Why spend $$$ on a flowering lamp if you have a $ veg lamp?

[churchhaze]

I see this all the time. Even more experienced growers tend to be looking to switch their flowering room from HPS to LED while their veg room still uses T5 or worse, CFL.

You get so much more bang for your buck upgrading your veg room first because you leave the lights on for 18-24 hours per day rather than 11-13. This is clearly the low hanging fruit in terms of savings. It really pays to push the limits on efficiency here with under-driving and higher bins.

If you're looking to switch to LED, switch your veg room over first. You have your worst lamps (T5) on for the longest period of time per day yet you look to upgrade your HPS?

 

[churchhaze]

Upgrading flowering first is kind of like paying off your lower interest debt before your higher interest debt just because the higher interest balance is smaller. You should still pay the higher interest debt first regardless of the size of the balances.

 

[churchhaze]

Also, running 24h in veg lets you get the same DLI as 18h using a less powerful (and thus cheaper) lamp.

 

[WeedSexWeightsShakes]

lol this for real?

 

[CobKits]

probably has do do with the fact that most veg rigs are 25% of the size of a flower rig.

some people dont veg at all and put clones right into a SOG

 

[churchhaze]

If you're not running a veg lamp then this obviously doesn't apply to you.

"If you have a $ veg lamp"

 

[churchhaze]

You're getting twice as much use out of the veg lamp making the initial investment twice as cost effective as if you were buying the same wattage of a flowering lamp. How is this not a no brainer, especially considering HPS is already decent, but CFL is terrible and the upgrade to LED is so much more substantial than HPS to LED?.

 

[churchhaze]

probably has do do with the fact that most veg rigs are 25% of the size of a flower rig.

I can understand why this makes sense in the mind of someone trying to sell LEDs. I'm not trying to accuse you of anything here, but most people are trying to spend as little money as possible. I can see why to you it's way better business to convert a warehouse of flowering plants than the smaller veg area meant to provide it with clones, even if it converting veg first is better financially for the customer.

 

[Airwalker16]

It's to easy now days to purchase perfect match retrofit t5 & t8 style led tubes for current fixtures to not just at least make that switch.

 

[1212ham]

Easy yes, but price per watt isn't cheap and efficiency is only something like 100-120 lm/w.

 

[MichiganMedGrower]

I like my t-5 ho lamps for veg. They grow wonderful plants. And the additional heat is needed in winter in my cold room.

If i match light output with say a qb i will lose half the heat needed.

I say choose the best tool for the job.


How did flourescent lamps hurt you @churchhaze? you are hating on them in multiple threads.

 

[Prawn Connery]

I can understand why this makes sense in the mind of someone trying to sell LEDs. I'm not trying to accuse you of anything here, but most people are trying to spend as little money as possible. I can see why to you it's way better business to convert a warehouse of flowering plants than the smaller veg area meant to provide it with clones, even if it converting veg first is better financially for the customer.

No mate, @CobKits is stating the obvious: vegged plants don't produce buds. Buds are what pay the rent (and power bill).

Your suggestion to spend more money on veg lights than flowering lights is a bit like telling a drag racer to spend more money on paint instead of sticky tyres or engine mods.

Plants flower, on average, for eight weeks - plenty of time to take clones and veg for the next round.

Most flowering chambers - as already pointed out - consume far more power than veg chambers.

24 hours in veg is not the most efficient use of light, either - look it up.

Note: no-one is disagreeing with you that LEDs are a better alternative to CFLs, but the best bang for buck is always going to be in improvements in flowering, not veg.

 

[TurboSR20smokin]

No mate, @CobKits is stating the obvious: vegged plants don't produce buds. Buds are what pay the rent (and power bill).

Your suggestion to spend more money on veg lights than flowering lights is a bit like telling a drag racer to spend more money on paint instead of sticky tyres or engine mods.

Plants flower, on average, for eight weeks - plenty of time to take clones and veg for the next round.

Most flowering chambers - as already pointed out - consume far more power than veg chambers.

24 hours in veg is not the most efficient use of light, either - look it up.

Note: no-one is disagreeing with you that LEDs are a better alternative to CFLs, but the best bang for buck is always going to be in improvements in flowering, not veg.

id deff upgrade turbos and interals over paint lol

 

[Old Thcool]

Easy yes, but price per watt isn't cheap and efficiency is only something like 100-120 lm/w.

Price per watt? Better to go with price per PAR. And like all things it boils down to a few factors. How long will the emitters last? if they need to be replaced annually that adds up. How much heat does it create? It will cost me more to ventilate and may wear out carbon filters faster as a result. Do I need more than one light to do the job? No point in a super vegged out plant that you can't flower. You would be better off buying your weed until you can afford to grow it.

 

[CannaBruh]

I'm all LED at this point, no ragerts
Running 3590s @ 20W is hardly efficient, but it works damn well
Veg room is all gen2 5000K 1' strips, that light is sexy af in veg

 

[Rahz]

I think for the hobby grower high efficiency LED is worth looking at, even in a veg chamber. It's more expensive upfront, but evens out over time both in electrical savings and maintenance, and longer maintenance times is not just about money but effort on the part of the hobbyist to buy and replace a part. Passive LED lamps with the right parts can go 5-7 or more years without being touched and when we only really need 400-450 PPFD to get a vigorous veg it's really not that expensive.

Example: 2x4 area

HLG-120H-C500B $45
3x Vero29C 4000K 80 CRI $80
3x 150mm pin fin sinks $60
That's going to put the output efficiency around 65-67% rough guess.

Total cost with frame, wire, etc about $200.
Electrical use: 100w
PPFD in a 2x4 area: 400
Weakest link in the design: the driver with the 7 year life expectancy.

 

[Old Thcool]

I'm all LED at this point, no ragerts
Running 3590s @ 20W is hardly efficient, but it works damn well
Veg room is all gen2 5000K 1' strips, that light is sexy af in veg

I just joined the LED movement with a SydrX. I am totally impressed! I will attempt to make my own next time as there seems to be pretty good availability of parts.

 

[Old Thcool]

I think for the hobby grower high efficiency LED is worth looking at, even in a veg chamber. It's more expensive upfront, but evens out over time both in electrical savings and maintenance, and longer maintenance times is not just about money but effort on the part of the hobbyist to buy and replace a part. Passive LED lamps with the right parts can go 5-7 or more years without being touched and when we only really need 400-450 PPFD to get a vigorous veg it's really not that expensive.

Example: 2x4 area

HLG-120H-C500B $45
3x Vero29C 4000K 80 CRI $80
3x 150mm pin fin sinks $60
That's going to put the efficiency around 65-67% rough guess.

Total cost with frame, wire, etc about $200.
Electrical use: 100w
PPFD in a 2x4 area: 400
Weakest link in the design: the driver with the 7 year life expectancy.

I like the higher PPFD not only for flowering but also for growing scorpion peppers and such.

 

[hybridway2]

One of the best things I've done since switching to led was replace my 480w T-5's w/ 100w of strips. In veg. As well as when I use sidelights.
Although considering using the small 200w t-5 I still have stored away to add some heat to the winter veg. Making me sortve wish i still had the big one cuz averaging 66-68 now is cold.

 

[Tejashidrow]

With all this talk about $lamp
They must be good!!!
Where can I get one??