LED lighting in an open space VS tent

Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
its hard to get sometimes, but if you put 100 watts into two separate devices, they'll both produce the same amount of heat, the only difference being the efficiency of the device. if you have a h.i.d. light thats 50% efficient, that means that half the power pumped into it gets turned into light, and the other 50% gets turned into heat. if you put a 90% efficient led in there, 90% gets turned into light, and 10% gets turned into heat.
if you buy 4 cheap inefficient leds, you save nothing over a 1k h.i.d. light.
if you buy 4 good, 90%+ efficient leds, you will save on power and heat. the savings comes from not having to drive them as hard to get the same results. you can run a good cob or QB at 2/3 (or less) what you would run a h.i.d. at and get the same amount of light out of it. so it runs cooler to begin with, because of the efficiency, and then even cooler because you don't need 1k watts, 600 should be at least the equivalent
 
Hybridway

Hybridway

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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Those Galaxy's will only give you a bad impression about led & back to hps you'll be. When I bought led for the first time, I bought a good one & a suspect one (both similar cost) n did a side by side while comparing them to my hps. The good led did real well but not the burple one.
Like Sixstrings, I converted too. 8k of hps down to 4,500 w of led. Cut my electric bill in half, average of double my GPW while getting an increase in my G/sq'.
If you have high enough ceilings, I'd recommend something w/ reflectors & the option of lenses (keeping all the light on your canopy). Maybe check out Amare. That's what I went w/ & SunCloak.
 
I

Ingvar

Member
Hybridway said:
Those Galaxy's will only give you a bad impression about led & back to hps you'll be. When I bought led for the first time, I bought a good one & a suspect one (both similar cost) n did a side by side while comparing them to my hps. The good led did real well but not the burple one.
Like Sixstrings, I converted too. 8k of hps down to 4,500 w of led. Cut my electric bill in half, average of double my GPW while getting an increase in my G/sq'.
If you have high enough ceilings, I'd recommend something w/ reflectors & the option of lenses (keeping all the light on your canopy). Maybe check out Amare. That's what I went w/ & SunCloak.
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Which Amare & SunCloak lights did you end up going with that you were happy with?
 
I

Ingvar

Member
What are everyone's thoughts on Platinum P600s? I know they're not gonna replace a 1000W HPS, but I would gladly take a 600W HPS replacement if I can cut the heat production down.
 
Hybridway

Hybridway

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
Which Amare & SunCloak lights did you end up going with that you were happy with?
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I have the Amare Pro-9, SE-450, & Pro-4 models.
Also the full SunCloak system w/ overhead horizons.
Got threads going using them, feel free to stop by.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
What are everyone's thoughts on Platinum P600s? I know they're not gonna replace a 1000W HPS, but I would gladly take a 600W HPS replacement if I can cut the heat production down.
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I'm not aware of them, but in general I recommend you start by choosing a chip known for its efficiency, running it relatively softly- that is, roughly half of its rated maximum output give or take, and using lenses to aim the photons down onto your canopy effectively.

Thinking about LED from such an 'inside out' perspective helps focus your attention on the parameters that matter most. When your done, you'll know- for sure!- exactly the performance level vs cost of your system, because you'll have made all the salient decisions yourself.

Now that's what peace of mind looks like.
 
sunny747

sunny747

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.. :)
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Yea, II was interested until you said Galaxy... You made a wrong turn in the road. You will hate your bud when comparing to your hps bud. Return them. Go to Timber. Almost no heat, super intense and 100% adjustable power.
 
Hybridway

Hybridway

Well-Known Member
Something to remember when considering heat output in total for your room is that watt for watt, vented hps will be cooler then non-vented led know matter how efficient (more light per watt) you get.
I mention this because I think you mentioned heat reduction as one reason for switching. Not sure if you'll accomplish that if you're currently vented & considering non-vented led. Although your canopy will be no hotter then your room ambient (w/ fan). Unlike hps where you're 5-10• warmer.
So, approx. 5-600w of non-vented led w/ driver included, will equal 1000 w of vented hps. (Ballast outside of room) In heat output. Just as it will match it in better quality & equal quantity of light delivered. Depending on your light configuration, a better spread too.
Led doesn't have to mean small footprint. Even w/ lenses. Depends on the fixture or placement of fixtures.
 
