Grow lights vs. LEDs

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boot-cheese

420 Member
ok so i plan on growing soon and i've been studying/researching marijuana horticulture for several years but now am getting back into relearning after taking a break. now i was gonna more than likely build a grow chamber if not turn a armoire or tool shed (closet size) into a chamber. now i remember reading about metal halide lights vs. halcyon lightbulbs and their advantages and disadvantages. i was gonna research that gain to remind myself which would be better but NOW i've found out that LEDs have been used for indoor gardening and work just as good so this is kinda confusing for me. has anyone used LEDs to grow weed and if so how many did you use and what was the total wattage? does it also depend on the size of the grow room (which i assume it does) that you figured out how this worked? thanks for taking the time out to read and assist me in my endeavor.
 
yeah i was browsing a bit on the tips on how and what to grow so i guess this has been experimented on within the past few years. i know how cheap LEDs are as well as how resourceful and creative you can get with them. those other heat lamps cost too bloody much for me. good looking (or as they say in the black community 'hood lookin'), i'll check them out and see how i can fix that into the ideas i got with my grow chamber i'm planning on building/customizing.
 
Greetings. As one who is about to attempt my first-ever grow, I've researched the LED market space pretty thoroughly, and I'd like to share what I found.

First of all, the results from the grow journals speak for themselves. This is a viable technology if used properly. It's still pricey, but prices are definitely moving in the right direction, and the savings in power bills over the long-term can definitely add up.

This is in addition to the fact that money may also be saved on the cooling solutions and ballasts that are often necessary with other types of lights, but are not needed with LEDs. In my case, LEDs will save me money on power versus a 250-watt HPS, save me money by not heating my living space so I have to run the A/C more, and allow me more efficient use of space because I can let the plants grow closer to the light.

The main thing I found in my research is that buyers must be very careful when it comes to power claims.

Take the popular "90 watt UFO" lights, for example. These lights contain 90 1-watt bulbs, so, they produce 90 watts of light, right?

Wrong. In the name of reliability and efficiency, pretty much every manufacturer only puts half the available power into each light. So, that "90 watt light" really only uses 40-45 watts of power.

You see this all over the industry right now. There are 250 watt lights that only use around 115 watts, 300 watt lights that use around 140, and 550 watt lights that use less than 250.

On the other hand, there are some companies who actually tell you how much power their lamp uses. In one sense, these companies are at a competitive disadvantage, because some consumers will see a 300 watt lamp versus a 180 watt lamp, and automatically assume the 300 watt lamp is nearly twice as powerful, when the reality is the 180 might be putting out thirty percent more power.

Since LED is rather expensive still, I'd recommend reading up thoroughly on any product you choose. I ultimately went with a brand I had written off as being too expensive at first, but after further examination, I found their price-to-power ratio was very competitive, especially since I was able to take advantage of a recent sale. Without that sale, though, I'd probably have bought from someone else.

It's kind of a confusing marketplace at the moment, since a lot of companies are jumping on the bandwagon and offering a lot more marketing than substance. Take your time, do your research, and be very skeptical of really high power claims at really low prices, because you're probably not getting what you think you're getting.
 
well could you inform me of some companies that are reputable as far as their products? private message of course homes, i noticed you don't like putting the company's name out in the open like that.
 
HarmoniusMonk is right.

If you want to go LED, make your best effort to truly understand what LED's are, and how they work. Understand PAR, photosynthesis etc.

I made sure I had a large grasp on all this information prior to purchasing an expensive LED.

Some LED companies are like car lot's, the more shit you know going into them the better deal you get coming out of them.
 
yeah the only thing i know about LEDs is the smaller ones and how you can make cool lighting effects with them to add decor to your homes or become the DOPEST mobile dj in town. that's why i'm asking about then when being used for growing indoor marijuana. it's something that is foreign to me and was hoping for a few companies to help get me started but i see i'm gonna have to do the research myself. thanx for the help, advice and links. it's been more than helpful and i know where to go when i have more questions.
 
boot-cheese said:
are they reputable lights? i'm not gonna buy some LEDs that don't work. i was also thinking of building my own since i heard they're much cheaper than buying readymade ones like this site:

14 Watt Grow Light Kit - HomeGrownLights.com
Click to expand...

That will provide little more than a wee bit extra of vegetative growth. If you're serious about using LEDs to do full grows, you'd damn well better be prepared to spend serious money.

