need advice on led

[webehigh]

I was a member back in the day so I know this is a good place to come to for info. Ok so I have a 5 bedroom house currently running 5k in hps lights and I want to upgrade I was thinking of getting more 5 more 1k lights so that would be a total of 10k just in lights plus 2 ac units fans etc. I was thinking of investing in led I'm thinking around 6k in LED or maybe more I have been doing some research but still don't what brand to go with what spectrums bands 3w chip etc. I have 2 rooms so plenty of space will my yield suffer and will I really save that much on the power bills and heat? I will be doing a sog If any can help me out I would appreciate it and if your against a large scale led grow please explain why thanks

 

[paulycali]

The only good Led's go for about $1000 a piece

Go big or go home with the Led's

Big investment for proper Led equipment

 

[619ster]

I agree with paulycali, you don't want to budget when it comes to LEDs. And if you want LEDs that will compete with HPS, that's gonna be quite a large investment for 6k watts worth. Yes the savings in bulb replacement, cooling, equipment etc... will save ya some money, but not as much as you may think. In the long run is where the savings are noticed. I think your best bet would be to mix up your lighting with a combo of HPS and LEDs. IMO the ideal setup would be vertical hps bulbs, and LED lighting from the top.

 

[Right Wino]

If you can't get what you want out of 5k worth of HPS lighting then LED's, I feel, will be a waste of time. LED's are still a way off beating HID's. In the future as technology develops they might be worth using but not at the moment.

 

[webehigh]

Wino I'm getting good results from 5k hps almost g per a watt but I know in adding 5 more lights and another ac unit my bill will double and unfortunately this is not legal and I would like to be stealth as possible and still go big and although its not legal I'm still helping alot of people so please no bashing I like 619ster I like that idea I also thought of this. I won't sugar coat it I have about 10g budget for new lights and stuff price isn't an issue if LED is what they say I just don't want yields and quality to suffer if LED is as good as they say it seems like a no brainer to me

 

[baba G]

Wino I'm getting good results from 5k hps almost g per a watt but I know in adding 5 more lights and another ac unit my bill will double and unfortunately this is not legal and I would like to be stealth as possible and still go big and although its not legal I'm still helping alot of people so please no bashing I like 619ster I like that idea I also thought of this. I won't sugar coat it I have about 10g budget for new lights and stuff price isn't an issue if LED is what they say I just don't want yields and quality to suffer if LED is as good as they say it seems like a no brainer to me

If you can find the Lush Lighting threads they claim the moon & the stars ;)

 

[webehigh]

I saw that thread but I think he makes them I want unbiased opinions and people who have done large scale grows with led

 

[baba G]

I saw that thread but I think he makes them I want unbiased opinions and people who have done large scale grows with led

I wish there was more people showing larger grows with LED, it's hard to make a decision on the lack of documented use with LED's. Can't say either way as I've never used them and don't know of anyone first hand using them.

 

[619ster]

Research Apache Tech. I have not used them myself, but from what I've seen from folks I know personally, they can perform just as good as HPS, without the penetration, hence the suggestion of vert bulbs and overhead LEDs. I will soon be testing a new LED which claims to provide penetration unmatched by any other LED. I have tried my fair share of LEDs, and can confirm that they do indeed increase terpenes and THC. But 90% of LEDs out there lack in the yield and penetration department. At this point, only LEDs I would consider putting money into would be Apache Tech. Either that or I'd have my homie from Denmark build me one! He built himself a 110w LED that did 1 gram per watt nearly, and the grow could have been better with small improvements.

 

[Right Wino]

Use your budget to buy more hps and upgrade ventilation. HPS are the most efficient bulb on the market. It puts more of it's energy into producing light that any other bulb.

 

[webehigh]

Did you read my post wino? This is not a legal grow and maybe I'm just being paranoid but adding 5 more is a bit much am I wrong?

