. How much are they selling for these days?
The last two i bought were around $120 Canadian each for 600w. So about $10 a month per bulb which is pretty reasonable I guess. You can get cheap bulbs for less than half that but I’ve come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for.
.That's exactly why I'm doing my due diligence and researching and asking questions to do it the right way the first time LOL I don't want no stinking tomatoes although they're hella yummy when they're green and fried upIf your walls are very reflective to white (properly prepped, primed, and painted the brightest flat or eggshell finish white available in your area), you could probably do pretty good with three top-shelf 600-watt setups. IDK what you would consider "best bang for the buck" other than top-shelf quality components, BtW. I mean... you're not growing tomatoes, and bud doesn't cost $2.49/pound when you have to buy it to make up for a lack at harvest time
Have you considered your power supply yet? That’s where I would start before buying lights. Could eliminate some costly repairs to your home/space by figuring out your electrical situation first.
Those LEDs only draw about 450 watts. One of those won’t compete with a1000w HPS.
I prefer Hps, but my yields tripled with out any extra effort compared to LED. So if you have the power to run them and keep them cool that’s what I would do. But that’s personal opinion and I used budget LEDs
I've only ever used ipower fans and they suck. Maybe their lights are better, but the company isn't known for quality even at their price point.
Well put...
Not so for me. I’m using mostly HID for now because;
-It’s cheap and it works reliably as it has for decades, I’m glad the guinea pigs spent thousands on their ‘amazing’ blurples they were boasting about five or six years ago, because someone had to do it.
But now they're sitting on obsolete junk they paid a fortune for, and I’m still using the exact same lights as I was then.
Yes of course LED is now much better than it was, and more efficient in terms of light output per watt. Spend a few thousand dollars and you can save money....
- HPS grows great bud.
Looking around the forum year after year I hear a whole lot of talk- but I’m just not seeing buds that make me envious- except maybe at Graytail’s place. But he’s got a zillion QB panels.
- It heats my growroom for me -which in my case makes it way more efficient than LED. What - I’m going to spend all that money and now I have to buy an electric heater too...?
I have some Q board panels. But I’m not switching over to all LED quite yet because:
-It’s way overpriced still. Wait a year or two and you’ll see. In a couple years we will be buying better LEDs for cheaper. At this point I’d have to spend a couple thousand dollars just to be where I already am with HPS. So why would I?
-Doesn’t provide enough heat for me.
- I’m very tired of LED snake oil salesman and LED preachers. Maybe I’ll take Bluter’s suggestion and build my own panels.
Whatever you get, get fairly high quality, so you can continue to grow good dope for years to come. Whether you spend a lot up front now on LED, build your own, or go cheap with HID, the main thing is you want to keep growing good weed. As far as electrical costs, venting, that sort of stuff- that varies by region. But the math is fairly straightforward, so with a little number crunching you can figure out what your costs will be and what makes sense for you.
There are a bunch of lighting alternatives, and HID is one. So don’t let people say otherwise. Situations vary and many don’t line the heat, but here in Antarctica HID is the cats meow.
What you mainly want to avoid is buying something that will be broken or obsolete in two years.
How much cheaper is building your own LED as opposed to buying one prebuilt?
