HPS light superior vs current led tech?

[Edinburgh]

In my opinion bps is best for commercial grows, good led lights are expensive, but if your growing for just yourself I would go led, if your gonna do a big grow I would use mh, but remember mh throws off a lot of heat I would not want one in my tent it's hot enough with led, and it costs allot more mony to run mh.

 

[cemchris]

Not to mention MH explode since they arent under vacuum. Why they have to have a jacket or be enclosed in a glass hood.

 

[Kingjoshh]

I can vouch along with many others on another forum for the quality and price of the alibaba HLG alternatives! they have more spectrum choices and cost a fraction of the price ! i ordered a 250W from kingbrite in 3000k with 660nm and am extremely happy with it ! it has the samsung 301b diodes! they also have the newer slightly more efficient lm301H diodes as well. these things blow any blurple LED light out of the water, these diodes produce extremely high quality full spectrum light, these diodes are the epitome of LED growing right now, cant get much better... you can also have them add infrared and UV diodes to the boards as well. lots of custom options. check them out! ill be ordering another 250W from them for sure! i was very impressed with build quality of the boards!

Products list direct from CN

Main products Led grow light, Red light therapy and 195 more Products from Shenzhen Kingbrite Lighting Co., Ltd. on Alibaba.com

kingbriteled.en.alibaba.com

thanks these look cool ima look into em, what do you like on there that you didn’t buy

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

heres my 250W outshining my two "300W" viparspectras, this thing nearly blinded me when i turned it on for the first time. these things are true watts, none of that equivalent BS alot of the other LED makers go with.

So one reason the 250 watt quantum board style light appears so much brighter, it is likely 250 watts actual, but the Viparspectra 300 watt light is not 300 watts, it is only 132 watts actual. When I see an LED light the first thing I do is find out what the actual wattage draw is of that light, because that is what that light really is. Viparspectra claims their 300 watt LED is the equivalent of a 250 HPS. I have used 250 HPS lights for years and I can tell you that their equivalent stated is really not accurate.

 

[Ace9137]

LEDs are just a way of making people think that they are environment friendly as well as savvy consumers, in other words, "All hype and no pipe.". Seriously, how long does it take in the long run to save money? How do you repair it if it breaks? How long do you really have the same LED's? Long enough for them to be over five years old? or will they live up to the claims long after the warranty expires? How about, why do the LED companies make false claims on their lights? Ergo, 1200 watt equivalent, or will last up to 50,000 hours, none of those in my experience are true, How long have people had their LED's for? How long until they had to replace LED? For me, I like my business upfront as possible, so, I go with HPS, I am fully pleased with the results, I started with LEDs, I did like them. Sadly, they just don't hold a candle to HPS.

 

[WankirA]

LED's all the way.....
I have 3 and i get a sense the foot print i a tad small. Now im a little more aware, aam keeping my eyes open for single qb board that covers my whole footprint.
They just work with little to no fuss.
Imho of course...

 

[Aqua Man]

Beauty is in they eye of the beholder. All will work. Some will suite the needs of the grower better than others.

And all LEDs are not equal so I feel you cannot make blanket statements about LEDs as is with most things.

 

[Ace9137]

I dont think environmentally friendly has ever been a selling point for led.
I've certainly never heard any experienced grower suggest thst to me.

Your comparing led to hps like all led is the same. Blurple, cob and quantum boards are worlds apart.

Hlg, cree cobs and other high quality companies lights definately live up to their rated power, and efficiency as you can see from the grow journals and youtube videos.

-600 to 1000 watt hps give immense heat and suck back the power adding to your powerbill

-you need air cooled hoods to keep heat down or a very good exhaust system which can be costly

-you gotta change the bulb every grow or two to keep the lights output above 80% and good bulbs can be costly and if your an mh fan boy theres some more cost switching bulbs from veg to flower.

-quantum boards can give more output at 480 watts vs a 600 watt hps

-the coverage is more direct and even

-the spectrum can mimic the sun better than most hps bulbs.

To say led dont hold a candle to hps is straight up ridiculous.
They not only hold a candle, they are better in lots of ways.
If you factor in all costs.

I'm growing with both led and hps. I'm not on either side of the fence.
I'm on the side that grows quality dope

I dont care if I get there with hps or led.

Seem

-if u had a reasonable priced quantum board. And one led chip goes out. The rest still work.
-if you have to replace one qb out of 4 on a fixture that's fuck all
- if you had to switch out a driver that's fuck all
-you can buy these things online from DIY companies.
-the rest of your fixture can be used for alot years and can be configured HOW YOU WANT IT

-ive even got a cree cob led light bar that cost me peanuts. And u can switch out the cobs inside if any fail. Or the driver.

-BLURPLE led fixtures on the other hand not a chance. I tried to open one to look inside and they had cemented the screws in and they twisted off when u turned them

But nobody who switched from hps to leds did so by switching to blurple.

They went for full spectrum led like qb or cobs.


A lb of triple A underground in Alberta sells for 1400- 1800 bucks canadian.
If you can do 3 lbs a grow dry with 4 plants and 2000 watts of quantum board lighting 3 times a year that's 9lbs x 1500 = 13,500 a year.

