10x20 Grow Space. Need Light Advice.

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Zedkhov

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Hello everyone,

I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. I have built myself a 10x20 insulated grow shack and am about to purchase my lights. I could use some advice and opinions before i do so.

I plan to grow 50 plants in 5 gallon air pots with a coco perlite mixture. Im looking to use 4 1200w meizhi led lights on them:

MEIZHI Reflector-Series 1200W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum for Indoor Plants Veg and Flower - Dual Growth Bloom Switches

Im going by the rule of thumb of 50w per square foot, but now im concerned this is not enough for the number of plants i am aiming for. What do you all think?

Cheers!
 
Toaster79

Toaster79

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Screenshot 20180408 201126


At 50W/sq' that makes 2500W.

2.603A x 220V = 572.66W -driver losses

572.66W x 3 = 1717.98W

That makes 34.36W/sq' which would suffice if those weren't the cheap chinese blurple watts.

Did you consider building your own lights?
 
Z

Zedkhov

6
3
Thanks for the reply. The lights are low mid range i spose. They seem to be the most well reviewed across the board in that price range and wattage and their warranty is decent. I had not considered making my own, but its a really intetesting idea. Where can i find resources and information about that sort of thing?

This shack is a test across the board, albeit an expensive one. I hope to learn while making mistakes as i go. Im about to order 4 of those lights and am starting to worry if they will suffice as its 2k ish outta my pocket..which is why im finally posting here.

Anyways, I really appreciate your response and any advice about where to learn about building my own lights.

Cheers,

Toaster79 said:
View attachment 791114

At 50W/sq' that makes 2500W.

2.603A x 220V = 572.66W -driver losses

572.66W x 3 = 1717.98W

That makes 34.36W/sq' which would suffice if those weren't the cheap chinese blurple watts.

Did you consider building your own lights?
Click to expand...
 
Z

Zedkhov

6
3
DGP

DGP

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Yes, Timber, Rapidled, cobkits.com anything but Chinese blurple...yes you can grow crops with them (blurple) but there are several downsides.
 
Z

Zedkhov

6
3
DGP said:
Yes, Timber, Rapidled, cobkits.com anything but Chinese blurple...yes you can grow crops with them (blurple) but there are several downsides.
Click to expand...
Can yoi cover some of the down sides? I imagine quality and spectrum? But the ones i linked seem to be well received in that regard. Ultimately ny goal is a balance of quality and quantity so all these rwsponses and suggestiobs are really great. Cheers!
 
DGP

DGP

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The things I looked at when converting to LED was the folowing:

1. Color accuracy (CRI) that was at least 90. Blurple lights have a typical CRI of 39 as well as HPS at 39 or so. Only lights I considered were CMH and LED (quality COBs or Quantums) because they were the only sources in the 90 or higher range.

2. Light penetration. There is a myth that LED does not have the penetration. LEDs, especially COBs and Quantums can actually have significantly better penetration due to the fact they are not a single point source and have "diversity of angle". A photon is a photon whether it is made by the sun or an arc of electricity or a filament. The only variable is wavelength and intensity (number of photons).

3. Efficiency and thermal efficiency. Meanwell power supplies are often in the 94% efficiency range and that is better than most other lighting systems especially the blurple products. Thermally the power supplies (which get pretty warm) can be mounted outside the grow room and this is an advantage over built in supplies in the blurple lights.

4. Reliability. If you build it you can stock spare parts and you know exactly how to fix it. Replacing a driver or a LED element is no big deal and not expensive.

Dee
 
Last edited:
Z

Zedkhov

6
3
DGP said:
The things I looked at when converting to LED was the folowing:

1. Color accuracy (CRI) that was at least 90. Blurple lights have a typical CRI of 39 as well as HPS at 39 or so. Only lights I considered were CMH and LED (quality COBs or Quantums) because they were the only sources in the 90 or higher range.

2. Light penetration. There is a myth that LED does not have the penetration. LEDs, especially COBs and Quantums can actually have significantly better penetration due to the fact they are not a single point source and have "diversity of angle". A photon is a photon whether it is made by the sun or an arc of electricity or a filament. The only variable is wavelength and intensity (number of photons).

3. Efficiency and thermal efficiency. Meanwell power supplies are often in the 94% efficiency range and that is better than most other lighting systems especially the blurple products. Thermally the power supplies (which get pretty warm) can be mounted outside the grow room and this is an advantage over built in supplies in the blurple lights.

4. Reliability. If you build it you can stock spare parts and you know exactly how to fix it. Replacing a driver or a LED element is no big deal and not expensive.

Dee
Click to expand...
Brilliant. Ty for the info.

Apologies for my awful spelling in previous posts as i am on my phone.

I will do more research before taking the plunge!
 
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