Here's a question to the author of those articles and I thought it was very relevant for people in here wondering about LEDs!
Erik,
What is the deal with the new LED grow lights? Do they really throw off as much light as promised? If so it would be a no brainer to change over. Does every lighting company sell them? How new are they? Why are people so skeptical? I don’t know if I should switch from my 1000 watt metal halide, but I will if it makes sense to do so. My electric bill is sick.
Thank you,
Confused
Hello Confused,
The most straightforward answer I can give to you at this time is that it all depends on what type of LED lights you are using. There are a lot of different LED diode types, configurations and wattages available, so there can be some striking difference between one LED lighting system and another. HID (high intensity discharge) lighting has been around for some time now, and as a result is standardized. There is not a lot of variance between different HID lighting ballast and lamp manufacturers in terms of light output and spectrum, although there are some differences, perhaps on average within five to 10 per cent.
As a new technology, some vendors are reluctant to jump on board and promote LED lighting as the wave of the future. A lot of the hydroponic industry has been built on the back of LED lighting, so to speak. Regardless, LEDs are here to stay and as with all things in nature it’s critical for survival to adapt to a changing environment. In this case, the environment is the hydroponics marketplace, so what you may find is a lot of the innovators rather than the reactionaries will be involved with moving this emerging growth technology forward.
LEDs throw off a different type or quality of light versus HID lighting. One of the great things about LED lighting for crops besides the 50 to 75 per cent decrease in power consumption and cool running is the fact that the spectral output can be tailored to just about any wavelength. LEDs produce light in the bandwidths that plants use, and as a result measuring or comparing light intensity in lumens or lux is not a fair comparison. If measuring in PAR or PFD (measuring light required for photosynthesis rather than just visible light) LED lighting can be extremely intense.
Some of the quad-band, high output LEDs will meet or exceed the performance of your 1000 watt HID lighting system. Be prepared to spend a significant investment, however, you can often re-capture the higher purchase price within a couple of years with all the money saved on power consumption. Also, you will never have to replace a lamp/diode, which further offsets the higher initial purchase price of LEDs.
Once LED lighting for plant growth becomes more consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer and mass production helps to lowers cost of purchase, LEDs may cause an explosion in the number of people who grow at home. LEDs allow for high output gardens to be set up just about anywhere and overcome a lot of the limitations that HID lighting provides to would-be home growers.
Erik,
What is the deal with the new LED grow lights? Do they really throw off as much light as promised? If so it would be a no brainer to change over. Does every lighting company sell them? How new are they? Why are people so skeptical? I don’t know if I should switch from my 1000 watt metal halide, but I will if it makes sense to do so. My electric bill is sick.
Thank you,
Confused
Hello Confused,
The most straightforward answer I can give to you at this time is that it all depends on what type of LED lights you are using. There are a lot of different LED diode types, configurations and wattages available, so there can be some striking difference between one LED lighting system and another. HID (high intensity discharge) lighting has been around for some time now, and as a result is standardized. There is not a lot of variance between different HID lighting ballast and lamp manufacturers in terms of light output and spectrum, although there are some differences, perhaps on average within five to 10 per cent.
As a new technology, some vendors are reluctant to jump on board and promote LED lighting as the wave of the future. A lot of the hydroponic industry has been built on the back of LED lighting, so to speak. Regardless, LEDs are here to stay and as with all things in nature it’s critical for survival to adapt to a changing environment. In this case, the environment is the hydroponics marketplace, so what you may find is a lot of the innovators rather than the reactionaries will be involved with moving this emerging growth technology forward.
LEDs throw off a different type or quality of light versus HID lighting. One of the great things about LED lighting for crops besides the 50 to 75 per cent decrease in power consumption and cool running is the fact that the spectral output can be tailored to just about any wavelength. LEDs produce light in the bandwidths that plants use, and as a result measuring or comparing light intensity in lumens or lux is not a fair comparison. If measuring in PAR or PFD (measuring light required for photosynthesis rather than just visible light) LED lighting can be extremely intense.
Some of the quad-band, high output LEDs will meet or exceed the performance of your 1000 watt HID lighting system. Be prepared to spend a significant investment, however, you can often re-capture the higher purchase price within a couple of years with all the money saved on power consumption. Also, you will never have to replace a lamp/diode, which further offsets the higher initial purchase price of LEDs.
Once LED lighting for plant growth becomes more consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer and mass production helps to lowers cost of purchase, LEDs may cause an explosion in the number of people who grow at home. LEDs allow for high output gardens to be set up just about anywhere and overcome a lot of the limitations that HID lighting provides to would-be home growers.
