Mellodrama
Well-Known Member
Good morning!
Replacement fluorescent tubes are becoming a big deal in the LED world. There's a huge potential market and I wonder if growers could take advantage of the activity in this space.
At Amazon one can buy 4 ft. Hyperikons at 4000K and 5000K. These tubes are claimed to be at least 100 lm/w. There are also tubes available at 3500K although these are some kinda knock-offs and may not be as efficient.
Does anyone think that some mix of these or similar tubes could be utilized to create an effective grow spectrum?
I realize the efficacy isn't up there with the best home-brew COBs but they're certainly easier to get started with.
It can be confusing when shopping for these T8/T12 replacement units. I would strongly recommend avoiding the direct-replace models like the Phillips Insta-Fits. These are the easiest to swap out because you just remove the old tubes and pop in the new.
The advantage to direct-replace (they're easy) is also their downfall. The direct-replace use the power provided by the original fluorescent tube ballasts, then convert that to something the LED's can use. So the path looks like this: grid power>old ballast>circuitry inside the new tubes>LED. You take a big efficiency hit by using the direct-replace tubes.
The Hyperikons go a different way. The ballast is removed. You cut all the wires going to the far end of the fixture, and direct wire the tombstones on the other end to your grid voltage. Each tube contains the electronics to convert grid power to LED goodness. It's grid power>internal driver>LED.
Replacement fluorescent tubes are becoming a big deal in the LED world. There's a huge potential market and I wonder if growers could take advantage of the activity in this space.
At Amazon one can buy 4 ft. Hyperikons at 4000K and 5000K. These tubes are claimed to be at least 100 lm/w. There are also tubes available at 3500K although these are some kinda knock-offs and may not be as efficient.
Does anyone think that some mix of these or similar tubes could be utilized to create an effective grow spectrum?
I realize the efficacy isn't up there with the best home-brew COBs but they're certainly easier to get started with.
It can be confusing when shopping for these T8/T12 replacement units. I would strongly recommend avoiding the direct-replace models like the Phillips Insta-Fits. These are the easiest to swap out because you just remove the old tubes and pop in the new.
The advantage to direct-replace (they're easy) is also their downfall. The direct-replace use the power provided by the original fluorescent tube ballasts, then convert that to something the LED's can use. So the path looks like this: grid power>old ballast>circuitry inside the new tubes>LED. You take a big efficiency hit by using the direct-replace tubes.
The Hyperikons go a different way. The ballast is removed. You cut all the wires going to the far end of the fixture, and direct wire the tombstones on the other end to your grid voltage. Each tube contains the electronics to convert grid power to LED goodness. It's grid power>internal driver>LED.
