Led Grow Light Manufacturers

  • Thread starter ChillN
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ChillN

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Hello, my name is Thomas. I'm new to this forum, and forums in general.

I work for a commercial LED lighting company based in SoCal. We are a nationwide provider of LED floodlights, LED tube lights, edge-lit panels, etc. We have been selling LED grow lights on a limited basis since 2012, and in the last year the amount of inquiries we've gotten has increased more than 300%. I have been tasked with developing our line of LED grow lights for use in legal/medical growing facilities.

We have the reputation and reach to sell our products nationwide, and increasing our grow light business in 2015 is a top priority. I'm not here to shill products, bash competitors, or argue with anyone. I am a lighting professional with a firm grasp of LED systems, components, testing, etc. I know what constitutes a commercial grade growing system, and I'm not here to shill products, bash competitors, or argue with anyone.

I'm here to try to figure out all of the perceived drawbacks of LED grow lights. I've reviewed a few forums and noticed that all the manufacturer's have their fans and detractors. It's difficult to know who is being compensated for their comments.

I appreciate any responses to my questions and if this is an inappropriate venue for these questions, I can remove them or put them somewhere else.

Case Studies - I've seen a lot of grow journals, youtube videos, manufacturer's sell sheets, and others. Are these grow journals and videos useful? Currently our customers purchase the lights and then test them for 90-120 days. We don't get any feedback on the performance. The big growers are extremely private about their facilities and growing process. Has anyone ever seen a case study with LED grow lights that went beyond a closet grow, with 2-3 LED lamps?

"Hard Science" - Almost everyone complains about the claims of "bigger yields", "high potency", etc. What scientific data would people want to see? Most manufacturers list PAR value, wattage, etc. What other details should be communicated? I have seen some "white papers" that have testing reports from CannLabs on cannabis grown with their products. To me, all this shows is that they sent two different samples to CannLabs, there is no proof that they grew those plants themselves. I could go to any dispensary and purchase cannabis to submit to CannLabs but it wouldn't prove anything...right?

Thanks for reading. Truth in advertising seems to be a big concern.
 
Muckman420

Muckman420

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great way for an ad exec to get great feed back, unfortunately i have not used one. from what i can see in pictures and reviews, its a personal preference thing...

i really havent heard anything negative other than bud tips getting bleached from the light, this could be due to being too close, but i would imagine any light too close will have adverse effects...

i will try one one day and get back at ya but im small time, couldnt help with the commecial questions. good luck though
 
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spanner100

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Hi Thomas - I have bought a 300w light and will be setting up the system soon - will let you know how it goes. I have a friend with a 900w unit and he grows the best shit.
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Living dead girl
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I missed this intro as well. Welcome to the farm. There's a group on FB, and a subsequent forum, that you're either already aware of and perhaps a member of, or if not should be, that addresses most, if not all of these questions. PM me and I'll send you the information.
 
mauiinfinity

mauiinfinity

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Welcome to the farm chillin! I Bought 6 Magnum 357 Led about 3 years back.. They were very expensive I think around 4,500 for all 6. These are a dual spectrum switch light so they have the ability to switch veg light which is blue and then bloom which was red or full spectrum which was blue, red, and white.... After using them for several different grows..... 10 x 10 room, 4x4 tent, single plant, 2 plant I have come to the conclusion that they are amazing for everything except bloom... Now dont get me wrong they do work for bloom but not as good as HPS.... They are amazing for veg though!!! they also are very direct light so you have to have the plants right under neath them or in a tent so the light can bounce.... There are many benefits to these lights though low heat, low electricity, plants can grow right up to them! I now use these for my veg and love them! I use HPS for bloom though.
 
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ChillN

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Thanks for all of the feedback. Grow lights made 3-5 years ago with 3W or even 1W LED's just don't have the penetration power to grow commercial grade Legal/Medial MJ.

Our new grow light will be introduced in the next 3-4 weeks with 820W actual pwoer draw and almost 4,000 PAR value @ 12", using advanced LED's designed for horticulture. The next step is determine appropriate methodology for grower feedback and testing. Does anyone work for or know a large scale commercial MMJ facility that would be interested in a pilot program?
 
