LIGHTEN UP! An LED Lighting Design Competition

So I snuck in an entry with about 20 minutes to spare last night; I'll update this once they announce the finalists in a week.

 

Alright! :thumb_up:

Care to share your entry with us? Love to see it!


matt

 

I can't find any place where it's viewable right now, but I can show you roughly how it looked this evening. Images and the description are saved on my home PC.

 

Ok look forward to it!

 

Here's the recreation:

LED Illuminated Saltwater Coral Reef Aquarium







I designed and built this LED light fixture for my home 190 gallon aquarium (60” x 27” x 27”). It consists of primarily CREE diodes of various spectra (royal blue, blue, violet, cyan, warm white, and cool whites) to best simulate a known spectrum which is conducive to the growth and propagation of captive corals. The stony corals contained in this aquarium demand a great deal of light. it is necessary to provide a spectrum which will evoke colorful phosphorescence of these corals while limiting the spectrum which can cause nuisance algae growth.

The diodes are attached using thermal adhesive to the heat sinks which were anodized black in color. The heat sinks (2) are suspended from the ceiling with adjustable hangers such that the lights can be lowered or raised to the necessary height over the aquarium. The arrays are protected from any splashes (caused by the fish) by pieces of acrylic which slide into place. The acrylic hangers were mounted to the heat sinks such that an air gap is maintained around the heat sink for optimum cooling. In addition to ensure proper cooling, a small CPU-style fan is mounted on top of each heat sink.

There are five separate strings of diodes wired on the arrays; one of solely royal blue, one of blue and cyan, one of warm white with a few royal blue, one of solely cool white, and the last of only violet. This allows each string to be dimmed independently of the others, providing user controllability of the spectrum as well as blending the color of the light to my own personal preference. Each string is driven by Meanwell ELN-60-48D drivers. The dimming is automated and is made possible by a Neptune Apex, a type of programmable UNIX based controller which is intended for use with aquariums. This combination allows for timed and automated dimming each day, such that sunrise, high-noon, and sunset conditions are simulated.

This fixture has been run continuously for over two years with minimal issues. The main benefits of using LEDs in this application are the low consumption of energy and, therefore, minimal heat added to the aquarium. Other alternatives for lighting coral reef tanks consist of primarily high output T5 florescent bulbs or metal halides, both of which can add significant amounts of heat to the water column, sometimes requiring the user to run a chiller. This can and often does add a significant amount to the running cost of these tanks. As LED technology evolves, it is becoming much more popular in this application.

 

Alright my friend! :thumb_up: I've forgotten how pro your lights looked. Very polished and great write up. Please keep us posted on the contest and your entry. That is a great representation of LED lighting in our hobby. Good luck!

matt

 

Quick update:

They extended the contest another week (sounds promising?), so last Monday ended up being the deadline.

They're supposed to announce the finalists today; I don't see anything yet.

 

The finalists are up now:
Lighten Up Lighting Design Competition - hosted by Inhabitat and Elemental LED

I'm not there. Meh; back to work.

 

Oh man sorry my friend but I really appreciate you entering it all the same. That was a great entry.

Perhaps they are adding you?

This is what I see...

 

Nah, when it was up earlier there were already votes on the various submissions. And everything was much more towards the abstract side. No worries.