LED controllers.

[GreenVision]

Hi all. Wondering if anyone uses a controller to power up several LED's.

 

Does it mean no contactor, if so is it safe to boot up 4-6 250w LED's from a little controller with no contactor?

 

If there isn't a need for a contactor does one just now plug the LED's directly into an Extension instead of the contactor?

 

It just seems a little off to me, a contactor is as much a safety device (somewhat) as it is a timer, so now using a tiny little LED panel instead just makes me concerned, add in the price tag and I'm leanig towards sticking with the contactor over the controller.

 

Cheers.

[Slippy One]

No contact relay needed for LED’s. Many use smart switches instead of the old style. Smart switches let you control the on/off outlets from an app so no need to bother with mechanical timers either.

[Davey Jones]

A contactor is used to start and stop an inductive load. If you interrupt the current through an inductor then what happens is analogous to inertia. The inductor generates a voltage V=Ldi/dt. A decaying current generates a voltage to maintain the current and the faster it changes the greater the voltage. This is why we can’t use a cheap timer to power a HIDas it will weld the contacts. 
 

A properly designed electronic controller should have a digital power factor correction and a soft start feature. Instead of wacking on the power it starts from 0v and slowly ramps up with a unity power factor (no reactive current) which eliminates many issues 

 

Unfortunately there’s  so much crappy Chinese stuff that has no place in a grow room that it’s hard to advise what you can and can’t do. It really bothers me how this cheap shit is everywhere and no one seems to care. 

Edited April 29 by Davey Jones

[GreenVision]

@Davey Jones Cheers mate