Hey guys used to have an hid so im mainly looking for ones who have experience with led. Long story short my grow partner passed away on june 13 2016 shitty btw and in that being said lost the entire set and now that im ready to start again im debating on led vs hid im looking for reliability in leds anyone know how long they last what the catch is if they die and just basic overall. Cant think of word but is it better or worse then hid including all factors from price to yields to costs of running and maitnence. All opinions help thanks lots everyone.
led vs hid
- Thread starter prpgdad
- Start date
Have you used both if so did you notice any major difference between the lighting. From cost per season energy and plant quality quantity.
smokebros
Well-Known Member
I've used three different hps bulbs, 150, 400, & 600. I currently use quantum boards and recently bumped it up to 575 watts between 4 boards. I got the same results from 288 watts in quantum boards as 600 watts in HPS. From what I've seen regarding performance from four boards, I'd take this 575w quantum board or COB led setup over a 1000hps every single time.
Colo MMJ
Well-Known Member
How much is your budget and how big is your grow space? LEDs are fantastic like the HLG QB boards (see LED forum). They pretty much last forever and do not degrade like bulbs do. There is a slow (very slow) degrading but HID/HPS bulbs degrade faster.
The downside is you pay double for good LED. The cheap Chinese LEDs on Amazon and eBay are not very good. Avoid.
HID/HPS is cheaper but generates more heat and uses almost twice the electricity. You can probably veg cheaper with T8s and T5s and use HPS to flower.
Stealthstyle
Well-Known Member
cooling is much easier, you still get some heat which is mostly the drivers. you dont need a hole in the roof for cob leds heat extraction well at least any ive had, probabaly up to 600 watts, if its 48'C outside and inside is hot it might be different.
dankness19
Well-Known Member
Electricity bill goes down significantly with LED'S compared to hid. You can get lights closers to plant without heat stress.