Are mono panels going away?...or not?

tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
Apache Tech

NextLight

Sun Cloak (not really a "panel" per se...but utilizes monos)

Osram Zelion

And I think these lights have all "proven" themselves in application, too...

I kind of like the idea of a mono panel light...It seems like the multiple-emitters across an entire panel would provide very even coverage.

Not everyone is going to COB technology for lights, as we can see.

Opinions?
 
Herbal_Essence

Herbal_Essence

Well-Known Member
I believe that there is no point for them upgrading to COBs because the light output will be roughly the same with the efficiency they can afford to run in a small commercial fixture.
probably they have a supply or a super cheap deal on this leds
and the spread might be actually better with diods with this kind of budget )
people buying with their eyes, the general mass doesn't know about COBs etc. they think that a bunch of lights in diff colors is awesome and the best.

on the other hand there are many companies that started to integrate white cobs with their blurple in one panel.
 
BOBBY_G

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
Herbal_Essence said:
I believe that there is no point for them upgrading to COBs because the light output will be roughly the same with the efficiency they can afford to run in a small commercial fixture.
probably they have a supply or a super cheap deal on this leds
and the spread might be actually better with diods with this kind of budget )
people buying with their eyes, the general mass doesn't know about COBs etc. they think that a bunch of lights in diff colors is awesome and the best.

on the other hand there are many companies that started to integrate white cobs with their blurple in one panel.
Click to expand...
the mere fact that you can buy an efficient 500W cob light engine for $50 should tell you about the future of monos.
 
Scotch089

Scotch089

Well-Known Member
Or on the flip side the highly efficient cobs let you compensate for the lower electrical efficiency monos that in turn help the PLANTS MORE EFFICIENTLY (remember they're the ones doing all the work!) produce essential oils/thc, terps, carotenoids/pigment, etc they may not have fully pronounced under standard whites.

Quick googling on the go:

"PAR as described above does not distinguish between different wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm, and assumes that wavelengths outside this range have zero photosynthetic action. If the exact spectrum of the light is known, the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) values in μmol/s can be modified by applying different weighting factor to different wavelengths. This results in a quantity called the yield photon flux (YPF).[3] The red curve in the graph shows that photons around 610 nm (orange-red) have the highest amount of photosynthesis per photon. However, because short-wavelength photons carry more energy per photon, the maximum amount of photosynthesis per incident unit of energy is at a longer wavelength, around 650 nm (deep red)."
 
Herbal_Essence

Herbal_Essence

Well-Known Member
Scotch089 said:
Or on the flip side the highly efficient cobs let you compensate for the lower electrical efficiency monos that in turn help the PLANTS MORE EFFICIENTLY (remember they're the ones doing all the work!) produce essential oils/thc, terps, carotenoids/pigment, etc they may not have fully pronounced under standard whites.

Quick googling on the go:

"PAR as described above does not distinguish between different wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm, and assumes that wavelengths outside this range have zero photosynthetic action. If the exact spectrum of the light is known, the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) values in μmol/s can be modified by applying different weighting factor to different wavelengths. This results in a quantity called the yield photon flux (YPF).[3] The red curve in the graph shows that photons around 610 nm (orange-red) have the highest amount of photosynthesis per photon. However, because short-wavelength photons carry more energy per photon, the maximum amount of photosynthesis per incident unit of energy is at a longer wavelength, around 650 nm (deep red)."
Click to expand...
my point is, it is not that companies necessarily don't know all this, but from a massive production point of view, supply and demand on a large scale, it is still blurple...
not everyone is chasing ultra efficiency like we do. for example when I post my build in Russian forum, most of them thought I'm some oligarch that blows so much money on something that is not needed in their eyes.this tech is very applicable for a large scale grows in countries where the cost for electricity is high and\or you cannot grow outdoors, otherwise the spendings are not justified..
 
BOBBY_G

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
cobs are monos too at heart

its the manufacturing economics and heat transfer of individual diodes that are making them obsolete
 
Scotch089

Scotch089

Well-Known Member
Herbal_Essence said:
my point is, it is not that companies necessarily don't know all this, but from a massive production point of view, supply and demand on a large scale, it is still blurple...
not everyone is chasing ultra efficiency like we do. for example when I post my build in Russian forum, most of them thought I'm some oligarch that blows so much money on something that is not needed in their eyes.this tech is very applicable for a large scale grows in countries where the cost for electricity is high and\or you cannot grow outdoors, otherwise the spendings are not justified..
Click to expand...
Definitely two trains of thought.. I respect g as a friend and business owner and I think his explanation for just about ALL things light is great- photon density is #1, cobs do that. But you dig in like some of these other companies (AT, Zelion, even bonsai hero) that are diehard to what each and every wavelengths affect on photosynthesis is, there has to be sometging to their logic of still using them... right? AT is very well aware of cobs, g made sure of that. Think the others dont... c'mon...now no, that doesn't mean we should follow their steps, but also doesn't mean we should entirely stray away from their r&d,

Way I see it cobs let us efficiently provide what the plant wants the most by compensating for the electrical inefficiencies of monos (keep in mind were talking specific monos at this point [reds], blues are not literally inefficient compared to cobs) and let's us still supply the important stuff. I think an aspect that could be limiting companies or deterring companies from implementing monos is sourcing legitimate/quality diodes consistently/large enough orders, the effort it would take implementing them/etc.

On a mass production level, I'm sure the $$$/### doesn't justify it, and it'd take a good moment to come out ahead, idk. These are questions for someone in the business, not a nitpicking hobbyist. Lol

Edit: efficiency at 700ma on a cxb3070 5k is ~63%, 3k is obviously less but still >50% I'm sure
 
Yodaweed

Yodaweed

Well-Known Member
They won't go away or they will incorporate some COBs with them because COBs by themselves are seriously lacking in the spectrum they are missing far red and UV light , two of the most important factors when trying to get epic frost.
 
puffenuff

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if by "mono" you mean "blurple" or you mean panels consisting of many single diodes. Because Apache has red+blue but they also have white, or white + red. I don't consider single diodes that are white/broad spectrum to be "mono". NextLight also use single white diodes.

So, in regards to single diodes: No, they aren't going anywhere. As already mentioned, the spread and coverage on them can be great like on the NextLights or SpydrX. And quality single diodes have the capability to grow fantastic plants.

Blurple lights aren't going away either. Despite popular belief, they can grow just as good of buds as white dominant lights. But their real value comes in when it comes to other crop species with different light requirements, like leafy greens for example.

My opinion is that to get the most out of cannabis, supplementing white light with monos (reds, blues, FR, UV, etc) is a great way to make good results better. They can help promote essential oils and bring out flavors. I forget the article I read a while back but it was talking about using reds in supermarket produce aisles to enhance flavors of fruits/veggies, so there may be benefits with monos even in post harvest applications.
 
Last edited:
tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
puffenuff said:
I'm not sure if by "mono" you mean "blurple" or you mean panels consisting of many single diodes. Because Apache has red+blue but they also have white, or white + red. I don't consider single diodes that are white/broad spectrum to be "mono". NextLight also use single white diodes.
Click to expand...
I will now refer to them as "single-diode arrays" :)

Thanks to everyone for the discussion, btw! :)
 
Abiqua

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
Yodaweed said:
They won't go away or they will incorporate some COBs with them because COBs by themselves are seriously lacking in the spectrum they are missing far red and UV light , two of the most important factors when trying to get epic frost.
Click to expand...
sources besides your mom?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top