Anything less than 180W (true) is going to be useless. Those little 5mm POS light-bright looking LEDs will be a waste.

The LED sponsors on the site (for the most part) have quality units. Read the journals, mine included. I've never grown with anything else but LEDs.

:goodluck:
 
ok so the link i provided won't be good enough unless i use better lights is what you're telling me? like installing better lights?
 
boot-cheese,
Check out my journal as well as Joso-sha's. I am using Advanced LEDs and he is using Grow Stealth. Both are sponsors here and both produce quality meds.

My 360 watt lights put out 360 watts, they consume 390-410 watts and are pretty potent.

Harmonious and JJ make great points. Beware of lights listed as 90 watt that only consume 18 and do some research on PAR, since everyone is hung up on lumens, which is not a good indicator for LEDs.

There are some very low cost models out there, just remember, "good aint cheap and cheap aint good".
 
yeah that's the mantra i'm telling myself. also just because it's name brand doesn't mean it's also good. from what you're telling me that philips lumiled would be an unwise investment. ok well since i've done some research on the web here i'll check out you kat's synopses on LEDs and make my final judgments based on your experiences and prices. thanx for all the help and advice. as you can see i'm not being lazy about it, just HELLA cautious you know. i don't wanna waste money on something that doesn't work or perform as good as i'd like it to.
 
Wow. I haven't been on here since 2011. Oh, how time flies......

so, to get caught up to speed, I'm about to start my Grow, I just need to get what I need for setting up the Lights--Wire Connectors. In regards to connecting the Lights--2 Atreum Samsung LM301B LED Panels connected to a MeanWell HLG120H 48A LED Driver. I'm using a Lamp Cord to connect to it, but it's a basic one that looks like this:


20240219_144214.jpg

Here are the Photos of the Driver:

20240219_152538.jpg


20240219_152603.jpg


As you can see, one end has 3 wires, while the other has 2. I know the one Cable with 2 wires is for the LED Panels, to which I know what type of Wire Connectors I'm going to use, but the one with 3 wires will be connected to the Lamp Cord, which has 2. I'm not sure what type of Wire Connector or a 2-Way Junction Connector. I haven't seen a way I could use one. The only solution I found was some YouTube video:


I'm not sure if this Method shown on the Video would be sufficient enough for a set-up like this, esp since I'm using a Driver--

--or is it?

Any Advice or Tips would be welcome.
 
Well, don't take anything I say without a grain of salt, I am far from expert.

But I think you need a different cord. Something with 3 prongs to handle that ground wire.

Oh and, Welcome back! :hug:
 
Thanks for the warm Welcome.

Upon doing a bit more Research, I saw that the new Cord that I purchased has a Black, White, and Green wires in the Cable. On the Driver, if you've noticed, the Wires are Green/Yellow, Brown (ACL), and Blue (ACN). I'm assuming that the Colors don't matter, just as long as the Wires match up. Black signifies a Hot Wire, which would match up with the Blue one, Green/Yellow is for Grounding, and the White/Brown one is Neutral. If I have this wrong, please let me know, because I'm almost thinking that I got the wrong Cord and have to search for a new one with matching color Wires.

Also--

seeing as the Green one is for Grounding, and my Driver has that little loop at the end of the Green/Yellow Wire, how do I connect it to the Green Wire on the Cord, which doesn't have the same loop at the end of the Wire. Do I wrap that one around the loop and connect it together with Black Tape, or do I remove that loop and connect them in the Junction Connector?
 
I agree, seems to be your answer. As for connecting with the loop, either of the things you said will work, as long as you have a good solid connection and cover it when done.
 

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