HPS vrs CFL vrs LED....opinions on what's better??

beaves IOW

Active Member
I've wondered for a while what is the better lighting a grower can use, not taking into account cost of electricity etc

I personally have only used hps but I hear so many ppl using cfl

What's the differences?
 
CFLs - can get close to the plants, cheap to buy and have a low heat density.

HPS/MH - Higher lumens/watt compared with CFL, better light penetration but have a high heat density.

Don't really know much about LED growing but I'd stick with your hps.
 
Most people don't seem to know or notice. But fluroscent light for flowering produces more potent flavorfull higher quality pot... I like the bud better from fluros, then I do even hash from the same plant under HIDs... Fluro is much easier on the lungs too.
 
Most people don't seem to know or notice. But fluroscent light for flowering produces more potent flavorfull higher quality pot... I like the bud better from fluros, then I do even hash from the same plant under HIDs... Fluro is much easier on the lungs too.

What do you base this on? the vast majority of professional growers run HPS or LED.
 
HPS IF YOU WANT REAL PRODUCTION.Cfls if you got a small grow,leds if you got money to waste on Christmas lights lol
 
Most people don't seem to know or notice. But fluroscent light for flowering produces more potent flavorfull higher quality pot... I like the bud better from fluros, then I do even hash from the same plant under HIDs... Fluro is much easier on the lungs too.
i use cfls and leds
plants love white light and it makes bookoo trichs cfl's make fluffy buds
leds make dense buds and keep temps low which also help with trichs


induction is the new thing and from what ive seen is what you want to look into
has the lumens of a HPS less heat and grows plants like a CFL on meth
they also have screw in induction lights with a built in ballast these are what im going to try there only 40w but small and crank out the lumens
3 of these 40w should grow a plant very nicely
im using leds and am impressed but want to add a few of these to see what i can push out of my plants
http://1000bulbs.com/product/59156/...BaseShopping&gclid=CIi7iKDelbgCFRSVMgodgEoAYA

maybe use 4 of these per 135w led panel
 
Not saying this is not true but do you have data to prove what you are saying

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[TD="class: alt2, width: 175, bgcolor: #F1F1F1"]Grenentec
Junior Member

Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 13


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icon1.gif
400W Induction lights replacing 1,000W Metal Halide

http://grenentec.com/new/

I've come across a lot of doubts from customers saying that there's no way to replace a 1,000W MH light with 400W anything. I hope to clear that up. We've been replacing 1,000W with new 400W Induction [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]fixtures[/FONT][/FONT] since 2005 and always hear nothing but "looks awesome!" from the customers.

Check out the survey our client did measuring the Lux levels before and after (comparing 400W HID to 400W Induction)...
Picture-70.png

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I also much prefer my cfl bud... its by far my fav light source its just not efficient.. I don't know why though maybe more UV or just more blue idk but I use my cfl setup in summer nd hps in the fall .All conditions are kept the same I prefer the cfl bud,.
 
they are on par with HPS more or less nowadays
HPS has alot of unusable light and alot of lumens
induction is catching up on the lumens but is closer to the spectrum of natural sunlight
which means more usable light even if the lumens are lower the plant is using more of it so it outweighs the slightly lower lumens than a HPS
 
[h=2]400W Induction Shoebox Light[/h]ISB-BB-400-50-UNN-AP-X

Die-cast aluminum housing. Custom-built reliable Ballast design. Integral surge protection per ANSI C62.41-1991. Corrosion-resistant polyester powder paint. Adjustable mount. Assembled in the U.S.A.



[h=3]Related Products[/h]


[h=3]Product Specifications[/h][TABLE="class: common specs, width: 700"]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Wattage[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]400[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Total Luminous Flux (>)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]34000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Available Light Pattern(s)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Color Temperature (Kelvin) - Primary[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]5000K +/-500K[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Color Temperature (Kelvin) - Option 2[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]3000K +/-500K[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Color Temperature (Kelvin) - Option 3[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]4000 +/-500K[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]CRI[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]80[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Input Voltage(s)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]110-277[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra hovered, bgcolor: #00BDEA"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Power Factor[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]0.96[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Operating Temperature - Low[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]-40°F / -40°C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Operating Temperature - High[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]122°F / 50°C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Typical operating life time[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]80000 hrs[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Typical Energy Savings[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]50%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Weather Protection class rating (IP)[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]54[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Warranty[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]5 yrs[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Dimmable?[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]No[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Photo Cell option[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Flexnet[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Yes[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: zebra, bgcolor: #D9F5FC"]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Type Mount[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Vertical / Horizontal pole 2.5"max dia.[/TD]
[/TR]
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I also much prefer my cfl bud... its by far my fav light source its just not efficient.. I don't know why though maybe more UV or just more blue idk but I use my cfl setup in summer nd hps in the fall .All conditions are kept the same I prefer the cfl bud,.
its the white light white led's put out crazy trichs too :)
 
[TABLE="class: tborder, width: 100%, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD="class: alt2, width: 175, bgcolor: #F1F1F1"]Grenentec
Junior Member

Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Florida
Posts: 13

[/TD]
[TD="class: alt1"]
icon1.gif
400W Induction lights replacing 1,000W Metal Halide

http://grenentec.com/new/

I've come across a lot of doubts from customers saying that there's no way to replace a 1,000W MH light with 400W anything. I hope to clear that up. We've been replacing 1,000W with new 400W Induction [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]fixtures[/FONT][/FONT] since 2005 and always hear nothing but "looks awesome!" from the customers.

Check out the survey our client did measuring the Lux levels before and after (comparing 400W HID to 400W Induction)...
Picture-70.png
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[/TR]
[/TABLE]


thank you. not saying I agree but thanks for sharing
 
Well this is very interesting! I've always thought it was a pain in the arse to have so many cfl's hanging so close to your plants hence why I stuck with the hos system but I'm goin to give it a good think n look into all the options properly
 
Yea I understand now the problems you can have with hps especially with large watt output like 600+, heat is an issue from day 1 and like you say it's stuck in one position and a lot of light is wasted and van penetrate the canopy well, with cfl I guess you can manoeuvre them to whatever the light is needed!

What's your thoughts on LED? For the equivalent of a 600w hps what would be needed in LED?
 
led lacks lumens its about half in my opinion
but the spectrum is right so it makes up for the lack of lumens
they led makers alot of them claim its watt for watt but i find it to be more like 1 led watt is 1/2-3/4 hps watts
im no expert and have never actually done the readings on them just hands on comparison
im running half the watts i had in cfl
im using 135w led ufo with the 3 w diodes 1 per plant and use the excess light to veg and start my seedlings
i have 400 + watts of cfl on stand by in case the led's dont finish the plants i have i actually turned a 68w 2700k on to day to try and get my stretch down but dont think it will help there at the just started flowering reach like crazy point
2013-07-04 08.15.30.jpg2013-07-04 08.14.49.jpgthe first is just lst'd la fruta di venus the second is a afghan kush ryder topped and lst'd both are in week 1.5 of flowering
i may have to bust out the scrog to keep things under control i need atleast 12 inches to keep the uv,ir's and blues from burning my plants
they both share a 135w bloom ufo and a 7 band with the whites / ir/ uv / blues and reds
the cfl was turnded on today to help with the youngins
my purple haze was starting to lag
 
Newby question.... when your talking about wattage for cfl's, are you adding up the watts its actually using or the equivalent output they have. ie: a 13w cfl is advertised as a 60w regular bulb.
 
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