication of parts. Once we have the US version finished and tested the command centers will follow shortly after.

Can we ever have an over-abundance of light if properly controlled?

Gosh, you get my schoolboy physics all in a lather when you mention the Gaussian/bell curve, your thoughts of even quicker maturity must be worth looking into? Final question, if using a dimming schedule would the HS1's use less power or is the 75w a fixed amount?

If you looked into the ideal artificial growroom it would be visually dark as all of the useable visible light would be utilized. Many of the changes we have made from the modular series to the HS1 have been to reduce wasted light to save on energy but also to promote healthy growth as excessive over illumination can cause photoinhibitation and other issues such as excessive magnesium deficiencies. By improving the optics, spectrum, adding dimming schedules and encouraging the use of multiple points of illumination we greatly reduce the over illumination produced by the HS1. However short of mulching the plant and growing it in a bio reactor or creating some sort PHOLED skin for the plants 100% utilization is not practical so with the HS1 whether on a dimming schedule or not you will always have some over illumination.

Using a dimming schedule can increase the efficiency of power consumption vs growth through out different stages of plant development e.g by starting seedlings at a lower light/current level and ramping up the light/current as the plants grow and can utilize more of it. Unlike most LED drivers the HS1 can be dimmed to 0%/off so a command center can also replace a timer with the added advantage that the lights can ramp up and down smoothly when turning on and off without creating surges.