Question regarding LED arrays from the country that produces everything

yawen

Member
First, hi everybody, new to posting. I am completely lost here. I know there are many controversial opinions on LEDs, but I think it's my main option, as I have heat issues. Temperature here is around 89-97 F during daytime, and 82 F minimum during nighttime. So I plan on a 18/24 during nighttime, switching on around 7 PM and off at 11 AM. I have tried growing outdoors, but in 3 instances I've got my seedlings disappear overnight. Probably some bird or mouse, no idea.


If I finally go with LEDs, I will buy them from a site similar to ebay. I have been researching, and problem is I really don't know what sort of wattages should I'd been looking for, and what spectrum.
I have some autoflowers, plan to have 6-8 plants in a (W)37" 94cm x (H)47,2" 120cm x (D)25,6" 65cm plywood cabinet with negative pressure if can really make it air proof, still considering what sort of door mechanism should I use to guarantee air tightness.

Option 1. The following array is a 15W 12,2 x 12,2 inch panel.

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LED Type: BridgeLux
LED Wavelengthλd(nm)Or Tc(k): Red : 630, blue: 460, white6500K
LED Color: Red and Blue and whiteLED Configuration 225*0.06w (154 Red and 47 Blue,24 white)
Lux(centre ) LUX 2.5m, 80/3m, 55/3.5m

According to this, I can put six pieces, for a total of 90 watts. This setup is very inexpensive, about 13$ a piece. If I would go with this setup, I was thinking perhaps is a good idea that two of the panels would be all white or blue.

Option 2, way more powerful and expensive, would be this:

T2xqdTXbddXXXXXXXX_!!72024623.jpg

It's a 360 Watts, 120 X 3W LEDs.

There is not enough information on what sort of LEDs and wavelengths it has. Dimensions are 510x278x90mm or 20"x10.9"x3.5". This is very expensive, about 225$ a piece. Just that it has very powerful LEDs.

Option 4. Another similar proposition, but with way more LEDs and information on wavelength is this one:
300Watt
T2AJRzXbVbXXXXXXXX_!!72024623.jpg
T2sJNzXehbXXXXXXXX_!!72024623.jpg

LED: 216 Red 630nm ,36 Blue 460nm ,36 Orange 610nm
This costs 260$


Option 4. And finally I have this other option

1Watt LED x 90 LEDs. 10 Blue, 10 Orange and 70 Red.

T2OJNzXbBbXXXXXXXX_!!72024623.jpgT2PdJzXdFbXXXXXXXX_!!72024623.jpg

Wavelenghts Red 660nm, Blue 462nm, Orange 612nm. This has a cost of 85$. I would use 2 or 3 pieces. I think this design wastes a lot of space. and going with at least 2 is equally as expensive as the bigger arrays above. 85$ a pop.

Now here is my question: Are this units a waste of money? Do I really need UV and IR LEDs in addition to Red Blue and Orange? I read that Autos are not as picky regarding light for veg then for flowering, in a word, one set of lights is good for the whole process. Is going on the red spectrum more than on white a good idea?
My very first grow will be on organic soil, way too troublesome to find nutrients for hydro in my location.
 

budballer

Well-Known Member
Okay first off i highly recommend posting this in the LED section next time! you will get much more input there. Now for some LED basics.. These specs only list the max wattage draw, not the actual draw. No LED panels are run at 3W per chip, they would burn out much too quickly. Really their actual power is normally around 2/3 of the actual stated power. On top of that you still need a lot of light for good results even with LED's, and a watt is a watt. LED's still give off plenty of heat, just not as much as HID and it is also more manageable. For GOOD LED panels you generally want 40w sq/ft. In your case you have roughly 6 sq/ft that means you'll need about 240 or more watts of ACTUAL LED power. Not the box stated watts. The 360w panel you listed in this case is the only viable option for your grow size and in my opinion the best looking light. As for spectrum's from what i read it is good to have some whites and oranges, but very few. Many manufacturers over use the other less needed color spectrum's i feel. anything over 6 spectrum's seems to be a waste as well. IR seems to be a gimmick as apparently the IR LED's burn out very quickly on most panels because the manufacturer doesn't adjust the voltage for the IR LED. Also you cant see IR with the human eye so most people don't realize all of their IR LED's have quit working. Of the those you listed the 360 watt seems okay at best. Not sure if it has deep red though (if it's anything like the 300w panel) which is needed for good flowering results (670-660nm). This is all just basic stuff though, check out the LED sub section on here, you will learn a lot!

https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/
 

yawen

Member
Okay first off i highly recommend posting this in the LED section next time! you will get much more input there. Now for some LED basics.. These specs only list the max wattage draw, not the actual draw. No LED panels are run at 3W per chip, they would burn out much too quickly. Really their actual power is normally around 2/3 of the actual stated power. On top of that you still need a lot of light for good results even with LED's, and a watt is a watt. LED's still give off plenty of heat, just not as much as HID and it is also more manageable. For GOOD LED panels you generally want 40w sq/ft. In your case you have roughly 6 sq/ft that means you'll need about 240 or more watts of ACTUAL LED power. Not the box stated watts. The 360w panel you listed in this case is the only viable option for your grow size and in my opinion the best looking light. As for spectrum's from what i read it is good to have some whites and oranges, but very few. Many manufacturers over use the other less needed color spectrum's i feel. anything over 6 spectrum's seems to be a waste as well. IR seems to be a gimmick as apparently the IR LED's burn out very quickly on most panels because the manufacturer doesn't adjust the voltage for the IR LED. Also you cant see IR with the human eye so most people don't realize all of their IR LED's have quit working. Of the those you listed the 360 watt seems okay at best. Not sure if it has deep red though (if it's anything like the 300w panel) which is needed for good flowering results (670-660nm). This is all just basic stuff though, check out the LED sub section on here, you will learn a lot!

https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/
Thank you mate. I may xpost in LED section, which somehow I missed. As for your input, I also think the 360W panel is the best looking one, but I am a bit lost and wary of the thing not working. I am also afraid of temperature. I have a cree x6 bicycle light with just one led, and it gets insanely hot.
 
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