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I

Ingvar

Member
Hybridway said:
Something to remember when considering heat output in total for your room is that watt for watt, vented hps will be cooler then non-vented led know matter how efficient (more light per watt) you get.
I mention this because I think you mentioned heat reduction as one reason for switching. Not sure if you'll accomplish that if you're currently vented & considering non-vented led. Although your canopy will be no hotter then your room ambient (w/ fan). Unlike hps where you're 5-10• warmer.
So, approx. 5-600w of non-vented led w/ driver included, will equal 1000 w of vented hps. (Ballast outside of room) In heat output. Just as it will match it in better quality & equal quantity of light delivered. Depending on your light configuration, a better spread too.
Led doesn't have to mean small footprint. Even w/ lenses. Depends on the fixture or placement of fixtures.
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I'm using non-vented 1000W HPS bulbs. I've considered the vented hoods but when figuring in all of the factors, it's not the best option for me (cost, grow space setup/limitations, long-term plans, etc).

I'm intrigued in LEDs and want to give them a fair shot. Truth be told, I don't think I'm getting good use out of the 1000W HPS bulbs. I could go down to 600W and I am positive I would get within 95% of quality & yield that I get from 1000W HPS. How do I know this? Because the heat factor has prevented me from using all 1000W. My ballasts have settings of 50% or 75% or 100% of the wattage and I can never go above 75% due to the heat they generate. The Galaxy Hydros have already shown me that even at their ~300W pull they are much cooler than a 50% 1000W HPS (even when two of them are close together they feel much cooler than the HPS bulb @50%)

I don't really understand a lot of the terminology & references used by you (the collectively experienced LED guys), so I think I need to read up a lot more. Stuff like chip on board, lenses, umol, drivers, type of LEDs, etc.. make my head spin just reading it haha

Checking out Amare SE450 and it's definitely out of my price range, but it also sounds more powerful than I need:

Power output: 450 watts
HID equivalent: ~800 watts

I am pretty sure could get away with HID equivalent of 500-600W for the reasons stated above. Once I save enough to upgrade, I'll start looking at other options. I've read people's grow journals with the Platinum P600 lights and it wasn't all that bad. Someone did a side by side comparison to 600W HPS and the quality + quantity matched up well.

Do LEDs "focus" light better? Their 'core coverage area' seems to be a key topic of conversation, as if their efficiency drops off a cliff compared to HPS if plants exist outside of that area?
 
I

Ingvar

Member
ttystikk said:
I'm not aware of them, but in general I recommend you start by choosing a chip known for its efficiency, running it relatively softly- that is, roughly half of its rated maximum output give or take, and using lenses to aim the photons down onto your canopy effectively.

Thinking about LED from such an 'inside out' perspective helps focus your attention on the parameters that matter most. When your done, you'll know- for sure!- exactly the performance level vs cost of your system, because you'll have made all the salient decisions yourself.

Now that's what peace of mind looks like.
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What are good chips that I should be looking for in a LED light?
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
Ingvar said:
What are everyone's thoughts on Platinum P600s? I know they're not gonna replace a 1000W HPS, but I would gladly take a 600W HPS replacement if I can cut the heat production down.
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It's a 300W light or so.
Won't replace a 600w hps unless it's an old and busted light.

Also way overpriced
 
Stephenj37826

Stephenj37826

Well-Known Member
Johnny Lawrence said:
No, just no. Why start this thread if you're not going to bother to take the advice you've been given? Platinum is a shitty company that makes shitty lights.
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Exactly.... Why bother with a light that's "not bad" when you can get a great light cheaper? Honestly. Plenty of good companies that started right here in these forums. These guys on here are efficiency geeks....
 
I

Ingvar

Member
Johnny Lawrence said:
No, just no. Why start this thread if you're not going to bother to take the advice you've been given? Platinum is a shitty company that makes shitty lights.
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I sincerely do appreciate all of the advice :) I am just trying to figure out how I can meet my needs with my budget & setup situation. Trust me, if I could afford it I wouldn't even start a thread here I'd just go out and buy a bunch of SpydrXs LOL :) I am getting a lot of useful information here and learning as I go along..
 
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