Move to Led?

lofly247

lofly247

Active Member
I am considering a move to LED's because of space issues. I'm on the cheap and will likely DIY if I go ahead. Can I ask if members can chime in on the following concerns that I have. The are pitched as statements that may or may not be true. I hope this thread helps clear up some misconceptions that other new players might have and sparks some discussion that helps microgrowers.

1. When considering the inefficiencies in drivers and heat dissipation of the actual modules, LED's are always less efficient than CFLS.

2. LED Systems produce the same light, efficiencies and conditions as CFL the only difference is the space they take up.

3. DIY led systems require advanced skills in electronics putting them outside the reach of unqualified users.

4. You'll never amount to anything with those. Get a 600 hps and convert your spare room or give up the game.

Thanks for responding.
 
L

lejton

Member
1. No, I have grown the same strain i've had, once with 60w cfl , and again with 60-ish watt RGB led strip in a same PC box. Drivers were outside the case and the temps were less than with CFL's, thats the main reason i went LED, and it was actually an experimental grow until I saw it beat the CFL results, Although i kept my plants half an inch closer.

I bet if I use 3w diodes (as I will in my next grow), I could get better results with a 40W led grow than a 60W CFL grow.
I'm not sure if i can link to the other forums but google "Pinstripe's 2nd try: PC case + 22W LED". That's not my grow, but it's the grow that made me go LED

2. Correct.

3.Yeah I guess you need to know thing or two about soldering, but that's really it, because there are quite a few tutorials on the internet that explain you everything, so that's nothing you can't really learn in an hour or two.

4.If you wanna harvest 200grams+ per grow, yeah, buy a tent, grab an HPS, since the LED's are a bit expensive if you're going for more than 150 watt system
 
Abiqua

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
lofly247 said:
I am considering a move to LED's because of space issues. I'm on the cheap and will likely DIY if I go ahead. Can I ask if members can chime in on the following concerns that I have. The are pitched as statements that may or may not be true. I hope this thread helps clear up some misconceptions that other new players might have and sparks some discussion that helps microgrowers.

1. When considering the inefficiencies in drivers and heat dissipation of the actual modules, LED's are always less efficient than CFLS.

2. LED Systems produce the same light, efficiencies and conditions as CFL the only difference is the space they take up.

3. DIY led systems require advanced skills in electronics putting them outside the reach of unqualified users.

4. You'll never amount to anything with those. Get a 600 hps and convert your spare room or give up the game.

Thanks for responding.
Click to expand...
1. No, in fact, some of the LED's, Cree CXA 30XX cob's are some of the most efficienct light sources, period. AB bins are almost at 50%. Even an HPS on it's best running day is maybe 30-33% efficient.
Drivers effiency and cooling [fans] will also suck at the total efficiency, but a % or two at most. Even the Cree led light bulbs @ 9.5 watts are more efficient and produce more useable light than a comparable color 26 watt cfl.

2. Yes and no. Yes you can compare lumens of a like temperature color to compare, but LED's are usually a bit more full spectrum than CFL's. Each is different.
PetFlora said:
Guys, guys, guys, for umpteenth time

mj needs a FULL spectrum of light to give you its' finest genetic potential and bud result

That comes from WHITE leds, not a bunch of monochrome spectrums crammed onto a PCB

Most whites have all the blue mj needs

Once buds set, mj consumes mass quantities of red (600-650) @ 40% of the total wattage

Adding that to soon will cause stretch
Click to expand...
3. Well here are two threads that basically lay it all out for you. Learning how to grow is usually harder than building a DC /AC component.
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-led-cree-cxa3070.789575/
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-leds-how-to-power-them.801554/

4. Until sulfur plasma gets its shit together, high powered COB LED's are basically killing it. The AB 3000k when running @ 49% efficiency is putting out about 160 lumens per watt. HPS can't touch that.

Factor in all your extra heating and cooling, plus bulb changes and power usage, in the long run [even just a year] you can expect the LED to more than compete.

:peace:

Hans
Area 51
Apache Tech
Onyx [RapidLEd]
Cree CXA 3070 Z2, Z4, AB [3000k]
BML
[maybe] Advanced

Dont waste too much time on much else.
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
lofly247 said:
I am considering a move to LED's because of space issues. I'm on the cheap and will likely DIY if I go ahead. Can I ask if members can chime in on the following concerns that I have. The are pitched as statements that may or may not be true. I hope this thread helps clear up some misconceptions that other new players might have and sparks some discussion that helps microgrowers.

