uptheholler2
New Member
Hey SmokeSara! I fully understand the relationship between light and plant production. But having said that I find very little hard data on from all LED distributers on effective coverage and light penetration. Having been a long time MH/ HPS light user, ( I hate to admit it but I have been using MH lighting since the late 70's) I am looking for comparisons between these 2 lights. Since I am building a new 240 to 300 sq foot grow room I think that I have finally decided to make the jump. The pluses in my opinion are of course electric consumption and environmental control also with some lights the ability to customize the available wavelengths. But I find little practical info on spread and canopy penetration. On a standard HPS/MH set up I can adjust my effective coverage from about 4x5 up to about 6x7. I use adjustawing type reflectors with extremely high ceilings and circulation to vent my heat. With double ended HPS/MH lights I can increase the coverage and lumens. I recently went to a friend GPD grow where he was using and Advanced LED light on a 6 ft long track and I must admit that I was really impressed by both his expected yield and color and resin development of his plants. He has been growing the same cloned GDP for going on 10 years now and only recently made the switch to led's.
I am switching to a DWC bucket system from my old school rock wool drip tray system to allow me to be able to move plants when need to allow for light penetration. It seems to me that COB lighting looks to give better penetration of the canopy with standard LEDs it looks to me that you get perhaps better coverage depending upon the layout of the light system. Since I am making a substantial investment in this setup I am leaning towards the light rail system to increase coverage and may have to look at dropping additional lighting into the canopy to get the penetration that I normally would be looking for. I used to drop cool tubes but the expense didn't warrant the return in my opinion so over the years I have gone to my own method of training to achieve my harvest goals.
I sincerely appreciate you time trying to help a dinosaur grower move into the future. I guess it's tougher for me having used MH lighting in my greenhouses and tunnels to grow vegetables and even a giant pumpkin or two over the years. It's always tough to let go of the edge of the pool and enter the deep water of the unknown!! Best of luck in all you grow!
I am switching to a DWC bucket system from my old school rock wool drip tray system to allow me to be able to move plants when need to allow for light penetration. It seems to me that COB lighting looks to give better penetration of the canopy with standard LEDs it looks to me that you get perhaps better coverage depending upon the layout of the light system. Since I am making a substantial investment in this setup I am leaning towards the light rail system to increase coverage and may have to look at dropping additional lighting into the canopy to get the penetration that I normally would be looking for. I used to drop cool tubes but the expense didn't warrant the return in my opinion so over the years I have gone to my own method of training to achieve my harvest goals.
I sincerely appreciate you time trying to help a dinosaur grower move into the future. I guess it's tougher for me having used MH lighting in my greenhouses and tunnels to grow vegetables and even a giant pumpkin or two over the years. It's always tough to let go of the edge of the pool and enter the deep water of the unknown!! Best of luck in all you grow!
Hi uptheholler, we have tested the effective coverage for our lights and the penetration will be warranted under certain height. These data has been proved effective by many growers here who use led grow lights.
However, better to think twice before the jump, I can understand your feeling. It's not an easy decision, but you can have a try at first and will know whether it's worth it.
