juman
Well-Known Member
Lumens don't mean much for LEDs, the light is more concentrated at specific wavelengths instead. You also say prices are inflated on LEDs, I agree with that statement but lets do some theoretical math:
Blackstar 240w Light Cost - $280
Electrical Costs for 5000 hours of light (lets say $.089/kWh) - ~$107
Total = ~$387
400w HPS Light Cost - $200
Electrical Costs for 5000 hours of light - ~$178
Total = ~$378
If you figure 5000 hours to be about 1 year of usage we're looking at almost identical costs for the first year (for simplicity sake we'll ignore heat costs which would be more for HPS/MH lights). Now if we move onto the second year our total costs may look something like this:
LED Total (1st 2 years) - $387 + $107 =$494
HPS/MH Total - $378 + $178 = $556
So on the second year the LED is cheaper than the HPS/MH and has next to no heat. Now we do have to factor in a new panel every ~10 years but a HPS/MH also needs new ~$40 bulbs every 1.5 years, so a new panel is equal in price to about 7 bulbs (which is about 10 years).
Just some food for thought for people knocking the LEDs. I do still believe that a nice HPS/MH setup is going to do great and is cheaper in the short term but LEDs are just so efficient (not only in energy costs but also light output).
