LED vs. HPS

[abia]

thanks just trying to maniure m plants a bit. not all of my leave are picked. just most of the big ones. but i appreciate the inputl. i hope i have not taken away from the potency.
thanks very much for the input. it seems like not everyone is haveing as much luck with led s as i am i am impressed and hope the budding is as thick as the leaves are.
thanks again.

[l8tnightskunk]

Looking very good!

[Hightide805]

i've noticed led's are getting A LOT cheeper on ebay... i wonder why? more demand maybe?

[abia]

JUST WANTED TO PUT IN A LITTLE UPDATE. MY PLANTS ARE BUDDING UNDER THE LED. I HAVE REMOVED ALL BUT 3 OF MY CFL IN MY GARDEN. WHAT I AM LEARNING ABOUT LED ARE THAT THEY ARE VERY EFFECTIVE BUT ARE NOT GOOD AT SPREADING LIGHT. THEY ARE VERY DIRECTIONAL. A 300 WATTER WILL ONLY COVER THE AREA OF A 400 WATT HPS OR MH. ALTHOUGH THE LED(300 WATTER) IS MORE EFFECTIVE IN GROWING THE PLANTS THAT IT REACHES. THE PLANTS DIRECTLY UNDER THE LED ARE GROWING LIKE NO ONES BUSINESS THE OTHERS JUST TO THE SIDE ARE NOT GROWING AS WELL.
A 600 WATT HPS IS BETTER AT SPREADING GROWING LIGHT AND ONLY COSTS $200.00 A 300 WATT LED CAN COST OVER 1000 BUCKS AND AND NOT COVER THE SAME AREA. . LED DOES NOT PRODUCE THE HEAT OF A HID LIGHT. SO IN THE SUMMER THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. LESS ELECTRICITY IS USED BUT THE LED NEED TO BE SIDE BY SIDE TO GET THE SAME COVERAGE AREA.
MY CONCLUSION IS HI POWER LED'S WORK. BUT VERY VERY EXPENSIVE TO HAVE THE SAME COVERAGE AREA AS THEIR COUNTER PART. I HONESTLY THINK 300 WATTERS ARE ABOUT THE EQUIVELENT OF A 400 WATT HID IN AREA OF COVERAGE. BUT THE USABLE LIGHT OF THE LED IS A LOT MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE 400 WATT HID. THERE IS NO WAY A 90 WATT LED IS EQUAL TO A 400 WATT HID.
IT TAKES A 300 WATT LED TO COVER THE AREA OF A 400 HPS.
BUT THE LED IS A BETTER LIGHT WAVE.
LED ARE VERY COOL COMPARED TO HID EQUIVELENT.
BUT VERY VERY EXPENSIVE COMPARED TO A 400 WATT HID LIGHT.
IF YOU USE TWO 300 WATT LEDs TO REPLACE TWO 600 WATT HPS.
YOU WILL NEED TO ADD A COUPLE MORE 90 WATT LED TO HAVE THE SAME LIGHT COVERAGE. THAT IS MY EXPERIENCE ANYWAY.
SO LEDs ARE COST PROHIBITIVE STILL.
IF YOU CAN AFFORD THEM, LEDs GROW A BETTER PLANT. THICKER BUDS. BUT THE PLANTS HAVE TO BE DIRECTLY UNDER THEM . EVEN IF YOU RAISE THE LED HIGHER LEDS ARE VERY DIRECTIONAL AND DOES NOT SPREAD THE LIGHT . (BUT AGAIN A QUALITY PLANT IS GROWN UNDER THE LED.
DO NOT BE CONFUSED. LED PANELS SUCK. THEY HAVE TO BE THE EXPENSIVE HI POWER LED TO WORK.
I HOPE I HAVE ANSWERED SOME QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE MAY HAVE. I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TWO 300 WATTERS TO EXPERIMENT WITH AND VERY PROUD OF WHAT I HAVE GROWN WITH THEM. BUT FOR NOW I THINK UNTIL THE PRICE OF THESE HI POWER LEDS COME DOWN A BIT MORE. THOSE OF US WITH A FORD BUDGET WILL DO JUST FINE WITH AN HID LIGHT BUT IF YOU HAVE A CADILLAC BUDGET THEN GO FOR IT. IT IS EASIER TO USE LED"s YOU JUST NEED MORE OF THEM .
NO HEAT ISSUES LIKE BURNING PLANTS OR HEAT SIGNATURES.
THERE ARE A FEW MORE PROs AND CONs BUT I THINK THE COSTS ARE THE MAJOR ISSUES FOR MOST OF US.
THANKS FOR READING.

[RosaLinda420]

Originally Posted by BigSmokie

Here are the LED's that I just got and will be useing for my first grow...



I will also be using 4 CFL's and will try growing lowryders and a few other strains.

I will start a journal as soon as I'm done making my box and get everything I need

how much did that cost you?

[Ap0c0leS]

I notice everyone on this thread keeps saying that the LED panels suck.. Does this include the "High Powered" LED panels from HTG supply...?


Specs are as follows.. Apparently this is a 112 LED 50 WATT Panel..

