How much\h heat dissipation would 10 1W LEDs need?

pensiveone

pensiveone

New member
How much heat dissipation would nine 1W LEDs need?

Hello folks.

Planning on doing a DIY light fixture for a new 1.2 gallon pico reef project I'm starting soon. I have this metal box I got from a Habitat for Humanity Restore that I plan to use (see pics below). It looks like it was intended to be used for some type of Exit sign I think. Very solid with a gray industrial quality finish. It has a bottom plate of sheet metal that has a white finish on it. I am planning on adding 9 1W Led which are attached to those little star shape PCB. Since they will be mounted directly to the metal plate, would that be sufficient heat dissipation? If not, how much more would I need. I was also planning on adding a sheet of glass to the opening (there are tabs inside that look to have been intended to hold a sheet of glass in) but would that cause too much heat? Thank in advance!

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wld1783

wld1783

New member
Skip the 1 watt LEDs...They are inefficient and produce as much heat as a 5 watt LED driven at 2 watts.

If you use the upper Bins of the Cree XT-E and drive them at 700mA (2 Watts) you you will have 3x the light opposed to driving dated 1 watt LEDs @350mA.

Ultimately the final test is the finger. If its hot its too hot. LEDs preform much better when cooler.

Engineers quote the Cree XT-E "Thermally Stable" at 350mA in other words its not going to melt without any thermal dissipation as long as its on a standard circuit board or 20mm star.

Bill
 
pensiveone

pensiveone

New member
wld1783 said:
Skip the 1 watt LEDs...They are inefficient and produce as much heat as a 5 watt LED driven at 2 watts.

If you use the upper Bins of the Cree XT-E and drive them at 700mA (2 Watts) you you will have 3x the light opposed to driving dated 1 watt LEDs @350mA.

Ultimately the final test is the finger. If its hot its too hot. LEDs preform much better when cooler.

Engineers quote the Cree XT-E "Thermally Stable" at 350mA in other words its not going to melt without any thermal dissipation as long as its on a standard circuit board or 20mm star.

Bill
Click to expand...
You make a good point. I did already order the 1W LED so I will probably ty them out. I do plan to build another light for a 2.5 gallon tank so I will definitely try using Cree LED instead.
 
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