Comparing hid to led lights

Surfer Joe · Jan 20, 2016

What would be the equivalent to a 400 w MH and a 600 w HPS light when using led light fixtures?
I like the idea that you can position the lights on top and also around the plants to get better lighting on the side branches, but I don't know how the light intensities compare and what types of led lights would give me the same sort of light amount when vegging at 400w MH and flowering at 600w HPS, and would I see a significant drop in electricity costs by switching?
Thanks for any advice.

WeedHopper · Jan 20, 2016

Wish i could help you my friend but i know nothing about LED Grow Lights.

The Hemp Goddess · Jan 20, 2016

I am not thrilled with my LEDs. I am running 700W of LED in a closet that I previously ran a 1000W HPS. I am not giving up on them yet, but...The LED seem to take longer to flower and I am not getting the yield that I do with HPS. They do seem to have more trichs, but I am not sure if the longer flowering and the lower yield offsets the lower electrical cost.

WeedHopper · Jan 20, 2016

You know THG,,,out of all the Led grows ive seen,,I have yet to see Buds as big as what ive seen with HPS. Yes ivd seen nice wet buds,,,but never thd size ive seen with HPS,,,as a matter of fact my T5 grows turned out bigger buds then what SOME ive seen with LEDS. And im not saying they wont or cant,,im just saying i havent seen buds from LEDS the size of the monsters ive seen done with HPS. and dont none of my frinds that grow with Leds get mad at Weedhopper. I personally think LEDS are an awesome light source, ,,and im sure someone is gonna prove me wrong. Which is cool with me.

Smokeaholic · Jan 20, 2016

Personally do not buy led lights.Make your own to the spec you need them at its cheaper and you get true wattage instead of half if not less then whats stated. All it takes is simple know how of wiring, soldering, and some patience when laying down the leds with thermal paste and a lil super glue on the sides you can make a true 1000w led panel for around 300-600 depending on the lights used. So unless you feel like blowing money on leds or crafting your own, go with the hid rigs.Also with leds its almost a must to scrog because of the less potent light penetration.

Surfer Joe · Jan 21, 2016

Smokeaholic said:
Also with leds its almost a must to scrog because of the less potent light penetration.

Thanks. I had thought that the usefulness of led was that you could place panels on top and around the sides to get better light to the side branches.
At the moment, they're out of my price range anyway, unless the offset in electricity costs would recoup the difference in cost.

WeedHopper · Jan 21, 2016

My understanding is that Leds can NOT be placed to close the canopy because it will burn or bleach the plant.

Hushpuppy · Jan 21, 2016

I must say that I don't like LED technology for growing. I believe the whole problem with the LED technology is that it doesn't produce enough photons of light so it has to be focused to get the highest amount of photons to hit and be absorbed by the plants. The HPS does this much more efficiently (for the plant) which is why more yield is able to be had. LED technology still isn't there yet. IMHO
But with any lights, you have to learn their energy balance, sweet spot. The LEDs do have to be held back farther from the plants because of the intensity of the narrow beam of each LED. That is a whole different method of growing when using LED lighting, and for someone just taking off, especially going into a semi-commercial operation, I wouldn't recommend doing it. The T5 Floros and HPS lights are very straight forward and plenty of high quality bud is grown under them. Again, JMO

WeedHopper · Jan 21, 2016

:yeahthat:

Smokeaholic · Jan 21, 2016

WeedHopper said:
My understanding is that Leds can NOT be placed to close the canopy because it will burn or bleach the plant.

Only the ones with IR and UV diodes in it cant be placed close to the top so if you get leds go with only warm white, white, red, and blue leds you can place them closer but not to close the narrow beams will still bleach at id say <4" or so inchs from the canopy. If you go the led route do COBs so you can get closer because they have lenses on them it helps defuse the beam.