I have a 120W TRI-BAND LED from HTG and i was considering Useing this RED 50 WATT PANEL to increase Flowering growth.. I was also considering useing a White, or blue 50W panel for Germ/Seedling/Clones... When you guys say the low powered LED panels suck does this include this 50W "High Powered" panel?

--------------------------------------------------------------------


This is not a wimpy 16 watt L.E.D. panel. This is a Super High Output, 50 WATT L.E.D. Panel that produces OVER FOUR TIMES as much light as a 16 watt panel (but only costs slightly more).

This is a RED BOOSTER Spectrum L.E.D. panel that provides the BEST spectrum for THE FLOWERING STAGE OF PLANT GROWTH!

Use this RED BOOSTER Panel as supplemental light to your existing grow light. The RED SPECTRUM provided will give your flowers an extra BOOST of FLOWER POWER!

This RED BOOSTER panel is not to be used as the single light source for your plants. When added to your existing lighting the RED BOOSTER panel will increase flower size, fragrance and in some plants, like sunflowers, resin production.

[Tead]

I'm currently using 2 of their dual band 50 watt led with 4 household CF bulbs. Seems to be great for veg. I havn't had a chance to evaluate them in flower yet.

cheers

[Ap0c0leS]

Check it out dudes.. Im planning on using a 120W Triband LED, a 90W Triband UFO LED, a 50 Watt Highpower booster panel , All from HTGsupply for my custom grow tent. I am considering various options for supplemental lighting including one of the following.. Please weigh in on your opinions and let me know what you think....


Either

1.120W Triband LED, 90W Triband UFO LED , 50 Watt red Booster, Few CFL'S
2.120W Triband LED, 90W Triband UFO LED , 50 Watt red Booster, 150-200W HID Lamp
3.120W Triband LED, 90W Triband UFO LED , 50 Watt red Booster, A High Power 100W Procyon LED...


What do you guys think, Johney apple seed you seem to know alot, what would you think? What would give me the best results.. all of this will be taking place in a tent near 4'x4'x7' ....

[sfhaze]

Originally Posted by Ap0c0leS

Check it out dudes.. Im planning on using a 120W Triband LED, a 90W Triband UFO LED, a 50 Watt Highpower booster panel , All from HTGsupply
...
What do you guys think,..

I've been using some new lights from Haight Solid State. They don't have any fans and have lower prices then HTGSupply. I never tried the HTGSUpply, but my last light was the Lightblaze copy of the procyon and these are a big improvement.

[abia]

Just wanted people to know . Led flower wonderfully. Good tight flowers. Nice and compact they seem to be. Not so fluffy as i have seen with hps. I am sold on a good high power led 80/2 ratio red and blue. All the way. The tri band are just junk and over rated i think.
But this was my first grow with them . But i think all the mistakes in this first grow will not be repeated the second grow and should result in a fewer flower but more bud harvest. Wooohoooooo.

[abia]

APOCOLES ...... I THINK YOU WILL KEEP YOUR HEAT TO A MINIMUM WITH THE CFLs OR NOTHING BUT LED ALL THE WAY WOULD WORK GOOD ALSO

[PotPie]

hey abia please post up some pics! A lot of us have been waiting to see a harvest from all LED. If you could do this, I'm sure you could settle a few arguments and more than a few bets. Show us some bud-porn!

[norcaliwood]

I two wood like to see some finished buds. Any eye candy wood be nice. I have thought of trying led's but I am waiting till the bugs get ironed out before I invest in one, Stay Down.

[omenman]

there have been a lot of comparison grows with leds vs hps...and it doesnt add up...i says this not from a person that grows weed..but from a guy that use to sells LEDs for growers...yes leds will grow a plant...however they create no heat and you dont have the intensity of an HPS....plants need heat..btw and they need lots of light..yes leds can pin point the spectrum of any nanometer of light ...440 for blues..660s reds 690 far reds..but they were not designed to grow bud...we sell them to schools and colleges for safer lights around kids and for experiments...not for people thinking there getting this great deal and grow tons of bud...now if you want to grow weed with them then pay attention here.... LEDs best work with the conjuction of HPS and leds//when i left people were getting great results with 400s and 600s with leds around them...say one 600 and 4 bars or even a 250 with leds around them...use leds to boost light levels with out adding more power...but if your not worried about power then 1000 watt hps no matter how many leds will out produce hands down..

[t420]

What a waste of a thread, all these posts later and still there is little understanding of the original question. To answer the question; "Which is best of hps/led?" one must simply put it into context. Per gram of yield the hps is more expensive to run, but will produce much more bud despite it not being as closely matched to the spectrum of the sun. Now consider the cost of both units, while leds seem to be slowly decreasing in price and increasing in light output they are still alot more expensive to buy than HPS. HPS also releases radiant heat which means that light loss occurs when the lamp is raised to stop colas from burning, cost also goes up when extra ventilation is needed and in some cases air conditioning. In some climates leds simply will not produce the heat required and the use of a heater/ac will make savings on light power almost meaningless.

If you built two rooms at $1000 each not including the cost of lighting, place an led in one and hps in the other, which will return my investment to me quickest? My money at this point in led development is on the HPS.

Neither solution is perfect, both offering multiple pros and cons, if power is your major concern then go with led but know that it will take alot longer to return your investment than HPS.