Any of the boards can be wired in parallel or series depending on what driver you're using. I have a mix of both methods. My qb96 elites are wired in parallel on an HLG-320h-54a. I have some invisible sun 150 v2's wired in parallel to an HLG-150h-30a. I have two 288 v2's in series on a 320h-c2800a.
You probably could hook them up to the same driver but they have different numbers of different diodes and a different max current rating. They won't have the same light intensity at the same current level. That's the main reason I would have them on different drivers. I like to be able to balance out the output of my boards that are in the same space.
Ok. So I called hlg. He said they should have own drivers bc something could be inconsistent(couldn’t hear well and didn’t wanna ask to repeat) and each on own driver would be best but they could be ran in series together 324 v2 and 288v1 no parallel. I asked about having a 288 and 324 on a 32 when I called hlg they said his 324 v2 and 288 v1 can be ran in series together but not parallel. Idk why. As long as he had them in series the guy at hlg don’t know why his would do what they done
They've been saying that forever but they make their own fixtures in parallel. The 600h fixture was made for years with 4 qb288v1's and v2's in parallel. Meanwell does not make an HLG-600h power supply in constant current models. They used the 54a and the 48a in parallel. They also have parallel wiring guides on their own website. Not sure why whoever you talked to told you that but it's just not true. You can't run a qb288v2 with a qb324 in parallel because they are different voltages. Really it's the same reason I wouldn't use a qb288v1 in parallel with a qb324. The forward voltage of each board at a certain current level won't match exactly. You're not even supposed to hook different K ranges together. QB288 Board Guide This is the wiring guide they put out for qb288's. It has a large section on parallel wiring with many examples. I find it strange that they would put this out and then tell you that you can't use parallel wiring. "PARALLEL WIRING Multiple Boards can be wired in parallel. Different batches of boards may have slightly different voltages. Use only boards from same batch for parallel connection. Do not use different spectrum boards in parallel as they may have slightly different voltages Tip: Avoid daisy chaining multiple boards as shown in the 2nd image below. This causes first board to handle a large current and can reduce life of board's electrical trace. Wiring as shown in 1st image is preferable." I might be confused about what you're saying but we've been saying since the first page not to put them on the same driver. That's not what anyone is saying to do parallel or series.
I think I misread your post. Seemed like it said that those boards couldn't be ran in parallel at all. I think I get what you're saying now.
If series was absolutely best then HLG would not have made two of their biggest commercial fixtures with parallel wiring. The only real reason to go with parallel IMO is to get a better current rate per board. Many times the current outputs available in constant current models either don't match your particular board or the driver itself doesn't have enough voltage headroom to run the amount you want to in series. Sometimes switching to a parallel driver will just get you that much more current with a driver model that matches in output better then the series options out there. The advantages in series are typically a higher working voltage for less percentage of total voltage loss in the circuit and more simple wiring. That is the case with two qb96 elites. If you want to go constant current the most you can get is a 320h-c2800a for 2800 rated Ma. If you go with the 320h-54a in parallel the boards get 2950mA each. That driver will actually push them to 3100mA each board in parallel with two. That's why Horticulture lighting group decided to use that driver instead of a constant current model on their own 2 board qb96 elite fixture they sell called the 360 because that is the approx wall draw. You go with a 240h-54a on each board and those will push the qb96 elite to 4200mA each board. The actual rated max.
I wasn’t saying that qb can’t be ran in parallel at all. He was saying mixing them (the 324 v2 and 288 v1) can only be ran in series safely. I’m just going by what they said tho. Idk his name. I just had to call hlg twice making my orders. Same guy answered both times.
Are you trying to run 4 boards on just the 320h-54a? You should be able to. They would run at pretty low power so the forward voltage would also be very low. You might not have the voltage lowered enough. Hard to diagnose a problem when I'm not really sure how you have it setup.
Ok so I have an HLG 320H 54A and an HLG 480H C2100A. I have 2-288V1 3500K and 2-324V2 3500K. Right now I only have one 324 running on the 320, because you said both of the 324s would run on it in parallel. They don’t. The site does say they only run in series so I’m thinking of moving the 324s to the 480 and that should be able to handle it. The 288s can be run on the 320 effectively....running all boards in series. Correct or incorrect?
