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Sask420grow
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No RO water. Just tap water that sits for 24hrs then phed with lemon juice. Living soil and natural fertilizers.
Changing to LED from MH & HPS, 1000w each: What should I get to match?
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Always judge a light by what it draws from the wall. The ‘2000 watt’ term is basically meaningless.
It doesn’t output 2000 watts worth of light. It isn’t physically possible for it to draw 380 watts and then ‘output 2000’.
There are various methods that LED light manufacturers use to come up with their inflated wattage numbers, but basically what it boils down to is false advertising. The wattage drain from the wall is what you need to know to make comparisons with.
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Sask420grow
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But they explain why they say 2000w. Each diode is 10w of light times 200 lights... doesn’t this make sense. A HPS uses heat and a ballast to ignite. The led lights are instant transfer from energy to light. Isn’t this why the 1000w draws 1000w while led lights only draw what each diode takes to light (minimal)?
Yes -It’s one common method used to arrive at the inflated LED wattage numbers. It’s unfortunate that the manufacturers went down this road, but it’s understandable since it seems to fool so many people.
For one thing the system drives those diodes at reduced power, because at full they’d burn out and fail much sooner.
So it’s a bit like having a motorcycle that is theoretically capable of going 200 mph if only for a short time, hardwired to go a maximum of 40 mph for safety reasons, then advertised as going 200.
For one thing the system drives those diodes at reduced power, because at full they’d burn out and fail much sooner.
So it’s a bit like having a motorcycle that is theoretically capable of going 200 mph if only for a short time, hardwired to go a maximum of 40 mph for safety reasons, then advertised as going 200.
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Sask420grow
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It seems like you don’t fully understand led lights. I’ll post a link to a YouTube video that explains it better then I could.
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Sask420grow
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Sask420grow
Well-Known Member
Each diode needs a certain amount of volts to light. 3.5 at most. So let’s say 3.5 x 200 is 680. That’s at full. Yes they dumb it down so it last longer. That’s another selling feature for led. 200 diodes x 10w a piece is 2000w...
Uhh... yes I understand what a LED diode is. It would be nice for the growers if that ‘2000 watt light’ really was one, I agree. But it draws 380 watts. Make it draw 2000 and then we can start calling it a 2000 watt light. Beyond that- it’s just a number to make the buyer feel good.
There are many types of LED lights. ‘LED’ isn’t one entity. They vary hugely in efficiency and quality. Some surpass HID lights. Blurples- uhhh...not so much
In any case, you want to look at the actual draw wattage when making comparisons between lights.
That draw wattage is not the most important factor in terms of light quality, but it’s an important starting point. A light that draws 380 watts is a 380 watt light, no matter how wonderful it is, whether it outshines a 600 watt HID or not.
To be honest I’m surprised that consumer regulators let slide this whole confusing shitshow with LED stated wattages, since it directly contravenes the concept of what a ‘watt’ is in this context.
There are many types of LED lights. ‘LED’ isn’t one entity. They vary hugely in efficiency and quality. Some surpass HID lights. Blurples- uhhh...not so much
In any case, you want to look at the actual draw wattage when making comparisons between lights.That draw wattage is not the most important factor in terms of light quality, but it’s an important starting point. A light that draws 380 watts is a 380 watt light, no matter how wonderful it is, whether it outshines a 600 watt HID or not.
To be honest I’m surprised that consumer regulators let slide this whole confusing shitshow with LED stated wattages, since it directly contravenes the concept of what a ‘watt’ is in this context.
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Sask420grow
Well-Known Member
The draw wattage is irrelavent to the diode. The diode only needs so much to be powered. Any more and it blows. A HPS needs 1000w to power. The diode needs 3.5volts ( 4-6w) x 200. The diode puts out 10w of light while only needing to draw 4-6w. That’s one of the main reason they started using led on everything. It uses less power with the same outcome.
2000w of led only needs 680w from the wall to be powered while the HPS needs all of it with a ballast to distribute it properly. The ballast is the governor in a HPS set up. Same as the led having a internal governor. I don’t understand what your trying to explain haha. I see it as , aslong as the 10w diodes are all lite, they put out 2000w of light.
2000w of led only needs 680w from the wall to be powered while the HPS needs all of it with a ballast to distribute it properly. The ballast is the governor in a HPS set up. Same as the led having a internal governor. I don’t understand what your trying to explain haha. I see it as , aslong as the 10w diodes are all lite, they put out 2000w of light.
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Sask420grow
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AND. That’s using the high 3.5v diodes. The others are less. Much less is some cases
It’s not an argument I’m very invested in, to say the least. TBH I couldn’t care less- if calling it a 2000 watt light works for you that’s fine- but when discussing the light specs, the first thing anyone is going to ask you is how many watts it actually draws.
