100W LED Grow Light Setup

On this page I'd like to show you my basic setup and share experiences with a 100W LED chip. You can get multiple colors/wavelengths online. However my project focusses on a special type of these chips, which emit light in the so called PAR-range, that is this range between 400 and 840 nm, which plants require to grow.

My goal is to build a relatively compact unit, using a CPU cooler, a boost converter, which transforms 12V DC up to approximately 30-34V for the LED, and all the necessary accessories which are useful for monitoring the light performance and maintaining an ideal climate for crops to grow.

+++ This tutorial is not yet ready. The LED runs well, but I still need to do some testing after my finals. My goal is to keep the LED as cool as possible, while keeping the fans as quiet as possible. Check in from time to time for updates +++

Parts List

Of course, not all the parts listed below are really necessary.

I divided the following parts list into two parts: The items which are absolutely crucial for lighting such an LED light, and the other parts which I found useful for making a little growbox. My main supplier for these electronics are sellers on Aliexpress.com. So far I've only had good experience there. Sometimes the goods take some time to arrive, but the prices are really worth the waiting.

For the LED:

100W LED
12V power supply
600W boost converter with current and voltage control (!)
An old CPU cooler
- The bigger the better! Check manufacturer website for TDP value, this should be over 100W!
Thermal grease
Thick wire (!)
- keep in mind, that some of your system's cables need to transport 12V at roughly 9A, that is a lot of current. Use the calculator above to find out what cable size you'll require!

Additional stuff: