Johnny Lawrence
Well-Known Member
And for me, it's the opposite. It gets hot in the summer here. I also pay some of the highest electricity costs in the US - crazy expensive. Making the switch to LED paid for itself in under a year. Add in the fact that I have to replace less bulbs annually(still run 315s and a DE in my tall flowering room) and it makes even more sense. I no longer have to run an AC, more savings. Eliminated the 8 inch fans pulling off my HID hoods, more savings(and less noise).Not for me. The cost of replacing my HID with an LED doesn't make sense. I grow in an unheated garage during the winter so no need to worry about heat. And running at night during off-peak hours and PGE's time of use pricing I only pay 4.128 ¢ per kWh for electricity. So I have no need to go to LED to save on the power bill. So I'll continue to use HID lighting and if and when my ballast goes out I'll shell out $100 for a 1000 watt dimmable ballast.
Both LED and HID will grow great weed. I just see no reason to spend $600 - $800 on an LED to get the same amount of light. I also don't have the height to keep an LED at the proper distance from my plants. With an air cooled hood the plants can get under a foot from the light.
I know many are all about LED lighting but as with most things one size does not fit all. I'm about growing weed and I'm doing that just fine with the HID lighting I'm using.
BTW I can run both SMDs and cobs within a foot of my plants with zero problems.