which lights to use LED or HPS
- Thread starter Growster
- Start date
cannabisguru
Well-Known Member
i would go with the HPS.
LED lights... are still fairly new to the seen.
its your decision though..
good luck.
LED lights... are still fairly new to the seen.
its your decision though..
good luck.
hornedfrog2000
Well-Known Member
LED have potential, but not quite there yet.
I'll expand on what everyone is saying just so you have some background.
The idea of LED's is great. Lower energy costs, less of a security risk, less heat to deal with. Unfortunately, at this time, results in terms of quality and yield have been inconsistent with experienced growers.
On top of the inconsistencies--they're fucking expensive. Yes, the expletive was for emphasis. HID's cost a lot less and you can expect consistent results.
The idea of LED's is great. Lower energy costs, less of a security risk, less heat to deal with. Unfortunately, at this time, results in terms of quality and yield have been inconsistent with experienced growers.
On top of the inconsistencies--they're fucking expensive. Yes, the expletive was for emphasis. HID's cost a lot less and you can expect consistent results.
total lies. The only place for LEDs is in a micro grow like a PC case (the reason for growing in one is beyond my comprehension)
Yea, I think thats the best one yet.
Depends on what you wanna do man.
I've seen grows with these new 2 and 3 watt LEDs Best price about $400 will light up a 2 by 3 foot area and get you some buds.
You could do the same with a 400w HPS for about $170 Need fans another $100 or so to deal with the heat.
MsBBB
Active Member
There are clubs/groups on here (RIU) for both LED and 600 watt HID users. Check them out, see what they have to say and form your own opinion based on what you want to do with your grow and situation.
Serapis
Well-Known Member
And to imagine that your VERY FIRST post on RIU opens up a can of worms that always ends in e-penis fights..... imagine that...
Welcome to RIU?
View attachment 1495706
Welcome to RIU?
View attachment 1495706
Anyone who says LEDs won't work as well just haven't seen the evidence. LED is here and its only going to get even better than HID (as it is already at least equal watt for watt with a good panel). There are not very many completed LED grow journals here, but there are many good ones over at 420magazine.com (look up Irishboy and SettingSun for starters).
That said, anyone who makes a claim that their LED is better than a HID with double the wattage or more is NOT TELLING THE TRUTH (good LED lights may grow up to 30% more than HID watt for watt, but this may be due to a greater spread of light production than with a single HID bulb). Most companies also mislead about the wattage of their LED light. For example: They will call a unit a 240w of their name brand. This is partially true because the light may be made up of eighty 3w LEDs, but this is misleading because LEDs can't run at their rated wattage or they would burn out and die. Most 3w and 2w LEDs only run on 1.5-1.75w of power
I switched from a 400w HPS system to a 395w LED system. The light will still heat up my grow tent 7 degrees above ambient but only above the light, below the light the heat is room temp or cooler because of the exhaust filter/fan pulling air up through the bottom (and it doesn't heat up my bedroom) this is much better than with the HID which put the whole tent 10-20 degrees above room temp and would also heat my bedroom exponentially on its own! Plants seem to be loving the light just a little bit more than the HID
Serapis
Well-Known Member
And in this corner, weighing in at 3 watts per bulb is LED, wearing the red trunks.........
and in the other corner......
Weighing in for HPS......
and in the other corner......
Weighing in for HPS......
SmokeyMcSmokester
Well-Known Member
Im growing with LEDs and HPS..the LED grow that im doing is still in veg stage, but ive seen grows where LEDs produce some pretty impressive results..you can click on the link in my sig to see the differences. I believe LEDs have a lot of potential in experienced hands..they are a lil more pricey, but thats not that big of a deal.
If you look directly at my shorts they are many colors, but from across the ring they might as well be purple!
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
LED still has a ways to go in wavelength development, and more research needs to go into plant specific wavelength for the entire grow cycle. I'd say LED will be excellent in the future, but for the time being HPS (hortilux super hps) is the way to go. Plasma shows a lot of potential as well.
I don't know much about LED's and growing but my local Hydroponic shop said to make sure if you get one to make sure it has 3 Watt LED's in it, others didn't have the power to penetrate foilage. I don't know if you've heard anything about induction lights, but they claim to be superior to all the others. I would like to find out for sure if this is true myself.
xochilives
Active Member
I've had experience with both LED and HID, save yourself some money and stress and go with the HID's. Forget about comparing them watt for watt, dollar for dollar you will get your investment back faster with a HID, because at the end of the day money is most likely the deciding factor. Its like comparing a gasoline car vs. an electric car, why do we still use gas cars even though electric cars are just as as fast and more efficient, BECAUSE THEY WORK no matter what!
Wolverine97
Well-Known Member
They all claim to be the best.