If you don't have to change out that board for 50,000 hours about five years that's 67,500 cad off of 2000 watts of quantum boards you paid 2-4 grand for.
So at the end of the day the cost is just peanuts even if you had to replace the entire fixture every 5 years

Add all the electricity you save and quality bud grown with full spectrum I dont see how its logically possibly to ignore leds as a top contender when choosing a light

I love how you try to make it seem like you know more than you do. First off sounds like your selling something, LED's right now do not last five years, maybe two years at most. When an LED breaks down, whether it is cob or blurple, you have to replace it. Yammering out numbers and saying it is fact just does not fly with me. More so DIY companies are financially conning people out of money for the purpose of flying the flag, Hey bro, what company you work for? More so, you talk well , your sales pitch sucks though.

 

[Ace9137]

-if u had a reasonable priced quantum board. And one led chip goes out. The rest still work.
-if you have to replace one qb out of 4 on a fixture that's fuck all
- if you had to switch out a driver that's fuck all
-you can buy these things online from DIY companies.
-the rest of your fixture can be used for alot years and can be configured HOW YOU WANT IT

-ive even got a cree cob led light bar that cost me peanuts. And u can switch out the cobs inside if any fail. Or the driver.

-BLURPLE led fixtures on the other hand not a chance. I tried to open one to look inside and they had cemented the screws in and they twisted off when u turned them

But nobody who switched from hps to leds did so by switching to blurple.

They went for full spectrum led like qb or cobs.


A lb of triple A underground in Alberta sells for 1400- 1800 bucks canadian.
If you can do 3 lbs a grow dry with 4 plants and 2000 watts of quantum board lighting 3 times a year that's 9lbs x 1500 = 13,500 a year.

If you don't have to change out that board for 50,000 hours about five years that's 67,500 cad off of 2000 watts of quantum boards you paid 2-4 grand for.
So at the end of the day the cost is just peanuts even if you had to replace the entire fixture every 5 years

Add all the electricity you save and quality bud grown with full spectrum I dont see how its logically possibly to ignore leds as a top contender when choosing a light

and still I ask, How long do LED's last?

 

[Ace9137]

It makes it look like I'm selling something because I know the price of weed of the province I live in and how much it cost before it became legal at dispensaries and I can do the math of a ten year old with a calculator?

And I'm not trying to change your mind stud I give a fuck what you grow with. You made the statement led dont hold a candle to hps.

That statement alone is proven wrong 1000 times over in many grow diaries and youtube vids.

I'm not looking for an agreement or disagreement with you.

Just trying to give the OP a better understanding of what his options are rather than
" I grow with hps, hps is best, grow like me, all other lights are stupid"

Glad you like hps. And that it works for you. Good luck

I am not saying you are selling weed, I was asking which retailer that sells LEDs do you work for. Next time invest more time into reading what someone is posting instead of planning your next response.

 

[Ace9137]

So, anyone have their led's over five years, do they still work at full capacity? Anyone?

 

[Aqua Man]

So, anyone have their led's over five years, do they still work at full capacity? Anyone?

Not I but I don't doubt that I will. I have an hlg 600. And as @MackMurder stated I can easily replace a board for about the same cost as a decent hps bulb. Now this is an assumption but very likely I will spend less money replacing boards as needed than hps bulbs as required.

This is not true of all led units but for the more top of the line it is.

The cheap preassembled units I have no use for

 

[Aqua Man]

Different strokes for different folks. Cheap LEDs give the good ones a bad name. I would not think twice about using HID if it fit my requirements. You are all right and all making valid points.

Get a light that suites your needs and you will be more successful than buying one that doesn't.

 

[Ace9137]

Invest more time in reading what someone else is posting? Isnt that the pot calling the kettle black?

I've previously stated I'm growing with blurple, cree cobs, and hps.

And gave about 8 different options for lighting from all types of leds to companies.

I'm not a fanboy of any one thing.
I'm using 3 different types of lighting. Keeping a grow journal. And documenting which had better success.

Yet you echoing every statement every LED company states, all talking points with no substance. You are throwing out numbers based on theoretical capabilities, instead of actual practice, at least when it comes to LED's. I personally have not seen better production from LED's. As far as fanboy, your own words betray you on that.

 

[Ace9137]

So, anyone have their led's over five years, do they still work at full capacity? Anyone?

still nothing?

 

[Aqua Man]

still nothing?

Does my aquarium planted tank light count? I'm using for my mother's in dirt. If so then yes 6yrs old still working like a champ.

I don't think people have felt the led tech was there yet until a few years ago it's still relatively new so you probably won't find much on that right now. However I don't think that takes away from where the tech is at this moment. I'm talking about the quality units/kits.

With a lot of the cobs and QB's it's just as easy to replace let's just says bulbs as HID only the long run costs for this with led will be much lower. I mean we have LED's in one of the plants that are over 5 years no replacement s have been done on bulbs. It's easy to see though other applications they stand the test of time. However the quality of components and using properly rated components will greatly affect the life expectancy.

