LED lighting in an open space VS tent

I

Ingvar

Member
Hey guys,

I'd like to give LED lights a shot. The HPS heat is a real issue for me. That AC makes the power bill crazy high!!

One of my primary concerns is that I would be growing in a fairly large area that currently houses 3 1000W HPS bulbs. There are no reflectors on walls. Even if I put up reflective surfaces, the walls on all sides are too far from the grow area, and from what I understand wouldn't serve their intended purpose as a result.

Will LED lights give even less yield with this setup?
Do they perform much better in a tent (where there is plenty of light bouncing around and not wasted)?
Do particular LED lights work better than others for this setup?
Do I need 3 1200W LED lights to replace the 3 1000W HPS lights or should I get 6 600W LED lights?
Any recommendations for a particular brand to use? Those Fluence lights look sweet as hell, but no way I can fork over $1500 per 4x4 section of my room LOL

Greatly appreciate any and all advice! :)
 
hybridcheef

hybridcheef

Active Member
make sure when you lookin for led grow lights to make sure you get the actual watts from the wall stat and not the equivalent they try and sell you on
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
What brand led?

Fluence is top tier and a great buy.

Mars hydro/ platinum is less efficient than de hps.

Leds have a smaller beam angle than HPS so wasted light should be leas of an issue.
If the LEDs have reflectors/lenses even less light is wasted.
Reflectors/lenses to direct the light are preferable over reflective walls.

Timbergrowlight makes great lights.
Great efficiency very good price

Also what's your current hps setup?
You're using DE or if SE do you happen to know the ppf output of your bulbs?
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
Hey guys,

I'd like to give LED lights a shot. The HPS heat is a real issue for me. That AC makes the power bill crazy high!!

One of my primary concerns is that I would be growing in a fairly large area that currently houses 3 1000W HPS bulbs. There are no reflectors on walls. Even if I put up reflective surfaces, the walls on all sides are too far from the grow area, and from what I understand wouldn't serve their intended purpose as a result.

Will LED lights give even less yield with this setup?
Do they perform much better in a tent (where there is plenty of light bouncing around and not wasted)?
Do particular LED lights work better than others for this setup?
Do I need 3 1200W LED lights to replace the 3 1000W HPS lights or should I get 6 600W LED lights?
Any recommendations for a particular brand to use? Those Fluence lights look sweet as hell, but no way I can fork over $1500 per 4x4 section of my room LOL

Greatly appreciate any and all advice! :)
Click to expand...
any indoor grow light will do better with reflective walls,led's are no different.i run leds in a 12 x 20 x 9.5h room that used to be all hid lighting,went from almost 13kw down to appox 8 kw now with mostly cob led and lovin it :eyesmoke:
 
I

Ingvar

Member
frica said:
What brand led?

Fluence is top tier and a great buy.

Mars hydro/ platinum is less efficient than de hps.

Leds have a smaller beam angle than HPS so wasted light should be leas of an issue.
If the LEDs have reflectors/lenses even less light is wasted.
Reflectors/lenses to direct the light are preferable over reflective walls.

Timbergrowlight makes great lights.
Great efficiency very good price

Also what's your current hps setup?
You're using DE or if SE do you happen to know the ppf output of your bulbs?
Click to expand...
I ordered a couple of Galaxyhydro 600Ws for a test run - they'll be splitting the room with the remaining HPS lights for now.

My gut feeling is telling me that I need to set up the room differently, but from most info I gathered (and from what you're saying) reflective walls won't help much since the LED lights' radius isn't scattered as wide as HPS lamps?

I am using SE HPS at the moment, Hortilux 1000W. Timbergrowlights is still outside of my price range. If I had the budget I would go with those sweet lookin' SpydrX lights but alas.. :)
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
I ordered a couple of Galaxyhydro 600Ws for a test run - they'll be splitting the room with the remaining HPS lights for now.

My gut feeling is telling me that I need to set up the room differently, but from most info I gathered (and from what you're saying) reflective walls won't help much since the LED lights' radius isn't scattered as wide as HPS lamps?

I am using SE HPS at the moment, Hortilux 1000W. Timbergrowlights is still outside of my price range. If I had the budget I would go with those sweet lookin' SpydrX lights but alas.. :)
Click to expand...
Galaxyhydro's aren't very efficient.

Honestly, you'd better return them and save the money for Timbergrowlights.
Also I hope you're not in a too hot climate with those Galaxyhydro's because those panels don't take heat too well. (burnt out diodes)
 
I

Ingvar

Member
frica said:
Galaxyhydro's aren't very efficient.

Honestly, you'd better return them and save the money for Timbergrowlights.
Also I hope you're not in a too hot climate with those Galaxyhydro's because those panels don't take heat too well. (burnt out diodes)
Click to expand...
If I knew I could do well with the Timbs, I would find a way to front the money. But I need to get experience with the LEDs first and then invest in better ones. I've seen the results Galaxyhydros got from other journals and they seem to perform decent enough for me to take a chance on them, esp at the price of $170 for 600W (yeah I know, draw wattage isn't same, but people still seem to do quite well with them). Because honestly, there is still a chance I'll crawl back to the 1000W HPS lights if things don't go well (yields toooo low) lol
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
If I knew I could do well with the Timbs, I would find a way to front the money. But I need to get experience with the LEDs first and then invest in better ones. I've seen the results Galaxyhydros got from other journals and they seem to perform decent enough for me to take a chance on them, esp at the price of $170 for 600W (yeah I know, draw wattage isn't same, but people still seem to do quite well with them). Because honestly, there is still a chance I'll crawl back to the 1000W HPS lights if things don't go well (yields toooo low) lol
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A timber framework is 2 times as efficient as a Galaxyhydro. (literally)

6 "600W" Galaxyhydros won't replace 3000W of HPS.
 
