LED or CFL

[Kind Sir]

I was going to do a purely cfl grow as I thought my electric bill would hsve a blip but I now hear even HPS is do able without causing attention.
My question really is, I was going to atleast veg with CFL and possibly flower with HPS. I wanted to keep lightning cost under 350$, is it ppossible to get an LED for that price or not even worth it. Might have to wait a few grows which is fine.

What HPS should I get for like 10-15 plants, brand & watts?

With an hps, is it a MUST to have a nice ventilation system or can it be enough just for fresh air.

Thanks everyone cant wait to start..

 

[_MrBelvedere_]

what size area dimensions is your flower area?

 

[az2000]

I was going to do a purely cfl grow

I don't see any reason to use CFLs now that LED lightbulbs are available at a similar cost. In the US you can get Cree60w equiv (9.5w actual) for $6-7 at Home Depot. CFL produces 60-70 lumens per watt. The Cree lightbulb is around 90-100.

As Mr said, it depends on your grow space, especially the height. If you have a 4x4x7' tall, you wouldn't want to use bulbs like this (except for sidelighting). If you're in a 2x2x4' tall space, you might want to use them.

 

[churchhaze]

Similarly, I don't see any reason to use LED light bulbs when vero 18 + heatsink + mean well is probably cheaper per PAR W produced.

Anything else seems like a joke to me now. T5 doesn't make sense to me anymore either. Only t8 and t12 make sense (for veg) because they're so cheap to buy, making them a good stepping stone until you can get vero or cxa3070, or a good individual LED array (that doesn't cram them all into a 4 inch disk).

I don't see any reason to use CFLs now that LED lightbulbs are available at a similar cost. In the US you can get Cree60w equiv (9.5w actual) for $6-7 at Home Depot. CFL produces 60-70 lumens per watt. The Cree lightbulb is around 90-100.

As Mr said, it depends on your grow space, especially the height. If you have a 4x4x7' tall, you wouldn't want to use bulbs like this (except for sidelighting). If you're in a 2x2x4' tall space, you might want to use them.

 

[Kind Sir]

I have one room that is 8 ft deep 10ft wide and 8 ft tall and a closet that is 2ft deep about 8ft wide and 8ft tall.
Reason for this is I want to do auto and photo so when photo need 12/12 Ill have them in their own room.

Led seems to expensive right now as I would be too nervous to drop 350$ ona light that might not be for me. Might need more research. Either way cfl will be Involved in the veg process for this grow.

 

[az2000]

Similarly, I don't see any reason to use LED light bulbs when vero 18 + heatsink + mean well is probably cheaper per PAR W produced..

LED lightbulbs are a screw-in replacement. Stepping up to DIY COBs is significantly different, IMO. For some people it might be an easy step to that level. Others, not so much. (It's also not as simple as often portrayed -- after reading some posts about people burning holes in their floors, etc.). Definitely more efficient and less expensive (in terms of money spent, but not necessarily time). But, more of a learning curve than simply screwing a bulb into an existing socket and realizing 25-30% improvement in lumens per watt.

I wouldn't let perfection be the enemy of good.

 

[Kind Sir]

I like that last statement. Dont let perfection be the enemy of good.

Im going to look into that DIY thing you said. Can you elaborate on that a little more?

I really appreciate your time.

 

[smowstack]

I have one room that is 8 ft deep 10ft wide and 8 ft tall and a closet that is 2ft deep about 8ft wide and 8ft tall.
Reason for this is I want to do auto and photo so when photo need 12/12 Ill have them in their own room.

Led seems to expensive right now as I would be too nervous to drop 350$ ona light that might not be for me. Might need more research. Either way cfl will be Involved in the veg process for this grow.

I have one room that is 8 ft deep 10ft wide and 8 ft tall and a closet that is 2ft deep about 8ft wide and 8ft tall.
Reason for this is I want to do auto and photo so when photo need 12/12 Ill have them in their own room.

Led seems to expensive right now as I would be too nervous to drop 350$ ona light that might not be for me. Might need more research. Either way cfl will be Involved in the veg process for this grow.

yeah well, I would totally skip the 2 x 8 closet, no need for it

so you are talking about an 8 x 10 growroom. For many that is huge. No, don't mess with led right now, that can come later. In that size I would be looking at 1000 w mh/hps. check out Apollo ebay, they have some cheap lights. Go with 1000w, that will get you started.

