growsince79
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For commercial growers, LED lights might cut the electric bill in half when ac is figured in. Still takes years to cover the cost.
For commercial growers, LED lights might cut the electric bill in half when ac is figured in. Still takes years to cover the cost.My vote. Is veg with LEDs. And finish with HPS. If you're going to invest in a 2000 dollar LED array buy the best one you can get.
My friends who switched over from HPS to expensive LED arrays were not pleased. They say the investment won't break even. And they didn't gain quality or weight. Home scale growers seem pretty pleased with their LED lights generally. So consider why you want one. I mean no bulbs to recycle. Thats a plus. But so far LEDs haven't performed any miracles.
The quote was I'm using just as much electricity and getting the same yield. He said 23 years to break even. On 40 of em. So he said don't do it. He was the most annoyed because he was an early adopter.For commercial growers, LED lights might cut the electric bill in half when ac is figured in. Still takes years to cover the cost.
It only works if you buy the best quality LEDs and drivers. Low quality LED arrays kind of suck.Agree. I haven't seen any improvement in quality or quantity (grams per sqft). GPW LED wins hands down-no even close.
The old blurples maybe idk. I know with my set up it will take 2 years to cover the cost. And idk if the leds will still be working. I know the hps will still work.The quote was I'm using just as much electricity and getting the same yield. He said 23 years to break even. On 40 of em. So he said don't do it. He was the most annoyed because he was an early adopter.
Yeah my HPS so far no hiccups. These new digital ballasts seem to be fail proof. I'm gunna wait until I see better prices before spending more on LEDs. 2k is too much for a light.The old blurples maybe idk. I know with my set up it will take 2 years to cover the cost. And idk if the leds will still be working. I know the hps will still work.
For my set up:The old blurples maybe idk. I know with my set up it will take 2 years to cover the cost. And idk if the leds will still be working. I know the hps will still work.
I think on scale his limitation is amperage. Not space. He maxes out his power input. He would be using 1000 watts. Or arrays. As many as he can power. I think for tents and stuff like sheds LED might be the way to go. Not COBs though. But you can buy a HPS combo for ⅛th the cost of a quality array. Not sure how it scales below that. I lean toward Samsung or Phillips diodes. And meanwell drivers. And if not that at least something from Shenzen Industrial Park.For my set up:
cost of 150w hps $75 +$16 for 2 extra bulbs + $200 electric (2 years) = $291 for 2 years
cost of 100w hlg $150 + $133 electric (2 years) = $283 for 2 years
So cost is recouped in <2 years
I'm still learning leds. I haven't used anything except the 100w hlg - and they do replace a 150w hps. I do know the 1000w HPS and the 1000w de are more efficient than 150w bulbs.I think on scale his limitation is amperage. Not space. He maxes out his power input. He would be using 1000 watts. Or arrays. As many as he can power. I think for tents and stuff like sheds LED might be the way to go. Not COBs though. But you can buy a HPS combo for ⅛th the cost of a quality array. Not sure how it scales below that. I lean toward Samsung or Phillips diodes. And meanwell drivers. And if not that at least something from Shenzen Industrial Park.
1000w hps $200 +$100 2 extra bulbs + $1314 (2 years electric) = $1614.For my set up:
cost of 150w hps $75 +$16 for 2 extra bulbs + $200 electric (2 years) = $291 for 2 years
cost of 100w hlg $150 + $133 electric (2 years) = $283 for 2 years
So cost is recouped in <2 years
We pay around 11 to 12 bucks a bulb here. Ballast and hood under 200. But the electricity bill doesn't go down. You add more lights. To max out the load. So you're running more lights. But this is on a large scale. Which is probably why he wasn't a fan. I think he was expecting to gain massive yields. Didn't materialize.1000w hps $200 +$100 2 extra bulbs + $1314 (2 years electric) = $1614.
hlg scorpion $900 + 788 (2 years electric) = $1688
So slightly over 2 years on the bigger HLG light. And < 2 years on the Shenzen lights. How long they last idk
I would think you need more like 3000w, but it should be close.Guys, it's about whether from a room with 8 hps that consume 4200 watts of electricity and I get 4000 grams, I can replace it with 4 led x 600 watts and again get the same amount but with a power consumption of 2400 watts. My only problem is electricity
Thats cheap. And nothing makes better buds. Whats electric cost up there? I'm paying 15c now.We pay around 11 to 12 bucks a bulb here. Ballast and hood under 200. But the electricity bill doesn't go down. You add more lights. To max out the load. So you're running more lights. But this is on a large scale. Which is probably why he wasn't a fan. I think he was expecting to gain massive yields. Didn't materialize.
12.6 cents a kilowatt hour. Pretty cheap relatively. And we just buy bulk GE or Phillips bulbs. They work fine. Just have to recycle truck loads of bulbs once in awhile. But recently a natural disaster flooded several neighboring towns. So. My guess is utilities will be going up.Thats cheap. And nothing makes better buds. Whats electric cost up there? I'm paying 15c now.
I have 6 Kingbrite 240w boards (Shenzen lights) all going strong. It's been over 2 years since I bought them. They have served me well so far. I have no reason to believe I'll have to replace them any time soon.1000w hps $200 +$100 2 extra bulbs + $1314 (2 years electric) = $1614.
hlg scorpion $900 + 788 (2 years electric) = $1688
So slightly over 2 years on the bigger HLG light. And < 2 years on the Shenzen lights. How long they last idk
Yeah thats why I would conclude you must bucks up and buy the best LEDs you can get. Cheaping out will ruin the benefits. And if you want easy and you have a 3 year lease or less I wouldn't bother with LED. Long term. 5 years and up. LEDs. Cheap LEDs for veg is just fine. But so far no one I know on a large scale has found a great advantage to LEDs. So I would only be comfortable suggesting expensive LED arrays to people using just a few of them. Or home growing with them. If you have extra cash to spend.Have to say there is just no way watt per watt they are equal or something is very wrong.
@Ponky there is no doubt in my mind they may be seeing those results and your not the guy running around without a lot of knowledge just commenting without a good amount of thought and experience.
But it's absolutely impossible unless it's other limiting factors involved. You can produce more photons per watt my a huge margin with LED compared to HPS. even the old blurple lights imo will watt for watt out perform HPS. Now granted that's reaching a bit and may not be the case bit it would be surprising if watt to watt they don't.
There has been a shit ton of studies and peer documentation to show 100% they will outperform HPS. BUT... if you don't have the environment and overall grow conditions conducive to use more light then you absolutely may see no difference.
There are some differences needed when using LED you need to adjust for and the main one being temperature. Now in a perfect world we would all understand that air temps mean nothing and it's only plant Temps that matter and under LED you usually need to run significantly warmer.
In general plants will require more calcium, magnesium, potassium and a couple micros in higher ratios under LED. I have no definitive answer but I'm more than confident this is spectrum related ad this has a large impact on the morphology of the plant and type of growth. I will attribute it to the higher green and blue when compared to HPS.
There is so much more depth I can go into but let's see how the discussion plays out rather than my posts being a page long lol.
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