Clearly I am the noob here, but I am very confused. I have a friend w a 600w HPS that he says costs him about 30 bucks a month in electricity(could be less, could be more he is a stoner after all). It would take a lot of LEDs to run up that bill... what am I missing?
It would take one 600 w led or x2 300w leds to do the same. 1w=1w no matter how you slice it.
Difference is, nowadays, you can get an affordable led that puts out x2 as much light per watt.
Not like when a Cheap Burple light claims their 250w light equals q 1000w hps.
That misguided info is based on one par measurement directly under the light which will be significantly higher sometimes then a 1000w hps but only in a 1x1 space is it equal. To be truly equal it would need to provide equal intensity levels over a 4x4. Not just a 1x1 or 2x2.
If you buy a cheapo knock off of a good bar light or QB then you'll prob come close to getting twice the output (if you choose wisely) as the hps per watt but the light fixture just might not last as long do to skimping on thermal mngmt or any corner cutting that made the knock off what it is. Sometimes dimming a knock-off to 50-75% power might be all you need to make it last. So getting one oversized & dimming down might help but might also cost close to just buying the right size of a quality smaller fixture anyways .
That keeps you w/i price range & gets you growing with high efficiency, white+ reds (other offers available) fuller spectrum then burple.
Better results out the gate.
If you like your budget HE leds Then maybe move up to the real deal if it makes sense later or you get hooked lol!