1. When considering the inefficiencies in drivers and heat dissipation of the actual modules, LED's are always less efficient than CFLS.

2. LED Systems produce the same light, efficiencies and conditions as CFL the only difference is the space they take up.

3. DIY led systems require advanced skills in electronics putting them outside the reach of unqualified users.

4. You'll never amount to anything with those. Get a 600 hps and convert your spare room or give up the game.

Thanks for responding.
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED_lamp and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp
 
R

reasonevangelist

Well-Known Member
Plasma lamp sounds scary, like it should include some significant fire risk. lol.

Otherwise, yeah, Cree is rocking LED advancement recently. It was only like a month or two ago they breached the 200lm/w barrier.

The only "issue" really is that you need to understand electricity to build your own LED circuits, and you need to source/build your own parts to keep it cost effective, and IMO, understanding electricity (volts/amps/watts) is a quite a bit more complex than the physical act of soldering. Soldering is freaking easy (SMD soldering kinda isn't, but can be with the right tools and some practice). Understanding how much power you need where, and how not to create a fire hazard or damage your gear, is the hard part. But there's plenty of web resources for learning that stuff, if you're interested and autodidact. (with all the nuance of substrates/mediums, this can become overwhelming)

Plus, you can fine-tune the spectrum on quite a lot of them, and they are typically small, so if you want to get into DIY fixtures and creative positioning, you can. (surrounded by walls of light?)

I see a lot of people all over the place trying to say LED isn't a good enough option... but i think that might be because they're talking about the lower-quality imported cheap prefab "panels," and comparing upfront setup cost (time/effort/$$) to the speed/ease of HPS' expectations of max yield.

If you can work with your hands and understand electricity, have space constraints, want a lower power bill and less heat, DIY LED is the way to go. If you're on a low budget and aren't aiming for cup-winners or supplier yields, i'd even reckon that some of the currently available low cost prefab solutions would be worthy, though not the quality of a custom DIY unit. But that's the realm where they don't shine as brightly. Still, space/power/heat/cost constraints... seems like a worthy option, IMO. It's very possible to build a very capable custom LED unit for what i would consider an acceptably "low" price.

Whether You want to use them, whether they're right for Your situation, is entirely up to you.
 
lofly247

lofly247

Active Member
Thanks everybody, you have all been very helpful. Thanks for the pointers to other threads.
About a year +1/2 ago before I popped my first bean, I did some reading and it looks like some of the predictions about LED coming into their own have come true. Back then KANNA thread was the go too. I just managed to find it again and will do a little more reading before I click buy on eBay or Ali express.
Thanks heaps:grin:

Edit: Ratio of reds to blues doesn't seem to be a thing anymore?
 
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lee harvey

lee harvey

Well-Known Member
i just switched from CFL's to household L.E.D's and its working out great for me.. they are much brighter than cfls gave me 3 harvests of some fine dense ass medicine a lot less popcorn bugs than cfl.. if you have the money/space go for HPS for flowering but in cases such as mine where stealth and heat is a factor- LED is absolutely a great alternative.. i veg under cfl's and then move into flowering chamber which is all LED 3000k spectrum.. brand new technology so its understood why people are iffy but i made the switch and I'm loving it
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
lee harvey said:
i just switched from CFL's to household L.E.D's and its working out great for me.. they are much brighter than cfls gave me 3 harvests of some fine dense ass medicine a lot less popcorn bugs than cfl.. if you have the money/space go for HPS for flowering but in cases such as mine where stealth and heat is a factor- LED is absolutely a great alternative.. i veg under cfl's and then move into flowering chamber which is all LED 3000k spectrum.. brand new technology so its understood why people are iffy but i made the switch and I'm loving it
Click to expand...
pics of the grow space please
 
Thunderbum

Thunderbum

Member
I have come accross people that are very passionate about thier lighting - often dissing LED on the basis of out of date information. LED's are chips and developing as fast as other chips (? Moors Law). What was true yesterday is not necessarily true today. Computer freaks have got used to the impermanence of chip capability. Its all moving very fast. For me the bottom line is "do not buy old LED grow lights off E Bay". As people get new efficient high-output lights with Cree and Bridglux chips they sell off their old crap. If you buy one of these you will soon decide that LED is no good, and miss out on what is a new technological revolution in lighting.
 
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