 

[AlexGrowns]

Hi All
First time on forum. Or any forum
Anyway I took 6 cutting from my mother plant last night and put into a bubble Cloner I made from stuff laying around.
Question is I've they survive and grow a fair amount under the 9x 18w leds I've got what light would I flower them under in 2x1 meter space in 20l buckets thinking of 1 x 600w HPS but unsure If led tech has surpassed HPS ? I have to spend money so might as well buy best option for them obviously for the largest yield
Any help appreciated

Only ever grew with HPS and the sun, I'm not saying HPS is better for sure but a few points I could make about it is. First off 150lm/w, also the whole wasted light thing, I'm pretty skeptical about look at the spectrum of an HPS it has a tiny sliver of green and the plants I think can photosynthesize it but very inneficiently so like what 145lm/w not a 5 - 1 ratio, also I do think it has better canopy penetration and maybe that is the only reason beside costs of multiple fixtures why the 1000w isn't obsolete vs the 600w.

Also I heard the yellow spectrum cn help with root developement?

It's not just photosynthesizing as pple use UV to I guess "harden it" to produce for trickes or oils to protect it... ever stare into a fire? the infrared or other spectrums of energy draw you in and it feels good, I have a hunch plants like it.

The new "super" HPS have an enhanced blue spectrum and yes it's tiny compared to the red but it's giant compared to what they used to have.

I feel like having 10'000 units of energy is superior than 7'000 with a "better" spectrum anyhow, just an opinion no data to back that up just doing tomatoe experiments over the last 5 years ish.

And if you're not air cooled mega venting and live in a cold climate it's all "free" anyways running an extra 600w of heat is what you were going to do anyways and so if you factor in the amount of months a year you're paying (assuming you have electric heat anyways) the whole "you're paying twice as much" is lessened.

Also what I don't see is people (not n here but Youtube and other random pics on internet, I havn't been here long enoough) posting the timeframes of grows with pica so maybe this 700w LED grew 1000g dried and I got 1000g dried from my HPS... but if it took an extra 10 days to get there that is never factored in, also they cost way more and susposed to be an investment but are we running the numbers $300-$400 for a 1000w HPS if the ballast lasts 10 years (no idea just a guess) thats 20 bulbs at I pay $40 so $800 total so maybe $1200CAD for equipement for 10 years, how much does a true 1000w HPS equivalanet costs? Also they will put out less light over time where the HPS will be replaced every 6 months.

In conclusion I have no f*cking idea, I have more questions than input I guess, i hope some more experienced pple can shine in on this. The only reason I chose HPS was I knew it was going to work for sure and am willing to pay a little extra in the long run to have it work... but not sure what to think now.

I love HPS and am super curious about new LED's, I would love to get one of those ssamsung ones and not have to worry as much with the heat but it's quite the investment.

EDIT: I'm 10 cents a Kw/H FYI...

 

[Kingjoshh]

LEDs are just a way of making people think that they are environment friendly as well as savvy consumers, in other words, "All hype and no pipe.". Seriously, how long does it take in the long run to save money? How do you repair it if it breaks? How long do you really have the same LED's? Long enough for them to be over five years old? or will they live up to the claims long after the warranty expires? How about, why do the LED companies make false claims on their lights? Ergo, 1200 watt equivalent, or will last up to 50,000 hours, none of those in my experience are true, How long have people had their LED's for? How long until they had to replace LED? For me, I like my business upfront as possible, so, I go with HPS, I am fully pleased with the results, I started with LEDs, I did like them. Sadly, they just don't hold a candle to HPS.

Cant be spreading this lol, different strokes for different folks. Multiple professional grow operations have chose leds over hps because of the options leds offer. You can control spectrum on expensive led lights to make sure your getting enough of one colour, saves money on ac, etc saying leds don’t hold a candle to hps is biased opinion

 

[Ace9137]

Then why do LED manufacturers compare to HPS? Honestly, HPS is still the standard, and the only way LED will survive is by emulating HPS instead of the sun. Speaking of which, remember when blurple was the cats meow, and now it is cool white LEDs, or warm white. Trust me LED has a long way to go yet, it isn't bias to state what is factual, no matter what factor you want to put in there, the main deal is that HPS still the gold standard, when it comes to actual growth and flowering, LED has not produced that result, not yet.

 

[GrnMtnGrowR]

So, anyone have their led's over five years, do they still work at full capacity? Anyone?

For someone to answer with facts, they would need some very expensive equipment, an accurate spectrometer, and meter to measure PAR. I have read about the diodes losing their effectiveness, (output) after some time and sulfur, not sure where the sulfur comes from, degrades the diodes rather quickly, so many variables involved in whether a LED light will perform for 5 + years. Even if they are running that long chances are very good that they do not put out the intensity that they did when they were new.
I own one of the old UFO lights that say 180 watts and draws 115 watts, it uses 3 watt diodes and I would guess I purchased it about 12 or more years ago, while I didn't use this light constantly it does still work and I am using it right now over 1 Chem Dog.