The Perfect Led Grow Light / Lite

[JWM2]

I know the HLG series has them and assume anything bigger would as well but I'm not sure on the smaller units with lower voltage. They probably have a data sheet for a particular driver that you could download to make sure.
https://www.meanwelldirect.co.uk/glossary/what-is-thermal-protection/

Ahh ok. Thanks for the link. I’ll have to find the driver and look it up.

 

[JWM2]

Just checked. It does have thermal protection as well as voltage protection as well. Very cool. It’s only $55 for it on amazon so I might take the plunge and grab one. I’m sure my current driver doesn’t have that feature plus the Meanwell puts out a little more wattage so that should help a little with print quality.

 

[Jimster]

View attachment 856372

I use HID exclusively at this point, with thoughts about adding some spot lighting. I use a vertical hanging bulbs and have the walls painted bright white, ceilings about 7-8 ft. Although I only have 2 light sources, the reflection off of the walls from the bright white makes a huge difference, as the bulbs give out a ton of side and vertical light. Adding LED side lighting, or multiple side angles would work great...side lighting is greatly underused IMHO.

 

[BobaJob]

My current serup 20 or 22(I forget lol)

3500k bridgelux eb2 strips powered by a hlg600 0.7a driver in a 4x4, something like this but foldable would be so convenient to move around it gets bulky in the tent

Nice!... how many watts is that fixture, and what HPS would you say it compares to?

Tahnks

 

[Mr Bee]

I haven't used LEDs because of being old and obstinate, as well as because of so much conflicting information and the inability to compare apples to Oranges (MH/HPS VS LED) easily. I have a pretty good background in electronics and was considering building my own LEDs at one point. Chinese imports killed off that idea but I always imagined a light panel that had a wide variety of reds/blues as well as UVA/B. The idea I wanted to do was to make the panel programmable, so you could run different combinations of colors, with more blues for VG and more reds for flowering...but variable over time, mimicking what actual solar wavelengths do over the period of a 6 month period. Simple, foolproof connectors, an easy to use graphical interface, and maybe a small sensor setup module that could measure temps, humidity, and other factors that folks want to know. Variable brightness. Make it computer interfaceable to allow networking and easier data acquisition. An entire computer assisted growing program would be a good idea, although I'm sure someone has figured one out by now...probably China.

I,m the same about not using the led,s coz I,m set in my ways and I,m a naturally suspicious and negative person and because I knew I didn't even have the money to buy any led,s I didn't bother keeping up with what leds are good,what's shit,whats efficient etc but I,v been forced to accept there are some excellent led,s out there that are far more energy efficient and grow just as good or better weed than hps or hid with less electricity.my electricity bills are astronomical useing hps so if I could get a couple of good led I would save that money on electricity in no time.
I just need to work out what leds are the best value for money and what ones would suit my wee small scale grows best.hopefully I can get some ideas for this thread.

 

[Demortis]

For me I'm a simple electrician. I like math and I like light so I went hunting and hunting and I think I found it a led combo light that is rated and preforms like it says. Multispectrum, Low Rads, and output to lumens is correct. It's 327w x2 = 95,000lumens with its 2 switches on 1.blue varient lights for veg 2.orange varient lights for bloom. The power rating was also nice as it's 664w ÷ 120v = 5.5Amps. So on a 240v home service its like powering a second 600w MH for nothing and lasts 100K hours I am in :)

 

[FutureGrower]

Nice!... how many watts is that fixture, and what HPS would you say it compares to?

Tahnks

So I don't have the tool to test exactly what it's running at the wall but probably 600ish watts and i definitely built it in place of a 1k de hps.

My main reasoning was heat, I started off growing with CMH's and a single 315 cmh put off more heat than my LED unit by a noticeable amount. As far as the quality I don't have any pics of my finished products I really need to start taking more pics lol.

But I like it alot. I would never tell someone to fully blown switch especially if you're running 4+ lights. Try a single quantum board and see how it compares. Or build a single light.

Samsung, and bridgelux have been the big names for awhile in strips, cree and bridgelux (Vero) tend to be the gots for COBs but this is 5+ month old info too.

I know PLC makes strips with the samsung diodes that looks pretty nice too.

I think hps's still have their place. LED's are just more efficient, and if I can spend $550 versus 250 and save in 6 months without needing to replace any bulbs ect... it just was the right choice for me. Wheather it's a superior light to hps, I would need to run side by sides which may never happen.

 

[FutureGrower]

For me I'm a simple electrician. I like math and I like light so I went hunting and hunting and I think I found it a led combo light that is rated and preforms like it says. Multispectrum, Low Rads, and output to lumens is correct. It's 327w x2 = 95,000lumens with its 2 switches on 1.blue varient lights for veg 2.orange varient lights for bloom. The power rating was also nice as it's 664w ÷ 120v = 5.5Amps. So on a 240v home service its like powering a second 600w MH for nothing and lasts 100K hours I am in :)

I really wanna switch everything over to 220

 

[Jimster]

I really wanna switch everything over to 220

220-240 is of most advantage when using high current lights, like MH and HPS. The power consumption is the same...the advantage comes in terms of efficiency, since it is slightly more economical to run lights because the efficiency of the ballasts and less heat generated from the wires supplying everything. The difference is pretty small between 110 and 220, but you can run greater currents at higher voltages...ie you only need a 16 gauge wire to power a 1000w MH/HPS using 220, but at 110v, the current draw would be double, making a larger gauge wire necessary. Most houses in the US are 220-240, with the voltage split between two poles at 110 ea.
This might be over simplified, but it is essentially correct AFAIK. Please feel free to correct my mistakes.

 

[FutureGrower]

220-240 is of most advantage when using high current lights, like MH and HPS. The power consumption is the same...the advantage comes in terms of efficiency, since it is slightly more economical to run lights because the efficiency of the ballasts and less heat generated from the wires supplying everything. The difference is pretty small between 110 and 220, but you can run greater currents at higher voltages...ie you only need a 16 gauge wire to power a 1000w MH/HPS using 220, but at 110v, the current draw would be double, making a larger gauge wire necessary. Most houses in the US are 220-240, with the voltage split between two poles at 110 ea.
This might be over simplified, but it is essentially correct AFAIK. Please feel free to correct my mistakes.

The 220v split is completely correct but I believe you actually use about 10% more energy using 110