Grower13 · Jan 21, 2016

I know someone who pulled .8 grams per watt with 10 inches of penetration with a mars pro model........ but it looks like the new illumitex light is gonna be the LED....... they're running the light at 18 inches off the canopy during veg.

orangesunshine · Jan 22, 2016

just look around you---fed outlawed incandescent light bulbs---although i only grew 1 full cycle with 1 type of light---i believe i gave them a fair shake---they don't fit into my goals for a successful harvest---although many peeps love them, are growing great herb, saving $$$, all of it---guess my measuring standards a just a bit different---whether i need to improve my skill set or the technology just isn't there yet---i now stick with what i am familiar and have had some success with---that is the HPS for flower and the T5 blues for veg---green mojo to you LED trail blazers :watchplant:

Smokeaholic · Jan 22, 2016

Grower13 said:
it looks like the new illumitex light is gonna be the LED

Over priced, those cobs are 10 watt diodes being driving at 6.2 watts but idk once you start to figure out how to make them you just cant look at them the same anymore I guess. I still havent grown with them yet I just know the prices and such of the individual parts. Those 10 watt cobs run anywhere from $1-4, the heat sinks run anywhere from 15-30 depending on supplier which I bet you is heatsinkusa, and the led drivers come in anywhere from 15-30 a piece for a 100 watt only 540 watts for 1.3-1.5k. To be honest yes they are great products from what i can see but not 1.5k great. Btw I'm talking about the Illumitex NeoSol DS LED. I think I might be destroying the led grow light makers profit margins once people realize how much they are being ripped a new one. The hps and mh rigs are making way less of a profit margin than leds and they are selling like hot cakes well both technologies are but at least the hid rigs you get more bang per buck.

Growdude · Jan 22, 2016

I've questioned there ability to grow the true big buds and there negligible power saving for years, even when everyone here seemed to be on the PJ bandwagon.

sopappy · Jan 23, 2016

I miss my HPS and MH, I've never come close with the LEDs but penetration is better, nodes are closer and they feed like crazy. I do NOT miss the temperature hassles, and I wasn't comfortable with them in my basement. I think you can do it safely but not for me.
as for quality.... not me, I'd smoke shake, no connoisseur here
as for yield vs power, tough one if your electricity is cheap

Smokeaholic · Jan 23, 2016

Growdude said:
I've questioned there ability to grow the true big buds and there negligible power saving for years, even when everyone here seemed to be on the PJ bandwagon.

From some of the videos I've seen yes they can grow big buds but not like hps can as in the amount of monster buds per grow and as with there power savings figure is all sorts B/S of because 1000 watts is a 1000 watts of consumption no matter how you slice or dice it besides saving on the energy to cool the area. They also dont yield
as good as the best yield i saw for leds was around 1.6 per watt under 240 watts of led power and the best yield on hps is 2.4 grams per watt under 2000 watt hps it was insane on the grow it lasted him 1 and a half years of smoking it and selling it here and there. The taste of it wasn't that great but the high was about like a couch lock syndrome. sadly i never saw any of his equipment in person and he didnt like sharing how he grew either all i know it was hydro.

pcduck · Jan 23, 2016

Growdude said:
I've questioned there ability to grow the true big buds and there negligible power saving for years, even when everyone here seemed to be on the PJ bandwagon.

Ahhh, the good old days, where pj and his posse would arrive to the forum to bully anyone who said anything negative about their LED's. I remember all to well, being at the end of their tirades. Although there was a spike in sales of LED's from growers on this forum buying and trying them. I wonder if he got a kickback for that? At least our forum members here that tried them are honest and told the real story. I have new found respect for these members.

WeedHopper · Jan 23, 2016

Yesser Duck i was not liked by my buddie PJ at 1st,,,cause i would not ride the wagon. But i was very cordial to PJ because he was on MP. He did know Leds though...But as i told him and i will say again,,,i never seen buds from his grows as big and dence as the monsters ive seen grown with HPS. His buds looked light and airy, ,,not dence at all. I had bigger buds from my T5 grows and thats a fact.

Rosebud · Jan 23, 2016

I have a tiny grow going now in the shed with led. They do take longer to finish, i just found out. I didn't know that before. There is more tric production and they do 'feed the plant' but they do not out preform HPS. Totally different animals. My power bill is much lower, but i can grow little boutique beautiful buds with led, but if i didn't have a huge outdoor grow i couldn't grow enough for medicine with led.
I have my HPS and may use it again.. but for now as a supplement to od, i like mine alright.

NorCalHal · Jan 23, 2016

growdude said:
i've questioned there ability to grow the true big buds and there negligible power saving for years, even when everyone here seemed to be on the pj bandwagon.

qft

Comparing hid to led lights

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