LED grow lights - how much is enough?

[teddy bonkers]

Grow a thicker skin and you'll be fine here. People can and will get salty...especially when discussing LED lighting. Now you know how LED lighting wattage should be referenced, and the basic W/sqft calculations to use to figure out what you need, and that's half the battle. It's also worth noting that your training in automotive service and HAM have nothing to do with LED lighting. Trust me...I was a mechanic in the military for many years, have a lot of electronics training, and knowing the type of diodes to use and wattage/temperatures required for them was and is still a lot to grasp.

seems to be a common problem among LED growers. HMMM!!
why I still use DE. LOL

 

[ComfortCreator]

Tell us about your grow space and how you plan to grow. I think we all have covered how everybody feels lets move to solutions

 

[TreeFarmerCharlie]

seems to be a common problem among LED growers. HMMM!!
why I still use DE. LOL

I think it's because LED growers are tired of seeing HID growers say that LED is garbage, and then posts like these show up, which just reinforces their point. All these garbage lights really do a disservice to the LED growing community.

 

[cannabis mechanic]

I am sorry if I sounded pissed off or defensive in my last post. Most of you who responded were constructive and helpful, and I appreciate that. But I am definately not a troll, just looking to grow some quality weed.

 

[cannabis mechanic]

Tell us about your grow space and how you plan to grow. I think we all have covered how everybody feels lets move to solutions

My grow space is in the basement of my home, and it is about 60-65 F and 60 % down there year round. I intend to enclose the space where my plants are and make a "closet" out of it to keep the cats out, and for the very unlikely event where law enforcement might wind up in my basement for whatever reason.

When I get it closed off, the space will be about 5 X 10 feet, and totally stealth. I haven't figured out a ventilation solution yet, soon I'll have a fan down there to keep the air moving. The single LED assembly I have now is about 2 feet above the plants, but at the rate they are growing I will need more lighting soon. The ceiling height is typical for a basement, and I intend to top my plants soon to moderate their height.

Right now the plants are sitting on a low table about 2 feet off the floor, 3 weeks old and in their second pot (1 gallon). They seem to be thriving. If you have any more questions, let me know.

 

[Ryante55]

My grow space is in the basement of my home, and it is about 60 F and 60 % down there year round. I intend to enclose the space where my plants are and make a "closet" out of it to keep the cats out, and for the very unlikely event where law enforcement might wind up in my basement for whatever reason.

When I get it closed off, the space will be about 5 X 10 feet, and totally stealth. I haven't figured out a ventilation solution yet, soon I'll have a fan down there to keep the air moving. The single LED assembly I have now is about 2 feet above the plants. The ceiling height is typical for a basement, and I intend to top my plants soon to moderate their height.

Right now the plants are sitting on a low table about 2 feet off the floor, 3 weeks old and in their second pot (1 gallon) They seem to be thriving. If you have any more questions, let me know.

A 5x10 is going to cost over $2000 to light properly

 

[Doug Dawson]

I am aware that an LED grow light advertised as a 2 kilowatt light does not draw that much power. I work as an automotive service technician. I also hold an extra class amateur radio license. I am more knowledgeable about electrical theory than the average person. But being new to growing cannabis, I was going under the assumption that LED grow lights were rated by the the incandescent equivalent of light output, so an LED assembly that is rated at "2000 W" would not actually be dissipating that amount of power.

To be clear, what I have is an LED assembly that draws 200W of power. It is advertised as a 2000W light, and I was under the assumption that this means it produces the equivalent LIGHT OUTPUT of a 2000W incandescent lamp. I am getting two more of these soon, so my total "advertised" wattage will be 6 kilowatts. Of course my grow lights will not be dissapating 6 kilowatts of power. I thought that was assumed.

I hope I can continue to avail myself of the knowledge that is available here on this forum, and as I gain experience I hope to be able to contribute to the forum myself. But if I receive insults instead of advice, I will go elsewhere.

Many great people on this site. You posted on the newbie thread and I dont really get why some choose to be negative towards you. Yes it is better to do a search before you post so in future you may want to search your topic first to avoid the negative folks who seem to get so upset seeing the same questions over and over. It would likely be more helpful if those complaining either ignored your thread due to being annoyed by repeat question or if they responded by just suggesting you search forum for your answer. Either way try to avoid the negativity but look at what they are saying, it will likely point you to a search which will give you a ton of info. Keep the faith brother, many very helpful people more than happy to help if they can.

 

[cannabis mechanic]

see you later I hear grasscity is #1 have fun over there

Hey, I realize I'm an FNG here, but what exactly did I say to piss you off? Or are you just naturally a rude person?

 

[cannabis mechanic]

Many great people on this site. You posted on the newbie thread and I dont really get why some choose to be negative towards you. Yes it is better to do a search before you post so in future you may want to search your topic first to avoid the negative folks who seem to get so upset seeing the same questions over and over. It would likely be more helpful if those complaining either ignored your thread due to being annoyed by repeat question or if they responded by just suggesting you search forum for your answer. Either way try to avoid the negativity but look at what they are saying, it will likely point you to a search which will give you a ton of info. Keep the faith brother, many very helpful people more than happy to help if they can.

Thanks, Doug. Probably should have done a search first. I've been around the block, I don't take shit personally.