None of the boards were ever mixed. I have a set of both, using both sets on their own drivers. The 288s were intended to be run as part of a single fixture that can be added to in the future to accommodate another set. The 324s were intended to be single unit satellites to be used for spot side lighting. GrassCityGal thank you for your input also.
Then all the boards I have can be run in series? The 288s are V1 and the 324s are V2 so I’m thinking no...but if they can the 480 should indeed accommodate all boards...?
Are you sure you're wiring the 324's correctly in parallel? They are 54 volt boards with a 3200mA max current rating. The HLG-320h-54a is a 54 volt driver with a max current output of just under 6000mA. Split that between two boards in parallel and you get 3000mA. Pretty much the perfect current level for those boards. They should run fine in parallel. I suspect you're accidentally hooking them in series or something. I think you're reading what HLG is saying wrong. "QB 288V2 and QB 324 V2 cannot be wired in parallel." The reason for this is the 288v2 board runs at about 48 volts. The qb324 v2 runs at about 54 volts. In order to wire boards in parallel they have to be the same voltage. Even then boards with different numbers of diodes might differ slightly in the exact optimal forward voltage so you should only wire identical boards in parallel. Look at the flux bin efficiency chart on the qb288v2. It doesn't even run over 50 volts up at 2800mA. VDC Current (mA) Watts at Board Lm/W at Board (55C) μmoles/joule at Board (55C) 45.72 500 22.86 206 3.00 46.98 1050 49.33 196.10 2.85 47.70 1400 66.78 190.50 2.77 48.96 2100 102.82 180.77 2.63 49.50 2400 118.80 177.50 2.58 49.86 2800 139.60 173.80 2.53 What they are saying is you can't wire both those boards to the same driver in parallel. Parallel or series makes no difference. All you need is the correct forward voltage at that specific current level. There's no way that qb288v2's can't be wired in parallel. Until just a few months ago that is exactly how HLG built all of their 600h fixtures. With 4 qb288v2's in parallel. I have some 150 boards from invisible sun that use the same v2 diode wired in parallel in my veg tent. They're doing just fine. No thermal runaway. The output voltage range of the HLG-480h-c2100a is 114 to 229volts out. Two qb288v2's is only going to be about a 98 volt load. You can't run only two on the 480h. The voltage won't go low enough. It won't go low enough for the qb324's either. Two of them in series is 108 volts. Almost close enough but I still think its too high for the 324's. You would have to add another 288 to the 480h driver to push the voltage required in series above the minimum for that driver.
Yes you could run all the boards in series on the 480h-c2100a but the 324's won't be as bright because they would be further away from their rated max current then the 288's would be at 2100mA. It could work for you. Might be the best option at this point since the 480h can't be used unless you put at least 3 boards on it.
Here goes This is the driver board, the entry point/timer board, light fixtures and wiring. The 480 runs two 288V1s IN SERIES The 320 runs ONE 324V2 because when I hooked it up parallel it wouldn’t work. Both the 324s were wired the same, first in parallel, then in series. Both ways a handful of lights flashed but wouldn’t stay on, even when voltage was adjusted. The 324s were wired in parallel with 16-2 cord to a 12ft 3 outlet bat, which ran to the output of the 320H-54A and wouldn’t work. One light would come on by itself when wired to the driver. The other light, regardless of whether it’s run in series or parallel or as a single unit apart from the set it had diodes that would blink but not come on constantly.
Sorry, between my day job, and the irons I have in the fire I’m trying to post the best I can. I appreciate your help
Did u try to change which board was first and second and each board alone to see if they each work by them selves? To see if it’s a bad board
Wh when I called hlg. I asked if the qb 324 v2 and qb288 v1 could be ran on a 320 54a driver. He immediately said yes. But in series not parallel (the 324 v2 and 288v1)
In series the voltage requirement of the total adds each loads voltage requirement together. Two 54 volt boards require 108 volts to operate wired in series. That 320h-54a driver will only put out about 55-56 volts when maxed. They usually push a bit past their rating but it's a 54 volt driver. The only way to wire it to multiple 54 volt loads is in parallel. He may have misunderstood you or just misspoke but you can't wire in series to that driver with 54 volt boards. It's just not possible.