SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
Hey guys. I am wondering what the difference between 3 LED's on a star vs 3 separate LED's. Besides space, what are the advantages of having 3 LED's on the same star?
Triple LED vs 3 LEDs
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I'm no expert. But when you have them separate, you can have an individual reflector for each led. This would allow better agglomeration of the light and also you can make beam into throw/flood etc.
When try are 3 into one star you can't really focus them as unless you use optics. But I would say optics absorb a bit of light.
Another thing with 3 stars is you an drive each individually. While all 3 in one star you need to drive them all at once.
I could be wrong.
When try are 3 into one star you can't really focus them as unless you use optics. But I would say optics absorb a bit of light.
Another thing with 3 stars is you an drive each individually. While all 3 in one star you need to drive them all at once.
I could be wrong.
SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
Thanks for the reply. I am no expert either, I am very novice when it comes to the build electronics. I am a heavy user of lights but other than that.....
I was wondering about the driver, do 3 separate LED's needed 3 separate drivers vs. tri star needing only one? And what about amps and say said led needs 2 amps, would the triple on one star need 6 amps?
And how how come only a few LED's have tri Stars available? I don't see one for the XHP-70.
I was wondering about the driver, do 3 separate LED's needed 3 separate drivers vs. tri star needing only one? And what about amps and say said led needs 2 amps, would the triple on one star need 6 amps?
And how how come only a few LED's have tri Stars available? I don't see one for the XHP-70.
No. You can run all three stars in series or parallel. But then you won't be able to control the output of the three individually. Also remember that if in series and one led fails, all three won't light up.
I think Tri stars are all connected to each other on the board in parallel. You could modify it but the tri stars I know of are all interconnected electically
I think Tri stars are all connected to each other on the board in parallel. You could modify it but the tri stars I know of are all interconnected electically
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SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
What about the amps? Like, say an XHP-70 needs 2 amps to give you say 3000 lumens. What if it was a tri star XHP-70...would 2 amps make all 3 LED's put out 3000 each for 9000 total. I guess it's a run time question. Is it basically an extra 2 LED's running for free?
im guessing heat sinking would be a plus for the 3 separate LED's together rather than a tri star. Because they would each have their own copper deck or whatever it's called.
im guessing heat sinking would be a plus for the 3 separate LED's together rather than a tri star. Because they would each have their own copper deck or whatever it's called.
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Nothing runs for free.
Regarding your previous comment: it depends how you connect it all up. If in series or parallel.
If it needs 2amps and the led runs at 12volts to run each at 3000lm then:
- If in series you would need 36volts and 2amps.
- If in parallel you need 12volts and 6amps.
To heat sink: the best is to have the most amount of volume of copper possible. More volume = better heat dissipation.
I think having one large heat sink would have higher volume than three. if you use three heats sinks there will be unused gaps which could be full of copper instead of air.
Regarding your previous comment: it depends how you connect it all up. If in series or parallel.
If it needs 2amps and the led runs at 12volts to run each at 3000lm then:
- If in series you would need 36volts and 2amps.
- If in parallel you need 12volts and 6amps.
To heat sink: the best is to have the most amount of volume of copper possible. More volume = better heat dissipation.
I think having one large heat sink would have higher volume than three. if you use three heats sinks there will be unused gaps which could be full of copper instead of air.
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SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
I appreciate you helping me here. It is really confusing for me.
What does in a series mean.
What does parallel mean?
what is the advantage to one or the other?
How come more amps at less volts?
If the operating voltage of the led is 12 or 6 volts I guess them in a series would not be an option? Because it requires 36 volts and that is not 12 or 6?
EDIT: I looked up what parallel vs series means, I read it in plain English and still don't understand what it means. I guess all I need to know is what is better.lol
What does in a series mean.
What does parallel mean?
what is the advantage to one or the other?
How come more amps at less volts?
If the operating voltage of the led is 12 or 6 volts I guess them in a series would not be an option? Because it requires 36 volts and that is not 12 or 6?
EDIT: I looked up what parallel vs series means, I read it in plain English and still don't understand what it means. I guess all I need to know is what is better.lol
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I'll try to answer you in parts as I'm in the bus now.
The best thing would be to go to YouTube and type series vs parallel for a good explanation. It's quite hard just in words without pointing to a diagram.
In series the electricity passes THROUGH one led to another. If one led malfunctions it could open the circuit (open circuit means it's not all connected up, electricity can only pass on closed circuit. Think of it like a water hose. It it's all connected then water will get delivered to the end of the hose (closed) if the water pipe is open (cut anywhere in the middle) then you won't get water delivered to the end of the hose)
In parallel the electricity passes FROM one led to another.