 

[See_Jay]

Do you have any pictures?

Also, I am new too, but those Quantom LEDs are not that bad at all, yes they are usually about 10% of their average wattage, but you can grow and flower 1-2 plants per 1k watt Quantom LED, the blurples....yea, kinda suck, you would want a full spectrum LED at optimal distance, will they be as good as the best? No. They will grow nugs tho

 

[cannabis mechanic]

I'm not pissed off its just crazy that you found zero info online before posting like nothing at all. 8 years ago I was able to figure more out when I bought my first led. there's 1000x more info now yet you still couldn't figure the most basic stuff out. I mean you found this site it takes 5 min of reading here to know more than you do i really can't believe threads like this still show up. I really truly thought you were a troll so I was initially playing into your trolling but apparently your very serious

Sure I'm serious. But realize that joining this forum is simply a part of the internet research that I have been doing to get the answers that I seek. Basically what you are telling me is, "GTFO of here, we have nothing for you, you can find your answers elsewhere." Getting answers on the internet is like casting a fishing net; a lot of what you "catch" will be worthless bullshit. A person serious about learning will seek multiple sources of information to find the answers that they need, and then decide what is good info and what is bullshit.

This forum is one of the sources of information that I have chosen to tap into. Sure, there are many other sources of information that I could have utilized, but I happened to choose this one. The process of becoming an expert at any endeavor is to gather knowledge from many varying sources, then deciding for yourself which are good information, and which are not.

For the most part, as a new guy here, I feel welcome. Please just consider my question to be an attempt to gather more information, to add to my knowledge database, if you will, and become a better grower. This is but one of my resources.

 

[TreeFarmerCharlie]

Do you have any pictures?

Also, I am new too, but those Quantom LEDs are not that bad at all, yes they are usually about 10% of their average wattage, but you can grow and flower 1-2 plants per 1k watt Quantom LED, the blurples....yea, kinda suck, you would want a full spectrum LED at optimal distance, will they be as good as the best? No. They will grow nugs tho

What are you talking about? Quantum boards are listed properly unless you go with shit brands like Mars Hydro.

 

[TreeFarmerCharlie]

If your basement is that cool, year round, then you’d be better off going with HPS lights. I’m all for LED, but you would need to supplement some heat to get into the temp range that is best for LED growing, so you won’t really be saving anything on your electric bill.

 

[cannabis mechanic]

If your basement is that cool, year round, then you’d be better off going with HPS lights. I’m all for LED, but you would need to supplement some heat to get into the temp range that is best for LED growing, so you won’t really be saving anything on your electric bill.

Sodium lamps are not an option for me. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am a ham radio operator. HPS lamps put out lots of spurious RF, and would fuck up my HF communications. That's a big reason why I chose low-voltage LEDs.

 

[cannabis mechanic]

I have a buddy who lives in the UP of Michigan. He has a neighbor who runs a grow operation, and the RFI from those lamps seriously impairs his ability to hear other stations on 40 meters. I love the 40 meter band ALMOST as much as I love cannabis. This life is full of compromises....

 

[TreeFarmerCharlie]

Sodium lamps are not an option for me. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am a ham radio operator. HPS lamps put out a lot of RF, and would fuck up my HF communications. That's a big reason why I chose low-voltage LEDs.

Don't LED drivers also generate a fair amount of EMI? Or does it just not casue an issue with the frequencies you are concerned about? I would make sure this is as much of an issue with digital ballasts because that guys neighbor could be using older magnetic ballasts.

 

[Budzbuddha]

Pics of your grow so far ? ....

 

[cannabis mechanic]

Don't LED drivers also generate a fair amount of EMI? Or does it just not casue an issue with the frequencies you are concerned about? I would make sure this is as much of an issue with digital ballasts because that guys neighbor could be using older magnetic ballasts.

Tree farmer, LEDs as you know require low voltage, so they need a power supply to drop the voltage down, and the cheap, switching power supplies that they typically use can sometimes cause RFI.

It is the ballast that makes the sodium lamps "dirty" where RF is concerned. I've even heard of law enforcement getting tipped off to a grow because of the RF noise from the ballasts. It's true that LED power supplies do produce RFI, but only if there is a problem with them. I have screw-in LED lamps in my kitchen, and in many other places in the house. There is one LED lamp in my kitchen that has a noisy power supply. I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet, I just turn the kitchen light off when I operate.

 

[cannabis mechanic]

And yes, it's all about the frequency. VHF (2 meters) won't be affected. The 40 meter HF band seems to pretty susceptible to RFI from ballasts.

 

[TreeFarmerCharlie]

Tree farmer, LEDs as you know require low voltage, so they need a power supply to drop the voltage down, and the cheap, switching power supplies that they typically use can sometimes cause RFI.

It is the ballast that makes the sodium lamps "dirty" where RF is concerned. I've even heard of law enforcement getting tipped off to a grow because of the RF noise from the ballasts. It's true that LED power supplies do produce RFI, but only if there is a problem with them. I have screw-in LED lamps in my kitchen, and in many other places in the house. There is one LED lamp in my kitchen that has a noisy power supply. I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet, I just turn the kitchen light off when I operate.

I get that but, what I was getting at, is that the newer digital ballasts may not cause the issues that the older magnetic ballasts caused. Ballasts have come a long way over the years.