LEDs vs T-5s?

[Bandit420]

Like I said, it's all about Amps.
Let me make an analogy using cars.
We all know how Miles Per Gallons ratings work for our cars.
I can put 10 Gallons of fuel in two different cars, one a Hummer and the other a Sedan of some sort.
The 10 Gallons of fuel is our Watts and the Miles Per Gallon (MPG) is our Amps.
Now their both automobiles containing the same amount of fuel, so they should go the same distance, right?
We know that's wrong though, a Sedan has a more efficient engine in how it uses it's fuel and a lot less weight to move by just being smaller.
Yes, the Hummer is by far more powerful, but that raw power comes at a price, poor efficiency.
The Hummer will gulp that 10 Gallons up and get you several miles fast, but gas-out quickly before needing to be refueled.
The Sedan can't match the Hummer's top speed, but it can travel considerably farther on that 10 Gallons before it needs to be refueled.
We find out that the Hummer only gets 9 MPG and the Sedan gets 25 MPG (these numbers are fictitious and are only for the purposes of this example, actual brand mileage has not been checked by this poster).
So despite using up the same amount of fuel (Watts), the MPG rating (Amps) plays a huge role on how quickly that fuel is used.
Now let's say you have a 500 mile trip to make, do you want to pay to refuel twice or six times?

And yes, I would be able to run something in the neighborhood of 3-4 times what I currently am to see that $20 spike, 1W LED's are super efficient.

Um Ok.
If my 8 tube T5 is 192 watts at 1.2 amps and your led is 180 watts at 1.5 amps is the led still using 3x less the energy as the T5?

 

[ol hippy]

You should ask The Builder on how to do that, especially considering one of the selling points of that brand of LED lights is that it's serviceable by the customer. Then he can send you a proper repair kit at no cost to you since you're still under warranty.

But you didn't ask how to fix it, you asked what you should get next.
You shouldn't fib to those who can fact check you.

I'm not "fibbing" I'm just trying to get my grow finished ! If I can repair my LED I will, if it will be a pain in the ass I'll stop in their shop and have them fix it I'm just asking for some info . There web site sucks but I have talked to them in Portland and they are very helpfull, as soon as I can I will call them and ask them what I can do...

 

[Herb Fellow]

Peaceful and helpful growers is the name of the game. We can all learn from each other. Speaking of UFO's, that anal probe is hell.

 

[Bad Karma]

Um Ok.
If my 8 tube T5 is 192 watts at 1.2 amps and your led is 180 watts at 1.5 amps is the led still using 3x less the energy as the T5?

That's great that your T5 unit runs at 1.2 Amps, I was going off the units that I had previously owned which obviously weren't as efficient as yours are.
Manufacturers and models very greatly in their effectiveness, whether LED, T5, or HPS.
All 3 types of light are viable for growing, each one has it's strengths and weaknesses though.

 

[Bad Karma]

I'm not "fibbing" I'm just trying to get my grow finished ! If I can repair my LED I will, if it will be a pain in the ass I'll stop in their shop and have them fix it I'm just asking for some info . There web site sucks but I have talked to them in Portland and they are very helpfull, as soon as I can I will call them and ask them what I can do...

I'm glad to hear that you are in touch with them, since contacting them seems to have become an issue from what I've just read.
Sorry for having to call you out a bit and I understand that you want your grow to finish, you just need to be more clear and forthright in the future when communicating.
I hope things get repaired and work wonderfully for you.
Good luck

 

[Max420]

One grower claimed to get much better grows with an 2 foot 8 bulb t5. He got his bulbs from aquarium shops online and the graphs he showed for comparison left no doubt but that t5 was the best choice. I have a copy of what he used, I think.

 

[ol hippy]

I'm glad to hear that you are in touch with them, since contacting them seems to have become an issue from what I've just read.
Sorry for having to call you out a bit and I understand that you want your grow to finish, you just need to be more clear and forthright in the future when communicating.
I hope things get repaired and work wonderfully for you.
Good luck

PMd Builder last night, He answered me this morning and said he'd send me a new power strip and instructions on how to do the switch. So it looks like I may be able to fix this light. Although I still don't believe that these LEDs can compare to an HPS , my buds look the same after 3 wks of flowering , the plants are still getting taller but the buds don't seem to be putting on much weight !? I may just switch to my HPS and see if that makes a diff. Maybe just use the LED for vegging.. We will see what works best ... Thanks for your replys..

 

[Max420]

I looked on both of my computers for the led info and spent a considerable amount of time trying to track down the original post. I apologize for not being able to give that information. I'm sure our brains would like to have a chance to study something like that. That guy did a lot of research in order to get the best out of his t5 and if his research was on the up and up, we're missing out on something good.

 

[Max420]

Aquarium Light Bulbs and Lamps at ThatFishPlace.com

This place has many different kinds of t5 bulbs. Somebody might be smart enough to figure out the right mix for best growing. It ain't going to be me though.

 

[drewapicture]

Originally Posted by Bad Karma
People get too focused on Wattage sometime and forget about the Amps a light uses, and those Amps will get ya every time.

sorry to say but are you retarded? v*a=watt means: volts multiplyed by amps equals watts, also watts divided by amps equals volts, also watts divided by volts equal amps.

I saw an increase of around $20 a month when I was running an HPS (150W).
I saw an increase of $12-15 a month when I was running T5's (384W).
I've seen an increase of $5 a month since I've been running the LED's (1080W).

a 150 watt hps running at 10 hours a day will comsume 1.5 kilowatt hours,
384 watts of T5 running at 10 hours a day will comsume 3.84 kilowatt hours,
and 1080 watts of LED lighting running 10 hours a day will consume 10.80 kilowatt hours a day.
and unless i am mistaken you pay your power bill depending on how many kilowatt hours you used.
hope this clears some things up.