I have the 550W unit and they are great, well made and very bright!
Good to hear that they are working well for you, I feel really good about this decision.
I wont be using it to flower for some time yet, it's on veg over the mothers right now. I'm pretty sure you will be happy, just dial in the height that works best for you and your space and you'll be laughing!Good to hear that they are working well for you, I feel really good about this decision.
Sweet, I'm struggling to keep my heat down at the moment with my t5's. It's been up in the 80's with only 4/8 lights on. I want to lower the lights more and turn the other half on but the temps rise too much. Any advice?
Any way i can see the details of your grow and space? I could only offer any advice then..
you have a point here tight budgets and leds dont really go together but if the cash can be scraped borrowed or stolen i feel a good led fixture is a good investment. i must caution tho from my experience w/leds and from what i have read. do not follow the factory specs as far as coverage you can pretty much count on cutting the factory recomended coverage area x 1/2 or even 1/4 more to get optimum coverage. i have seen repeatedly on different threads that 75-90% actual draw compared to a hid fixture is optimum for coverage.so if you are running a 1k hps it will take between 750-900 watts of leds to really equal light output. now i know someone will argue you can get away with less, and sure you can but the key word there is OPTIMUM you can grow yer dope on a window sill in a dixie cup but it probably wont be optimum. from my research the single biggest savings w/leds are in a/c costs the next biggest savings is in bulb replacement. followed by electricity consumption for the lights.
It does make sense in the long run tho, no dangerous bulbs, no extra heat, not too much electricity used, longer lifetime than hps. Everything leads me back to led as a good fit for what I need. Even if it means a little more at start-up for long term performance.
you have a point here tight budgets and leds dont really go together but if the cash can be scraped borrowed or stolen i feel a good led fixture is a good investment. i must caution tho from my experience w/leds and from what i have read. do not follow the factory specs as far as coverage you can pretty much count on cutting the factory recomended coverage area x 1/2 or even 1/4 more to get optimum coverage. i have seen repeatedly on different threads that 75-90% actual draw compared to a hid fixture is optimum for coverage.so if you are running a 1k hps it will take between 750-900 watts of leds to really equal light output. now i know someone will argue you can get away with less, and sure you can but the key word there is OPTIMUM you can grow yer dope on a window sill in a dixie cup but it probably wont be optimum. from my research the single biggest savings w/leds are in a/c costs the next biggest savings is in bulb replacement. followed by electricity consumption for the lights.
this pretty much sums up over 4 months of reading research and a little experimentation in the ol' lab... hehe
either way gd luk but don't skimp on the lighting. add some cfls if ya have to and youll be happy later
oh ya and make sure ya wrap the inside of your box w/mylar or paint it white if ya havent already
peace
joe
Exactely, I'm hoping to avoid putting in an a/c unit all together. I'm not sure how hot my room is going to get this summer, but I'm relocating it today to another room, that's in the shade most of the day from the hot summer sun. Also, might need a/c depending on how hot my t5's get it in there. As far as the mylar goes, I'm good, I'm in a grow-lab tent, so it came already refelective-ized. Yep made up a word there...
I stand to be corrected but it's the current that the chip sets consume that drive the LED. Which is usually dialled down to about 80% so not to burn the LED out prematurely. That is how the electricity consumption is allocated.
Maybe so but i dont think i would choose a 600 watt led over a 600 watt hps not until they penetrate alot more and the price is at least equal
Maybe so but i dont think i would choose a 600 watt led over a 600 watt hps not until they penetrate alot more and the price is at least equal
I don't think that LED will ever be the same price as getting a 600 I'm afraid for 2 reasons, there always has and always will be much more tech involved in designing/making/producing LED compared to HID. And because when...yes when it is really perfected then it will become the industry standard, it makes sense that newer and more efficient tech will prevail. In essense nobody can ignore HID's ability to grow plants but at the same time nobody can ignore the energy consumption implications of HID including the ventilation which in turn is a prerequisite.