 

[smowstack]

yeah well, I would totally skip the 2 x 8 closet, no need for it

so you are talking about an 8 x 10 growroom. For many that is huge. No, don't mess with led right now, that can come later. In that size I would be looking at 1000 w mh/hps. check out Apollo ebay, they have some cheap lights. Go with 1000w, that will get you started.

well, now that I think about it, you could use that closet for 24/0 veg, and your big grow room for 12/12. That would be really nice! So all you would need is a 1000 w hps always on 12/12 in your big room (provided you can light proof it) and then you could always have some seedlings or clones going on in your closet and move them into the 12/12 flowering room when ready.

In that case you would need a veg light, and still starting out, you can buy a 400w mh for less than $100 and that is what I would start out with for your veg/cloning/seed closet.

 

[JavaCo]

To light up a 8 x 10 grow room your going to need more then a 1000 watt hps. One 1000 watt will cover a 5 x 5. You would need 2 1000 watters and then a couple more 600 watters to cover the remaining area.

 

[smowstack]

To light up a 8 x 10 grow room your going to need more then a 1000 watt hps. One 1000 watt will cover a 5 x 5. You would need 2 1000 watters and then a couple more 600 watters to cover the remaining area.

you get the 1000 w, and then you only use what it will cover, then you start adding, and then, if you have sold a lot of dope, an array of led (by that time) may be a consideration.

 

[Kind Sir]

Ya and I dont want a blip in my electric bill or Iwwouldn't worry and prob just get a few hps.

1st question- in the 8x10 is there a way to only use 3/4 of the room without using a tent?

2nd- will a 1000 watt hps make any blip in electric bill whatsoever? Thats my main worry

 

[Kind Sir]

Wow that is a lot.. does that cause any problems with the electric company?

 

[smowstack]

Ya and I dont want a blip in my electric bill or Iwwouldn't worry and prob just get a few hps.

1st question- in the 8x10 is there a way to only use 3/4 of the room without using a tent?

2nd- will a 1000 watt hps make any blip in electric bill whatsoever? Thats my main worry

1st question, can you light proof it? If not then you need a tent. You want your flowering room bigger than your veg room. If you get the tent for flower, then you can just use the rest of the room for veg.

2nd, No, one 1000w 12/12 and one small veg will not make a big enough difference to other than anybody you share electric with, and then just claim you bought an aquarium and are starting a coral garden.

start adding and then yes, it becomes a concern, both heat and electricity

going back to #1, you need to light proof a flower room, that is the main consideration.

 

[smowstack]

$250 to run a 1000 watt? Maybe in some underprivileged countries like Europe or Canada, but not in the good old USA I would put the over/under at $38, and if you are conservative, I would take the under

 

[Kind Sir]

Well its just a room with one window, an entrance door to the room and a little extra room with a door on opposite side of other door thzt does have some free space with the water heater in it.

Do you mean putting 2mm mylar along the walls and everything?

Maby I should use tent to flower I just think its doable without.

 

[Kind Sir]

That sounds al

$250 to run a 1000 watt? Maybe in some underprivileged countries like Europe or Canada, but not in the good old USA I would put the over/under at $38, and if you are conservative, I would take the under

That sounds alot better!
Which one is it cuz thats a big difference!

 

[smowstack]

Well its just a room with one window, an entrance door to the room and a little extra room with a door on opposite side of other door thzt does have some free space with the water heater in it.

Do you mean putting 2mm mylar along the walls and everything?

Maby I should use tent to flower I just think its doable without.

no, you don't need mylar, you just need to light proof, it's not as easy as you might think, that's why many just buy a tent, but anyone who has ever used a tent would give their eye teeth for a real room that was light proofed.

 

[smowstack]

at anyrate, we are quite off the topic, take it up on setting up a growroom forum, but no, you are not ready yet for an led

 

[churchhaze]

I mean I have put dark brown marks on my floors by accident by leaving a light on the ground for 30 seconds, but that was mostly from not realizing how powerful it was, not from an accident. I'm sure if a bare HPS with socket alone was put on the wood floor, it would also cause the floor to turn dark brown and then black very fast. This is why I don't think this is a really good argument.

What's more important is that people understand that the power coming out of these cobs at point blank is like 30-50W lasers, which is REALLY powerful.

By contrast, here is only 750mW of light power output wrecking a bunch of balloons. Imagine that was a 10,000mW laser (50% efficient 20W cob for [hypothetical] example, at point blank)

after reading some posts about people burning holes in their floors,.