I was just trying to help answer your question a few posts back. I’ll just step aside and let someone else come along and try to explain it to you. Cheers.
I was just trying to help answer your question a few posts back. I’ll just step aside and let someone else come along and try to explain it to you. Cheers.
Barney86
Well-Known Member
Oops, posted in wrong thread lol
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Sask420grow
Well-Known Member
Thanks for trying but your explanations don’t have support for what your saying. Those who ask what it pulls from the wall will be happy to hear it’s only 380w for a 2000w output. That is what is advertised and it makes sense given the math...
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Sask420grow
Well-Known Member
Here’s an example of what your saying not making any sense.
SP 250 230w 2x4 energy saving plant led growth light - Mars Hydro for sale,buy SP 250 230w 2x4 energy saving plant led growth light - Mars Hydro - Mars Hydro
SP 250 230w 2x4 energy saving plant led growth light - Mars Hydro Online,Buy SP 250 230w 2x4 energy saving plant led growth light - Mars Hydro ,SP 250 230w 2x4 energy saving plant led growth light - Mars Hydro for sale at English
www.mars-hydro.com
for coverage, production, and cost efficiency you are looking at either cob or quantum board. full stop.
building it yourself is the best / most bang for the buck. my opinion is quantums will perform the best, cobs are a close second. quantums generally run a tad hotter and chew up a touch more power than cobs, but not by a bunch. most who have tried both will report a little better coverage with quantum.
these two choices are the only things that will replace your hps and mh lights, and should be the only thing you
consider. there are kits available, and there are site sponsors selling them as well.
i personally run cobs. quantums were not a thing yet when i got into doing this. this is one of the rigs i run.
that is the lowest setting. my camera can't handle it full up. don't mind the burple, it's a ramp up / down thing and only runs for a short period at either end of the light schedule when the main light is off.
it's in a 4 x 3 room and in practice would replace about a 400 watt mh / hps. that's based on my experience alone, a better grower could get it to perform better i'm sure. it draws about 200 watts but i haven't actually measured. it runs as full spectrum for both veg and flower. i do build dedicated rigs for each tho, i will be replacing this rig with a six cob light which i feel would be about right for that size space.
read up on both quantum and cob as much as possible. good luck. hope the riders have a decent season.
building it yourself is the best / most bang for the buck. my opinion is quantums will perform the best, cobs are a close second. quantums generally run a tad hotter and chew up a touch more power than cobs, but not by a bunch. most who have tried both will report a little better coverage with quantum.
these two choices are the only things that will replace your hps and mh lights, and should be the only thing you
consider. there are kits available, and there are site sponsors selling them as well.
i personally run cobs. quantums were not a thing yet when i got into doing this. this is one of the rigs i run.
that is the lowest setting. my camera can't handle it full up. don't mind the burple, it's a ramp up / down thing and only runs for a short period at either end of the light schedule when the main light is off.
it's in a 4 x 3 room and in practice would replace about a 400 watt mh / hps. that's based on my experience alone, a better grower could get it to perform better i'm sure. it draws about 200 watts but i haven't actually measured. it runs as full spectrum for both veg and flower. i do build dedicated rigs for each tho, i will be replacing this rig with a six cob light which i feel would be about right for that size space.
read up on both quantum and cob as much as possible. good luck. hope the riders have a decent season.
Groan. Look, I’m not reading all that stuff - I’m busy. I’ve grown plants a tiny bit, I’ve read some stuff before, I’ve used lights...
This below is all I was trying to say, to help you understand, in response to your seeming confusion over what @Barney86 said.
“The wattage drain from the wall is what you need to know to make comparisons with.”
That’s about it. It’s a very simple point. I wasn’t talking about what kind of light is better or any of the other rabbit holes you’ve posted here.
We are not talking about a ‘2000 watt’ grow light. It’s 340, (or perhaps 380 watts? You wrote both). The 2000 watt part is basically a marketing term. We can talk specs, efficiency, and gibberish all day, but that won’t change its wattage.
Anyway... I’m unsubbing from this thread - have wasted enough of my time. Peace.
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Sask420grow
Well-Known Member
So
ok so it’s pointless to change from my current set up too save power as I would need to draw the same amount of power to get equal results. I get it. Simple. I won’t be changing then. No point haha
I just switched my personal grow to qb's. I can definitely say that 960w (from the wall) qb will out perform 2 1000w hps.
Also I can tell you that youd need 2 of the old mars2 800 watt blurple to replace a 1000w hps. But the new Mars is looking really promising!
Barney86
Well-Known Member
That was me leaving a reply in the wrong thread mate lol.
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