LED's: Jack of all Trades/Master of None....?

NorthofEngland

NorthofEngland

Well-Known Member
Very recently, in a PM, I was told:

"HPS are blue deficient, but warm, white LED's have enough BLUE for VEG, and enough RED for FLOWER"

But, by choosing an LED that can do both VEG and FLOWER, would I be choosing a light that was not fantastic at doing either...?

A High Pressure Sodium HID lamp can be used from DAY ONE of VEG to the LAST DAY of FLOWER (and it will do both jobs quite well).
But, if someone wants to get the VERY BEST out of their plants then using a METAL HALIDE for VEG is better than using the HPS (due to the above mentioned Blue Deficiency).

The MH could be carried on and used as the FLOWER lamp BUT this would be far from optimal (due to the Red/Orange spectrum, that is needed for FLOWERING, being deficient).

Can the LED do both job equally well
OR
Would a perfectionist want a different LED for both VEG and FLOWER growth???
 
GrowinDad

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
I went from CFL to LED. So I would go from 6500 heavy to 2700 heavy for flower. Same basic deal as with MHD and HPS. my LED (area 51 sgs160) is all white for veg. At flower it has some reds as well. I have not noticed any "expert at none" at the same seems to apply for the new all white.

There is a ton of info on the PAR stuff and all. If you are more scientifically minded than myself, you will find your explanations. That shit confuses me, I just try to live by experience.

There are parts that chnage with LED. no heat is great but also can create challenges. As an example, nothing is burning off humidity. So I am now working arojnd how to have a room in my house with a Veg cab that needd decent humidity under CFL that burns some of it off and a flower tent where I don't want it and burns off none. But as I get my system dialed in, i am pondering expanding, not abandoning, my LED use.
 
NorthofEngland

NorthofEngland

Well-Known Member
GrowinDad said:
I went from CFL to LED. So I would go from 6500 heavy to 2700 heavy for flower. Same basic deal as with MHD and HPS. my LED (area 51 sgs160) is all white for veg. At flower it has some reds as well. I have not noticed any "expert at none" at the same seems to apply for the new all white.

There is a ton of info on the PAR stuff and all. If you are more scientifically minded than myself, you will find your explanations. That shit confuses me, I just try to live by experience.

There are parts that chnage with LED. no heat is great but also can create challenges. As an example, nothing is burning off humidity. So I am now working arojnd how to have a room in my house with a Veg cab that needd decent humidity under CFL that burns some of it off and a flower tent where I don't want it and burns off none. But as I get my system dialed in, i am pondering expanding, not abandoning, my LED use.
Click to expand...
How are you finding its penetration to below the top canopy?

The lack of heat (compared to HID's) would mean I had to reduce inline fans power - probably more than just dialling it down with a speed controller, I would need to get a smaller fan.
And use less desk fan power.
At the very most I would need to add additional heat for some of the coldest days of the year.

But none of these things are major problems.
They're all quite easily solved - IF the LED is providing the necessary light.
 
ActionHanks

ActionHanks

Well-Known Member
Thing about LEDs are they typically have multiple point sources, and these mutlipe sources can have different wavelengths. I have a 130w panel with 60 diodes , 40 2700k diodes, 10 6500k, and 10 4000k (or maybe its 5000k). Its nice for veg but probably better for flowering
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
All you need is to modify the wiring so the 6500s are on their own circuit with an o/o switch so you can turn it off (or part of it) during flower

ActionHanks said:
Thing about LEDs are they typically have multiple point sources, and these mutlipe sources can have different wavelengths. I have a 130w panel with 60 diodes , 40 2700k diodes, 10 6500k, and 10 4000k (or maybe its 5000k). Its nice for veg but probably better for flowering
Click to expand...
 
ActionHanks

ActionHanks

Well-Known Member
PetFlora said:
All you need is to modify the wiring so the 6500s are on their own circuit with an o/o switch so you can turn it off (or part of it) during flower
Click to expand...
Mind blown. My panel can be switched to 1/2 power but I never thought about the potential of using the switch as a veg/flower spectrum trigger.

I run 12-12 from seed perpetually anyways, so an 80/20 ratio favoring flowering is great for me
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
This will likely mean adding a separate driver for that circuit

ActionHanks said:
Mind blown. My panel can be switched to 1/2 power but I never thought about the potential of using the switch as a veg/flower spectrum trigger.

I run 12-12 from seed perpetually anyways, so an 80/20 ratio favoring flowering is great for me
Click to expand...
 
ThaMagnificent

ThaMagnificent

Well-Known Member
NorthofEngland said:
How are you finding its penetration to below the top canopy?

The lack of heat (compared to HID's) would mean I had to reduce inline fans power - probably more than just dialling it down with a speed controller, I would need to get a smaller fan.
And use less desk fan power.
At the very most I would need to add additional heat for some of the coldest days of the year.

But none of these things are major problems.
They're all quite easily solved - IF the LED is providing the necessary light.
Click to expand...

This is another thing with LED. It doesn't penetrate the canopy as efficiently as say HPS. This would mean you would need to add more LED Wattage than your typical HPS bulb. There's a difference between the LED advertised wattage and the true wattage. Lastly, it's better to setup multiple LEDs around the area as opposed to just 1 single overhead light because LED light doesn't spread out as well as HPS.
 
GrowinDad

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
I have never grown HID. But I don't see how led gets the rep on penetration. If rec is to keep lights 18-24" from the canopy, why not lower if penetration isn't there.

The good suppliers tell you actual draw. And with LED, you are only losing about 5% of that energy, as i recall, in heat. I can't say whether my 160w equals a 400 or 600 hid setup, but I can say that it does way more than the same wattage in CFL. I was running almost 400w of CFL and feel i am even or above with my LED in what it does.
 
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