CFL or LED bulbs for veg room

I have been using 23 watt CFL bulbs to start my seedlings, then move under HPS after about 3 weeks

I also use CFL's to supplement my indoor sunshine grows, to extend the daylight hours to 20/4

I have recently purchased LED bulbs to determine if they can be used instead of the hotter running CFL's

I'm using Mexican bag seeds in a 16 oz Solo Hempy cup with a soil cap, and will use GH Maxi-grow

I have a mix of brands and styles of LED bulbs (Phillips and Cree) with a mixture of 2700K and 5000K

I wish to determine if LED produce better, worst or the same/similar as my CFL bulbs (I have several former grow examples to compare).

Two sprouted on March 12, the smaller one on March 13th

That's quite the mix of bulbs. Looks like you picked up a little of everything at the store

Looking good though.

bicit said:

That's quite the mix of bulbs. Looks like you picked up a little of everything at the store

Looking good though.

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thanks

I did get as many different types/models as I could find at Home Depot...this way I can see if there are any pro/cons between them

at the end of the day, I'm just hoping they can be an alternative to CFL for my veg stage

Hey ISK, what are the wattages of the LED household bulbs?

WattSaver said:

Hey ISK, what are the wattages of the LED household bulbs?

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hey Watts

They each are 60 watt equivalent but their actual wattage varies on style/brand, but average about 10 watts each

The Cree A19 and the new Phillips style are 9 watts for the Daylight and 9.5 watts for the soft white

The Philips lollipop style are 10.5 watts and a flood light style that is 11 watts

ISK said:

hey Watts

They each are 60 watt equivalent but their actual wattage varies on style/brand, but average about 10 watts each

The Cree A19 and the new Phillips style are 9 watts for the Daylight and 9.5 watts for the soft white

The Philips lollipop style are 10.5 watts and a flood light style that is 11 watts

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I'll be interested in your final conclusion, on the LED vs CFL. You're using less than 1/2 the wattage and I'm sure they run cooler also.

I think a DIY lamp would be ideal for this setup. After you're experiment you could try your hand at building something like this. The heatsinks are pre-drilled for M2.5 screws. So you could build this light in about 10min with basic tools. It would be completely passive and roughly 45% efficient.

Vero 10
Pico EZ-mate
A driver
The heatsink
Thermal paste

Just one more option to consider.

WattSaver said:

I'll be interested in your final conclusion, on the LED vs CFL. You're using less than 1/2 the wattage and I'm sure they run cooler also.

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they do run way cooler and use less electricity but so far they appear to be performing slower than CFL's but I'll give them more time before making that call

always so painfully slow at first....two of them are doing okay for 8 days old but nothing impressive...the third is a weak plant that likely will be tossed

Wouldn't it be better to remove the plastic globes and not use the splitters with the bulbs straight down?

B166ER420 said:

Wouldn't it be better to remove the plastic globes and not use the splitters with the bulbs straight down?

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From my experience, limited though it may be, the light is brighter from the sides and not the top of the bulb.
I believe that some LED Gurus have proven that with a light meter. For bulbs, the splitter is best.
Captain Morgan showed it can be done!

B166ER420 said:

Wouldn't it be better to remove the plastic globes and not use the splitters with the bulbs straight down?

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never thought about the splitter, just assumed it would be the same as CFL...are you thinking differently

I don't want to remove the outside globes...but I do understand that will improve their output

OneEyedCat said:

From my experience, limited though it may be, the light is brighter from the sides and not the top of the bulb.

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True.....for cob style led bulbs but not the type I have.

ISK said:

never thought about the splitter, just assumed it would be the same as CFL...are you thinking differently

I don't want to remove the outside globes...but I do understand that will improve their output

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I was interested because im thinking of replacing my cfls

Like this.......

Looking at COBS, they seem to be very directional with all of the phospors radiating away from the backing materials. All of the consumer type bulbs have multiple LED chips inside them.
I have the Philips lollipop style, (14 LED elements in a 60Watt equivalent.) Cree and others that appear similar to incandescent bulbs along with Cree 5000k floods as supplemental and veg lighting.
Inside the Cree globe there is a post, (octagonal if I recall,) that has phosphors on each side. It is brighter without the globe on it, but without the globe there is exposed wiring that could cause problems if you are doing foliar feeding with the lights on and your fan blows mist into the exposed elements. It is also somewhat fragile.
I only mention this because LEDs are usually much closer to the plants you are working on than an HPS lamp. (I wouldn't foliar feed when an HPS was on due to light burning, but in veg with CFLs or this style of LED, I am unlikely to light burn my girls.)

Put in a 72v cxb 3590@ 300ma and replace the whole setup

The two are starting to do well, their growth seems fairly on par with previous CFL grows..... maybe slightly behind but there could be others factors influencing their progression



I have also started a few garden plants/flowers (the 3 on the left) which will be transplanted outside once the weather permits


I had used a tiny amount of nutes just to lower the pH...the other two had no issues but this one had a cardiac arrest
I have it in the flower room (under a 600 watts HPS) just to see if I can make its pathetic life more miserable.

ISK said:

they do run way cooler and use less electricity but so far they appear to be performing slower than CFL's but I'll give them more time before making that call

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Well, all about the PAR watts and that is calculated from the efficiency of the two luminaires.

More efficient - LED light bulbs use only 2-17 watts of electricity (1/3rd to 1/30th of Incandescent or CFL). LED bulbs used in fixtures inside the home save electricity, remain cool and save money on replacement costs since LED bulbs last so long.

ISK said:

never thought about the splitter, just assumed it would be the same as CFL...are you thinking differently

I don't want to remove the outside globes...but I do understand that will improve their output

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I use the cree 60w(9w) 5000k for seeds and clone's, enough will work all the way through vegging. 1 bulb per plant is plenty of light to start with and then move on to more light. I think you would like it.

medicinehuman said:

I use the cree 60w(9w) 5000k for seeds and clone's, enough will work all the way through vegging. 1 bulb per plant is plenty of light to start with and then move on to more light. I think you would like it.

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thanks for the feedback medi.

yeah, I kind of figured 8 bulbs was a wee bit overkill for a few seedlings, but I'm just like a kid with a new toy trying to figure out how to get the most fun with it.

Their growth rate seems decent, more or less the same as previous CFL grows

They are under 2 weeks old but already have their nutes near full strength, they have taken well to their environment

The one that was nute-wounded is coming along, but will always be a straggler...and I'm happy with my garden flowers