Ballast decision making help...

cordongreen

cordongreen

Member
I'm pretty new to this all (propositions just passed). I have been a gardener for a while but am not experienced just yet in indoor gardening. I have been looking into 1000w ballasts and have decided on either the Solistek, the Phantom, or the Purple Reign from Apollo.

Does anyone have experience in any of those? I can't tell how much the ballast matters because I haven't grown indoors yet, so I don't know if I should spend the extra $ or try to save some cash on this part. I used this HID ballasts guide and the comparison chart that Grower's house did to find these ones.

Thanks and if you have any other suggestions I missed please let me know - Cordon Green
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
HPS is hot, inefficient and has poor spectrum for growing.

Better alternatives;
1) 315W CMH lights- these have better efficiency and MUCH better spectrum. You'll grow more per watt, you'll spend less on HVAC and you'll get more frosty product.
2) COB LED- Cree, Vero and Citizen chips with Meanwell drivers are quality components that make some of the finest horticultural lighting available at any price. You can buy complete fixtures from several vendors here on RIU or save a few bucks and DIY. These are expensive up front, once, then they save you money from that point forward; no lamp changes, no lumen depreciation, high efficiency, best in class spectrum, directional output.
 
cordongreen

cordongreen

Member
ttystikk said:
HPS is hot, inefficient and has poor spectrum for growing.

Better alternatives;
1) 315W CMH lights- these have better efficiency and MUCH better spectrum. You'll grow more per watt, you'll spend less on HVAC and you'll get more frosty product.
2) COB LED- Cree, Vero and Citizen chips with Meanwell drivers are quality components that make some of the finest horticultural lighting available at any price. You can buy complete fixtures from several vendors here on RIU or save a few bucks and DIY. These are expensive up front, once, then they save you money from that point forward; no lamp changes, no lumen depreciation, high efficiency, best in class spectrum, directional output.
Click to expand...
I have been reading a lot about CMH actually. I am going to do more research on both these and the COB LEDs. So exciting how much new lighting tech is coming on to the market and actually showing that they're providing better results compared to how LEDs were when they first came on the market.

When you are talking about the COB leds, why do the chips and driver matter so much?
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
cordongreen said:
I have been reading a lot about CMH actually. I am going to do more research on both these and the COB LEDs. So exciting how much new lighting tech is coming on to the market and actually showing that they're providing better results compared to how LEDs were when they first came on the market.

When you are talking about the COB leds, why do the chips and driver matter so much?
Click to expand...
Chips matter because better quality chips are more efficient, last longer and have better spectrum output.
 
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