I'm not sure if I explained in a very clear way.
The advantage of parallel is that I you burn one of the led then you will still provide current to the other two. Which in series I one led burns then the three led will stop working as there is an open circuit.
I would personally go in parallel. But then you have to provide three times more current them series. (But you only need to provide the 12v instead of 36volts).
Advantage of series is that you don't need as much current, just need higher voltages.
Let me see if I can explain to you simple.
Series = current stays the same but for every led you need to add the voltage. So three led would hav the 2amp current (not changed) but it's 12v + 12v + 12v. For a total of 36 volts to operate the led in the 3000lm for each.
Parallel = voltage stays the same (its opposite to series circuit) but the current adds up. So for three leds the operating Voltage is 12volts but the current is 2A + 2A+ 2A for a total of 6amps to get the 3000lm.
The best thing would be to go to YouTube and type series vs parallel for a good explanation. It's quite hard just in words without pointing to a diagram.
In series the electricity passes THROUGH one led to another. If one led malfunctions it could open the circuit (open circuit means it's not all connected up, electricity can only pass on closed circuit. Think of it like a water hose. It it's all connected then water will get delivered to the end of the hose (closed) if the water pipe is open (cut anywhere in the middle) then you won't get water delivered to the end of the hose)
In parallel the electricity passes FROM one led to another.
I'm not sure if I explained in a very clear way.
The advantage of parallel is that I you burn one of the led then you will still provide current to the other two. Which in series I one led burns then the three led will stop working as there is an open circuit.
I would personally go in parallel. But then you have to provide three times more current them series. (But you only need to provide the 12v instead of 36volts).
Advantage of series is that you don't need as much current, just need higher voltages.
Let me see if I can explain to you simple.
Series = current stays the same but for every led you need to add the voltage. So three led would hav the 2amp current (not changed) but it's 12v + 12v + 12v. For a total of 36 volts to operate the led in the 3000lm for each.
Parallel = voltage stays the same (its opposite to series circuit) but the current adds up. So for three leds the operating Voltage is 12volts but the current is 2A + 2A+ 2A for a total of 6amps to get the 3000lm.
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SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
Ok. Thank you very much for the responses, you helped a lot. I understand better than I did. Gonna check out some videos too. Thank you @Bruno28
Now I'm off to try and figure out why we don't see XHP-50's and XHP-70's In Triple stars yet we see 3 singles being used. I wonder if because they are high power it some how makes it an issue putting 3 on a pad? Or if bords not being up to task is the issue? That's kinda where my initial question stemmed from.
Now I'm off to try and figure out why we don't see XHP-50's and XHP-70's In Triple stars yet we see 3 singles being used. I wonder if because they are high power it some how makes it an issue putting 3 on a pad? Or if bords not being up to task is the issue? That's kinda where my initial question stemmed from.
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ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond
Flashlight Enthusiast
I would say that it's just a matter of time before you do.
I can't see the XHP50/70 showing up in a tiny 20mm star as the optics don't exist either and the density would be pretty tight. I could be possible to find them in a larger 30-40mm triple mPCB. There are some larger triple optics which would probably work much better with the larger LEDs.
I can't see the XHP50/70 showing up in a tiny 20mm star as the optics don't exist either and the density would be pretty tight. I could be possible to find them in a larger 30-40mm triple mPCB. There are some larger triple optics which would probably work much better with the larger LEDs.
SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
i gotcha, no optics and the dies are pretty big for the star. I am haveing a light built with 4 XHP-70's and just wanted to make sure I was doing the practical thing with 4 singles. My goal was basically the brightest thing possible to light up this property at night. from what I gathered 4 single XHP-70s is the best route to go for that goal.
ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond
Flashlight Enthusiast
That will definitely put out a lot of light. Will there be four separate reflectors, one for each LED. Or, will it be a 4-welled single reflector to blend the beams?
How do you plan on driving the setup? Battery and driver config.
How do you plan on driving the setup? Battery and driver config.
SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
I'm sort of going for I guess I'll call it projected flood, I didn't want a consintrated hot spot that bright and I didn't want pure flood either so we went with narrow beam optics. I'm not sure what driver we are using, I went with x3 32650's.
SuPpAvIlLiN
Enlightened
i wanted a hand held for this one, it won't be too compact, needed a decent size head for those 4 LED's/optics and heat sinking.
But if I knew how to replace my flood lights with one of those 100w COB's that would be the dream.
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