LED vs CMH

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newbplantgrower420

Well-Known Member
Im going to be switching out my 8 1000w DE HPS flower room setup to either CMH or LED next run.

Leaning towards transitioning to LEDs but....

buddy is saying that LEDs arent that much more efficient than CMH and CMH has a better spectrum than LED.
He also said only con to CMH is changing bulbs every year or two which is better than the diodes dimming over time.

Cooling isnt an issue at all. Got over 60k BTU in the flower room. So im not worried about CMH letting out a little more heat than LEDs because ultimately itll be giving out less heat than DE HPS bulbs

Whats the pros and cons of both running either those quantum board or Spydr/Gavita LEDs vs the 630w CMHs.....maybe even the 1000w CMH's like this https://growershouse.com/nanolux-1000w-ceramic-metal-halide-cmh-fixture-3k-4k.

Also hows the yield for LED vs CMH? I know 1000w DE HPS trumps all for now but I want to transition to something more efficient.
 
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farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Use both. I did and was pretty happy with my results. 515 watts total in a 4x4 tent. 2 100 watt QBs and 1 315 CMH My first grow 5 plants 3 gallon pots. 4 plants harvested with a sativa stilling humming along at day 95. So far I'm just under 1 pound. Sativa is pretty large so hopefully she'll pull over a 1/2 pound by herself. Learned lots. Sure with some tweaking here and these results could be improved upon.
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
newbplantgrower420 said:
Im going to be switching out my 8 1000w DE HPS flower room setup to either CMH or LED next run.

Leaning towards transitioning to LEDs but....

buddy is saying that LEDs arent that much more efficient than CMH and CMH has a better spectrum than LED.
He also said only con to CMH is changing bulbs every year or two which is better than the diodes dimming over time.

Cooling isnt an issue at all. Got over 60k BTU in the flower room. So im not worried about CMH letting out a little more heat than LEDs because ultimately itll be giving out less heat than DE HPS bulbs

Whats the pros and cons of both running either those quantum board or Spydr/Gavita LEDs vs the 630w CMHs.....maybe even the 1000w CMH's like this https://growershouse.com/nanolux-1000w-ceramic-metal-halide-cmh-fixture-3k-4k.

Also hows the yield for LED vs CMH? I know 1000w DE HPS trumps all for now but I want to transition to something more efficient.
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DE is still the best. How is a different kind of light "more efficient" if it yields less? That nanolux light looks interesting but i would bet you it puts off almost as much heat as a HPS and yields less.
 
N

newbplantgrower420

Well-Known Member
JoeBlow5823 said:
DE is still the best. How is a different kind of light "more efficient" if it yields less? That nanolux light looks interesting but i would bet you it puts off almost as much heat as a HPS and yields less.
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theres leds claiming to almost as have as much umols as a DE HPS fixture but at 650w instead of 1000w. 2/3rds the power....theoretically if you can yield the same..... thats more grams per watt. thats what i mean by more efficient....using less power but yielding approximately the same as a DE HPS.

also CMH has a better spectrum so Im thinking.... ya itll put out the around the same heat maybe a little less. but if the spectrum is superior thatll mean more yield i believe. talking about the 1000w CMH here.

630w CMH is comparable to a SE HPS fixture so itll probably mean losing quite a bit of yield compared to keeping my DE HPS regardless of its better spectrum.
 
N

newbplantgrower420

Well-Known Member
farmingfisherman said:
Use both. I did and was pretty happy with my results. 515 watts total in a 4x4 tent. 2 100 watt QBs and 1 315 CMH My first grow 5 plants 3 gallon pots. 4 plants harvested with a sativa stilling humming along at day 95. So far I'm just under 1 pound. Sativa is pretty large so hopefully she'll pull over a 1/2 pound by herself. Learned lots. Sure with some tweaking here and these results could be improved upon.
Click to expand...
good thinking. thats a new option ill consider
 
JoeBlow5823

JoeBlow5823

Well-Known Member
newbplantgrower420 said:
theres leds claiming to almost as have as much umols as a DE HPS fixture but at 650w instead of 1000w. 2/3rds the power....theoretically if you can yield the same..... thats more grams per watt. thats what i mean by more efficient....using less power but yielding approximately the same as a DE HPS.

also CMH has a better spectrum so Im thinking.... ya itll put out the around the same heat maybe a little less. but if the spectrum is superior thatll mean more yield i believe. talking about the 1000w CMH here.

630w CMH is comparable to a SE HPS fixture so itll probably mean losing quite a bit of yield regardless of the better spectrum.
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Most commercial growers are still running DE HPS. There are reasons. What exactly is that "superior spectrum" good for? The plants crave the HPS.
 
N

newbplantgrower420

Well-Known Member
JoeBlow5823 said:
Most commercial growers are still running DE HPS. There are reasons. What exactly is that "superior spectrum" good for? The plants crave the HPS.
Click to expand...
it mimics the suns spectrum the closest compared to LEDs and HPS.

ya i hear you about commercial growers. thats why i originally started this flower room with DE HPS.

but lately im reading about these success stories about people hitting 3lbs per 4x4 area which is what im currently pulling with DE except theyre using much less electricity and ac's arent working as hard because they run LEDs or CMH.

mixing the lights does seem really interesting too. having the best of both worlds. good idea
 
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PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
newbplantgrower420 said:
it mimics the suns spectrum the closest compared to LEDs and HPS.

ya i hear you about commercial growers. thats why i originally started this flower room with DE HPS.

but lately im reading about these success stories about people hitting 3lbs per 4x4 area which is what im currently pulling with DE except theyre using much less electricity and ac's isnt working as hard because they run LEDs or CMH.

mixing the lights does seem really interesting too. having the best of both worlds. good idea
Click to expand...
My favorite is cmh with LED.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
JoeBlow5823 said:
Most commercial growers are still running DE HPS. There are reasons. What exactly is that "superior spectrum" good for? The plants crave the HPS.
Click to expand...
I have only seen one commercial grower in Alaska using LED. With sky high electric rates half the year more would switch to them if the production was even close. HPS or CMH is what is used.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
newbplantgrower420 said:
it mimics the suns spectrum the closest compared to LEDs and HPS.

ya i hear you about commercial growers. thats why i originally started this flower room with DE HPS.

but lately im reading about these success stories about people hitting 3lbs per 4x4 area which is what im currently pulling with DE except theyre using much less electricity and ac's arent working as hard because they run LEDs or CMH.

mixing the lights does seem really interesting too. having the best of both worlds. good idea
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Growing and helping the environment. ;)
 
jjlowe

jjlowe

Active Member
We just switched from all cmh to all led last year with a smaller 4K flower room. Similar yields, way better quality though. They will pay for themselves in 3-4 years without 1k$ bulb changes every 8 months.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
chronnie49 said:
Thats what I am trying this run. Hows the quality compared to cmh in its own?
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I wanna say they seem a little denser, but maybe not quite as frosty. I've been experimenting. I have all LED now in my flower closet since it's getting warmer, so the cmh are turned off for summer.
 
N

newbplantgrower420

Well-Known Member
jjlowe said:
We just switched from all cmh to all led last year with a smaller 4K flower room. Similar yields, way better quality though. They will pay for themselves in 3-4 years without 1k$ bulb changes every 8 months.
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thats what i like to hear.

which leds are you running that are producing similar yields to your de hps runs?
 
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