DIY LED's

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spiderman

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I'm thinking about lining my veg room walls with some of these? (blue)

Whatcha think? My main concerns are;
1. Distance from plant. As I understand it, LED'S don't need to be as close to the plant because they don't lose their light intensity like HID's. Is this true?
2. Cooling the light strips. Since the strips won't be in an enclosed shell or casing, do I need to worry about cooling the LED's themselves?
 
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Mary-Jane

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First of all, i'm not convinced on LEDs yet, but they might work well with a HPS.

I think LEDs lose their light intensity just as HPS, but LEDs can be placed closer to the plant, because they're more efficient and less energy is converted in to heat. So don't worry about heat from LEDs.
 
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Spuzzum

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You should look at theherbalizor's grow.. nothing wrong with his setup ;)


And if you prefer video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCXhj0iP0Mc&feature=related


And if you want to see what a measly 60 watts will do...
http://ledgrow.eu/


The biggest complaint I hear about led's is the cost. No, they're not cheap.. the technology's still new.. price will come down in time with world demand. Remember.. every major city is swapping hid's for led fixtures, and here in Canada, incandescents are banned as of January 2012.. so more led's will be needed on the market.. thus, a lower price (hopefully).

But the initial cost... I'm building a cab, and so far have 127w led planned for 7.5 cubic feet (18" x 30" x 2'). After all said and done, it'll probably run close to $1,000.. just in led's.. 127w worth. Yeah, an hps is definitely cheaper, but if you're starting from scratch.. ie: no equipment at all.. that $1,000 dollar initial investment will pay for itself within the 1st year. Not in the power savings, which it will, but in the bud it produces. If my led cab is anything like a 250w hps in the same space, I'm guaranteed at least 2oz a month in a 3 stage perpetual system. .. 5 crops and it's paid for.

HID's need replacing.. every 6 months for best usage, or some do every year. LED's.. as long as they're not being over-driven, they won't burn out.. or diminish in intensity. Only the drivers themselves will ever need to be replaced. Can do this yourself. .. LED's pay for themselves that way too.

Last note.. I mentioned how major cities around the world are already swapping hid's for led's, and that incandescents are banned in Canada as of January 2012.. I was also reading that hid's themselves are being phased out in Europe over the next few years. They will soon be banned as well. How long do you think 'til Canada and US follows suit?

LED's may be the only way to go in a few years.. might as well start looking at it now.


edit:

If buying or building your own.. stay away from multi-chip led diodes.. ie: 3-chip 3watt led's. These are 3x 1w led's in a single package. They do not have the same intensity or penetration of a single 1-chip 3watt led. A few dealers are pushing how they are better because they have the 3-chip units. Blah. Creative marketing, not better product. Stick with single chip units.
 
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Spuzzum

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As impressive as theherbalizor's grow was, IrishBoy's is even more convincing... :D



You can't look at that and still question "if" they "might" work as well as HPS ;)


Cheers........

Spuzzum
 
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