HydoDan

HydoDan

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
If I knew I could do well with the Timbs, I would find a way to front the money. But I need to get experience with the LEDs first and then invest in better ones. I've seen the results Galaxyhydros got from other journals and they seem to perform decent enough for me to take a chance on them, esp at the price of $170 for 600W (yeah I know, draw wattage isn't same, but people still seem to do quite well with them). Because honestly, there is still a chance I'll crawl back to the 1000W HPS lights if things don't go well (yields toooo low) lol
Click to expand...
Start at the top not at the bottom..I almost blew $500 on cheap shit.. Bought Timber instead.. No regrets!
 
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Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
If I knew I could do well with the Timbs, I would find a way to front the money. But I need to get experience with the LEDs first and then invest in better ones. I've seen the results Galaxyhydros got from other journals and they seem to perform decent enough for me to take a chance on them, esp at the price of $170 for 600W (yeah I know, draw wattage isn't same, but people still seem to do quite well with them). Because honestly, there is still a chance I'll crawl back to the 1000W HPS lights if things don't go well (yields toooo low) lol
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Stop wasting money. Watt for watt, all you're doing is matching your HIDs. Actually take the time to listen to what people here are telling you. Or continue wasting money. You have 2 options.
 
majins

majins

Well-Known Member
They are rubbish.
I ran 900W grow of them and it was comparable to my next crop after that was on 250W of Cree 3070s which was compareable to my 600W solarmax hps,
From the wall it only pulled 580W not the 900W they advertised.
 
Stephenj37826

Stephenj37826

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
If I knew I could do well with the Timbs, I would find a way to front the money. But I need to get experience with the LEDs first and then invest in better ones. I've seen the results Galaxyhydros got from other journals and they seem to perform decent enough for me to take a chance on them, esp at the price of $170 for 600W (yeah I know, draw wattage isn't same, but people still seem to do quite well with them). Because honestly, there is still a chance I'll crawl back to the 1000W HPS lights if things don't go well (yields toooo low) lol
Click to expand...

I can save you the money and trouble..... If you buy the Galaxy Hydro LEDs you will be disappointed in your yield.

It comes down to how much light per watt the particular led you are looking at produces.... What people are telling you is the Galaxy Hydro unit you speak of makes LESS light per watt than hps...... What's the point of going led if the unit you are going to base your opinion on is inferior..... That would be like saying I am going to judge all steak by this TV dinner steak..... If I don't like it I will not eat steak anymore lol.
 
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Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
i've been growing "seriously" for three years now, and the biggest regret i have about the learning process is the closet full of cheap leds i bought that are horseshit. i still use and like leds, but its one of those things where "you get what you pay for" is very true. buy shitty cheap leds, get shitty results. buy a good quality product, you'll get good results, and a product that will last you years.
 
I

Ingvar

Member
Stephenj37826 said:
I can save you the money and trouble..... If you buy the Galaxy Hydro LEDs you will be disappointed in your yield.

It comes down to how much light per watt the particular led you are looking at produces.... What people are telling you is the Galaxy Hydro unit you speak of makes LESS light per watt than hps...... What's the point of going led if the unit you are going to base your opinion on is inferior..... That would be like saying I am going to judge all steak by this TV dinner steak..... If I don't like it I will not eat steak anymore lol.
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I do get that it makes less light per watt than HPS :) I'm trying to move into LEDs because of the heat issues. I live in a hot climate, and with summer approaching, 1000W HPS lights are overpowering the AC unit.

Theoretical question: if you bunch 4 crappy LED lights together that draw 250W from the wall, is that enough light to match the yield of 1 1000W HPS? I understand that's inefficient, I just want to know theoretically. Thanks!
 
I

Ingvar

Member
Roger A. Shrubber said:
i've been growing "seriously" for three years now, and the biggest regret i have about the learning process is the closet full of cheap leds i bought that are horseshit. i still use and like leds, but its one of those things where "you get what you pay for" is very true. buy shitty cheap leds, get shitty results. buy a good quality product, you'll get good results, and a product that will last you years.
Click to expand...
What LED lights did you settle on?
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
I do get that it makes less light per watt than HPS :) I'm trying to move into LEDs because of the heat issues. I live in a hot climate, and with summer approaching, 1000W HPS lights are overpowering the AC unit.

Theoretical question: if you bunch 4 crappy LED lights together that draw 250W from the wall, is that enough light to match the yield of 1 1000W HPS? I understand that's inefficient, I just want to know theoretically. Thanks!
Click to expand...
NO. This is due to the fact that heat vs light is a function of efficiency; more efficient lighting gives the same light intensity with fewer watts used and therefore less heat generated.

If you will continue with tables without reflective walls, I recommend you look into fixtures using COB LED chips like CXB3590 and similar chips from Citizen and Vero. These will give high efficiency output and reduce the watts needed to get a given level of light intensity, and therefore will reduce heat gain. Further, without reflective walls you'll want to actively focus the light output onto your canopy. This is best accomplished with lenses.

I've tested this configuration vertically and horizontally and it's very effective.

Other benefits include better quality of product.

Quantum boards are also worth a look but their spread may not be quite as efficient in an open no reflective walls environment.
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
I do get that it makes less light per watt than HPS :) I'm trying to move into LEDs because of the heat issues. I live in a hot climate, and with summer approaching, 1000W HPS lights are overpowering the AC unit.

Theoretical question: if you bunch 4 crappy LED lights together that draw 250W from the wall, is that enough light to match the yield of 1 1000W HPS? I understand that's inefficient, I just want to know theoretically. Thanks!
Click to expand...
4 crappy 250W led lights put out just as much heat as an HPS.
 
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