DIY LED Grow Lights

crunkyeah

crunkyeah

Well-Known Member
I looked those panels up via google and it's really hard to tell how big they are from the pics they have on their site. It also doesn't list a price, about how much was this unit?

And just so you know, if there's 100 1w bulbs in there it likely isn't putting out exactly 100w. It has to do with ohm's law. The red ones especially since the forward voltage is lower than the blues.

I think this would be very nice with some T5 bulbs since they could all be arranged horizontally for maximum light coverage. Can you post any pics of your setup?
 
i<3

i<3

Active Member
IMHO buying 5mm 5000MCD LEDS is not thhe way to go..... i would go for 1W 10mm LEDs.... they sell them just like the 5mm, and there are 4 different spectrums you need to cover....
5000 mcd at a 40degree angle produces barely 1.4 lumens....
the 1watt leds rage from 80000-140000 mcds which is about 45-60 lumens, and they ususally cost about 5 -10 X more.... BUT you get 50X more lumens......
PS i know lumens dont cound with plants usually but with LEDs you can get the peak of the WL to the chlorophyl A, B much better.... hope it helps
 
Befamousvideo

Befamousvideo

Member
There are two LED companies in Irvine, CA USA, who make LED lights for various uses. They are LED Era Inc. and LED Power Inc. They may help you. I just saw a cool time lapse, grow video using LED lights and 420GS.com grow pots. They claimed 17 oz dry yield harvest from 6 plants. The video claims to use Growl LED lights.
 
zvuv

zvuv

Active Member
Wiring up a panel of LEDs is not trivial electronics. You are going to need a driver circuit for each LED. You can't just gang LEDs together the way you can incandescent bulbs. Diodes behave very differently from resistive loads.

I expect LEDs are the future of indoor growing. LEDs have beaten out traditional lighting in almost every area that they have been introduced. Initialy, they are very expensive and not much more than a novelty but when the application takes off, the price comes down.

Give it a couple three years and LED setups will be a fraction of what they cost now.
 
M

maylee

Member
Hey I want to build my own LED too.
Here is my first question.
Levels.
This chart shows how much and what spectrum is used by the plant.
The light usage on the chart bears little resemblance to what is on the market as far as grow LEDs go.
Grow manuals and other sources say this is what plants need. Any opinions?



photo syn copy.jpg
 
F

ferfax

Member
You guys are in luck I'm testing my diy lights as we speak I had started this a while ago I burned up my first light with bad resistors they very simple to build and design. I'm testing spectrums now I have 12000 mcd blues and 15000 mcd reds I'm in veg now I have a flower light I want to test. Before I post them. I'm working with locals hyrdo stores to carry my finish product also. I got a master elec. Working with me also. There are 250000 mcd lights out too now I will be testing message me with your power supply number of lights and I will send you a design lay out with resistors needed.
 
I

IGROWLED

Member
If your interested in DIY led there are a few places thats sell complete kits. That is how I got started with led grow lights was a kit, After some research i realized it would cost me a lot more to buy the individual components. I found a few places online that offer a DIY led grow light kit but most are almost as expensive as buying an already built light! I ended up ordering a kit from http://www.evolutiongrowled.com/evolution-led-grow-light-diy-kits-and-parts.html They offer a few sizes and end up being much cheaper than buying all of the components individually, Plus you dont have to pay shipping from half a dozen companies! They also include a basic white metal housings so they look reasonably professional when built. Overall a great and very inexpensive way to get started in led grow lights.
 
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