L.E.D.s
- Thread starter oldhippie
- Start date
James Bond
Well-Known Member
Please don't waste your money. I don't know any experienced grower on this site that will vouch for LED grow lights. Will they grow a plant, yes. Will it be a great plant, no. If you are going for the cheapest route I would suggest flouros, it's what I use. If you want something really good go with HPS.
Thanks. That's what I wanted to know. I know I can get what I need with flouresents. I just thought LEDs might be an option. Space is more of an issue than cost, although i'm always happy to save some $.
holdthatshitin
Well-Known Member
leds are good only if you plan on growing one plant for like 2 years.i had one once and will never go back. maye if you get like 3000 led pannels it might grow fast.
Brick Top
New Member
LEDs will do it all if properly used and used in large enough numbers. They have lights that will put out only the light spectrums for vegging and they have lights that will only put out the light spectrums for flowering and they have lights that combine the different spectrums so there is nothing they cannot do. They put out 100% PAR lighting and nothing else and they do it with extremely little heat and hardly use any electricity.
The two problems with LEDs are they are cost prohibitive for most people to purchase them in the numbers that will be needed and of those who do purchase them most use them in ways that will not produce optimal conditions and give the best results. Due to the lack of enough LEDs and or improper usage most dissatisfied LED users blame the lights when the fault for a lack of results is theres and theres alone.
TeaTreeOil
Well-Known Member
LEDs aren't optimal. They'll grow a plant but the limited spectrums are not ideal for phycoerythrin and phycocyanin. These two pigments, also called phycobiliproteins, and helpful in addition to chlorophyll for photosynthesis.
What's CFL?
Brick Top
New Member
If you mean about their ability to grow plants in general then NASA has rock solid evidence.
If you mean rock solid evidence about growing marijuana with LED’s while I would not expect anyone to take it as rock solid evidence several years back on another herb site I followed an all LED grow. The plants were the most lush, fullest, thickest heaviest producing plants I have ever seen. The buds at the bottom of the plants were larger and harder than most people get on their plants just under the colas.
The deal is this. LED’s have low light penetration so you have to have many LED lights and place them all over. You put them directly above your plants and you attach them to portable/movable posts and you ring your plants with them and you put more on more portable/movable posts and you put them in between your plants. You flood your plants from any and every direction with nothing but the light spectrums that plants require. The results are utterly fantastic.
The problem is that doing that is cost prohibitive for most growers. So what they do if they buy LED lights is buy far to few and expect far too much from them. They also misuse them by positioning them in places where they will not do the most they can do. It is a combination of lack of funds to purchase as many LED’s as is needed in the right light spectrum mixes and ignorance.
If someone has the money to go all LED’s and to do it right and knows how to use them to get the most out of them they will have the most fantastic plants they have ever grown. But if they cannot do that or do not know how to do that their results will be disappointing to them and then like to many before them have done they will blame the LED lights instead of themselves and it will be more inaccurate information about LED lighting spread around about another failure that was due to the failure of the grower and not the LED lights but the grower will either not know they did it wrong or will not admit to having done it wrong even if they know they did it wrong.
If the prices of LED lighting would drop like the prices of plasma screen TV’s have dropped, in other words tremendously, and growers learned how to use them properly they would put all other type of grow lighting out of business.
lehua96734
Well-Known Member
look at the sub-forum for this indoor site. explains all about CFLs. I am using 8 26w. cfls now in my small closet grow. just waiting for the long season so I can put them outside to flower.
billyjojimbob11
Active Member
The arrays with1 watt leds dont penetrat well but the 3 watt leds penetrate very well, look for the ones with a couple of white bulbs. Per watt, they will smoke a CFL. The 90x1 watt ufo's and little half watt arrays are weak and do not flower well. I would put a 150 watt led against 250 watt hps anyday, any strain.
curious.george
Well-Known Member
I tried LED's a lot of them and they are only useful for veg, not worth the money. I will sell you my UFO or some panels if you want.
billyjojimbob11
Active Member
Like I said, dont buy a ufo, go with a procyon or an array with 3watt or 5watt led emitters. Also, check out ledgrow.eu as Hans developes a suitable MJ led array with culmanating lenses over the emitters. General statemants like "leds dont work" "get an hps" "dont waste your money" are usually from growers who did not do their homework on Leds. A good Led system produce more weight per watt, and much more resin than HPS.
Its very simple:
150wled > 150 HPS
Its very simple:
150wled > 150 HPS
billyjojimbob11
Active Member
If you want to veg with led, get an all blue array with leds in the 455-465nm range. And yes, it will out veg a MH.
smppro
Well-Known Member
I have to disagree with that, the 150w of led wont have the coverage that the HPS will. Yea HID uses alot of light that the plant doesnt but that also helps penetrate to get better coverage, which equals better yields. I believe the technology will be there and affordable one day but i still have yet to see an LED grow produce as much as even a 150w hps. Please somebody prove me wrong and show me
TeaTreeOil
Well-Known Member
I'll have to disagree with you, smppro. 150w HID are very inefficient compared to their higher-wattage brothers(about 2 times, wattage increase of 7 times, eg. 1000W). With that small of wattage... LEDs would actually be putting out greater lumen/watt, most likely.
Adding more smaller wattage HIDs is also less efficient than a single equal wattage HID(6 x 150W compared to 1 x 1000W). Though the direct light may play a factor.
Adding more smaller wattage HIDs is also less efficient than a single equal wattage HID(6 x 150W compared to 1 x 1000W). Though the direct light may play a factor.