 

[squiggly]

I've found the LEDs from hydroponicshut.com do a good job--but I can't speak on the more powerful units (though there are some journals/vids around).

I used 2 of the 180W units and was pleased with results.

For me personally, I'd go with induction lighting--but I did notice that LED really knew how to pack on the frost. No hype there, considerably more trichs than any other lights I've used in the past.

 

[Right Wino]

I don't know any legal grows but we all use hps. Don't mean to sound ignorant but what does the legality have to do with using HPS? Use lower wattage hps like 400w if you're worried about heat (which isn't an issue if you extract correctly). The thing is there's no shortcuts, if you give less light you'll get less bud.

 

[Right Wino]

Just to add if you're already using 5k of hps lighting you should be hitting around the 5 kilos of bud mark as we all know that a gram per watt of lighting (hps) is possible. If you're not getting those results I'd personally suggest you get everything dialled in first. I'm not suggesting this is you but a lot of growers think that adding more light will add more bud but in their haste they really don't make good use out of what they already have to start with.

A bigger bucket will help a sinking ship stay afloat for longer, but if the hole ain't fixed it's still gonna sink.

 

[webehigh]

Just to add if you're already using 5k of hps lighting you should be hitting around the 5 kilos of bud mark as we all know that a gram per watt of lighting (hps) is possible. If you're not getting those results I'd personally suggest you get everything dialled in first. I'm not suggesting this is you but a lot of growers think that adding more light will add more bud but in their haste they really don't make good use out of what they already have to start with.

A bigger bucket will help a sinking ship stay afloat for longer, but if the hole ain't fixed it's still gonna sink.

I got .9 on the last run so I'm doing good and I'm not looking to replace hps I will keep that going but I don't want to add 5 more because my bill will double and that will look weird I decided to get 3 indagrow induction lights and 3 magnum 357led If I like the results I'm sure I'll get more

 

[Right Wino]

Right ok, I think I get you now. It's about the bill right? If I put it like this then; you're still gonna be using power with the LEDs. Let's just say you want to use 200 extra watts (just as an example). 200w of LED usage costs exactly the same as 200w of HPS usage. 200w is 200w, doesn't matter what it is running. The difference is if you use that 200w with HPS you'll get more for your efforts than you would with LED. And the bulbs are cheaper too freeing up cash to install more extraction if needed or whatever.

 

[squiggly]

Right ok, I think I get you now. It's about the bill right? If I put it like this then; you're still gonna be using power with the LEDs. Let's just say you want to use 200 extra watts (just as an example). 200w of LED usage costs exactly the same as 200w of HPS usage. 200w is 200w, doesn't matter what it is running. The difference is if you use that 200w with HPS you'll get more for your efforts than you would with LED. And the bulbs are cheaper too freeing up cash to install more extraction if needed or whatever.

The increased heat requires additional cooling which requires more wattaged--so in the end a 800-1000W LED is more akin to a 600W HPS in terms of total power draw.

Beyond this, even though it's technically illegal, HPS puts out a bigger heat signature which opens up the liklelihood of IR detection. Even if it doesn't hold up in court as probable cause for a search--it clues them in pretty well and allows them to find other causes.

(It does constitute an illegal search but I've not seen similar judgments stop cops in the past, have you?)

 

[Right Wino]

Heat is not a problem if extracted correctly FLIR still require human control it won't automatically focus in on something. In the end I think it would be more productive having 5 extra 200w HPS bulbs and having a look at the extraction. The money doesn't seem to be a problem so the possible (potential) cost of any extra power consumption due to more ventilation will be covered. I'd just rather put my extra cash into that than LED lighting. Energy companies aren't bothered so long as you pay the bill and if the cops were to look into it right now (without the extra lighting) there'd already be cause for concern.

 

[FrannyJeffers]

anyone looking to go LED should consider - seem to be building a nice little fanbase here and there

 

[baba G]

anyone looking to go LED should consider - seem to be building a nice little fanbase here and there

Nice first post, have you used the light?