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ChillN

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Seamaiden said:
I missed this intro as well. Welcome to the farm. There's a group on FB, and a subsequent forum, that you're either already aware of and perhaps a member of, or if not should be, that addresses most, if not all of these questions. PM me and I'll send you the information.
Click to expand...

Thanks for responding, would love to know which FB group and forum you think is appropriate!
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Living dead girl
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On FB the group is International Artificial Grow Light Association, and it is a closed group so you've got to request to join. It's been set up by the fellow who runs Inda-Gro and has people from many grow lighting companies as members.

There's also this forum, but because I'm not a manufacturer, I have not joined. Most of my lighting knowledge/understanding comes from the aquatic ornamental world.
 
Dunge

Dunge

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I have a "high bay" white reflective lamp in my veg space.
It replaces the 400W HPS for warehouse lighting.

I like that it has no fans.

All the other LEDs I own have fans and I can't imagine detecting a fan failure prior to a full lamp fail.

Not only are LEDs still very expensive, but the sellers continue to defraud buyers by hiding the actual power consumption behind claims of equivalency to high intensity lamps.

So I believe LEDs are the future, but it's been five years for me, and the future seems to be receding as fast as I am clocking forward.

Does your experience cover fan issues?

PS I for one am happy to see threads like this one.
 
mauiinfinity

mauiinfinity

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I would love to test these lights Chillin as well as document them! I have been working with Led since they first came out with blackstar & magnum 357.. I love new technology and putting things to the test! I have all the equipment to test as well.. light meters, camera, video camera ect.... Let me know if I can help
 
indicabush

indicabush

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Currently using 2 Illumitex f1's in a 4 x 4 tent for autoflower grows only. They are a low voltage system with ac power adapters. Fixture utilizes Illumitex's Surxi F1 Chip (5 watt potted led) and are 120 watt fixtures and dimensions are 38" x 17.5" . Imo they are just right for the job allowing them to stay 3" at all times above the canopy. No fans necessary because they generate very little heat and they are in use 24 x 7. Have other American made fixtures 140 watts each utilizing 5 watt bridge lux led's and these are true 140 output. Great, but they do generate some heat and the fans are loud.

All fixtures were very affordable retail for Illumitex $600...my cost $275
The other fixtures retailed at $259...my cost $179

Just my 2 cents and quite satisfied with the output generate.
 
dogznova

dogznova

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I have 2 of the original GLH 360 spectras. Not to be confused with HGL led's lol.

For one the price of LED units are quite expensive. I just looked at a $3,000 LED unit that replaces a 1,000w HPS. Definitely out of most MM patents league.

I purchased the two units I have 4 yrs ago at $700 each. To my amazement, the price of todays LED units have not came down. Unfortunately they only seem to have gone up.

I will say. LED grown flowers (at least with my units) do look better then my HPS only grown meds. Proper tuned spectrum LED units will give a better bag appeal IMO but definitely lack in bud density (my units anyway).

Watt for watt the weight is about the same but the LED grown plants have more smaller buds and that turns into more trimming/time.

Theres definitely something to be said about HID and what's referred to as 'single point light source' when it comes to flower size.

IMO the biggest problem is price and hype.. Most manufacturers tend to waaaaay over hype the wattage as compared to HID. Meaning 300 watts of LED can replace 1,000 watts of HID based on par lighting.. Not going to happen any time soon from my experience.

Then there's the price.. Where do I start.. Again $3,000 to replace a 1,000 watt HPS setup (not saying that's what your units will cost) But that's the latest and greatest pricing..

So can you address/fix any of those issues?

Thanks for your time.
 
Full.Melt

Full.Melt

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the only problem i get sometimes depending on strain is bleached tips.
 
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ChillN

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We have worked with passively cooled (no fans) LED grow lights in the past and they tended to fail at a higher than an anticipated rate in real world situations. Active cooling (fans) works much better and is why they are used with most LED grow lights. The fans then become the weakest link in the system, which is why it's important to use high quality fans and also manage customer expectations. There are no fans currently available that are really going to last 5 years in a grow facility when they're on 18-24 hours every day. Some companies create modular system so the end user can easily replace components......
 
mauiinfinity

mauiinfinity

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Well its a good thing they are just computer fans ;) I have replaced 2 already myself. Really easy to do..
 
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