Going from HPS to LED. Worth it?

Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence

Well-Known Member
xtsho said:
Not for me. The cost of replacing my HID with an LED doesn't make sense. I grow in an unheated garage during the winter so no need to worry about heat. And running at night during off-peak hours and PGE's time of use pricing I only pay 4.128 ¢ per kWh for electricity. So I have no need to go to LED to save on the power bill. So I'll continue to use HID lighting and if and when my ballast goes out I'll shell out $100 for a 1000 watt dimmable ballast.

Both LED and HID will grow great weed. I just see no reason to spend $600 - $800 on an LED to get the same amount of light. I also don't have the height to keep an LED at the proper distance from my plants. With an air cooled hood the plants can get under a foot from the light.

I know many are all about LED lighting but as with most things one size does not fit all. I'm about growing weed and I'm doing that just fine with the HID lighting I'm using.
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And for me, it's the opposite. It gets hot in the summer here. I also pay some of the highest electricity costs in the US - crazy expensive. Making the switch to LED paid for itself in under a year. Add in the fact that I have to replace less bulbs annually(still run 315s and a DE in my tall flowering room) and it makes even more sense. I no longer have to run an AC, more savings. Eliminated the 8 inch fans pulling off my HID hoods, more savings(and less noise).

BTW I can run both SMDs and cobs within a foot of my plants with zero problems.
 
mistergrafik

mistergrafik

Well-Known Member
Johnny Lawrence said:
And for me, it's the opposite. It gets hot in the summer here. I also pay some of the highest electricity costs in the US - crazy expensive. Making the switch to LED paid for itself in under a year. Add in the fact that I have to replace less bulbs annually(still run 315s and a DE in my tall flowering room) and it makes even more sense. I no longer have to run an AC, more savings. Eliminated the 8 inch fans pulling off my HID hoods, more savings(and less noise).

BTW I can run both SMDs and cobs within a foot of my plants with zero problems.
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Any suggestions with the above for hardware? Currently running to LEP units want to try LED
 
Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
I've read about plenty disappointing grows from led owners but not anyone saying I've increased my yeilds?
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I'll just use one of my flowering rooms as an example. Had a 4x8 with 2 SE 600s. Swapped them out with 900 watts of cobs. Hitting the same numbers in terms of weight as I was before.

If you switch out a 600 watt light with 600 watts of quality LEDs, you're gonna increase your yield, unless you don't know wtf you're doing.
 
Trickyticky

Trickyticky

Well-Known Member
papa canna said:
I hate to be negative nancy, but it seems like a very unsound idea to go from the golden standard of light to something that's new, higher upfront cost, and less reliable. Just my 2 cents. HID for life.
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Still hid for life or have ya converted to led yet
 
Xcoregamerskillz

Xcoregamerskillz

Well-Known Member
xtsho said:
Not for me. The cost of replacing my HID with an LED doesn't make sense. I grow in an unheated garage during the winter so no need to worry about heat. And running at night during off-peak hours and PGE's time of use pricing I only pay 4.128 ¢ per kWh for electricity. So I have no need to go to LED to save on the power bill. So I'll continue to use HID lighting and if and when my ballast goes out I'll shell out $100 for a 1000 watt dimmable ballast.

Both LED and HID will grow great weed. I just see no reason to spend $600 - $800 on an LED to get the same amount of light. I also don't have the height to keep an LED at the proper distance from my plants. With an air cooled hood the plants can get under a foot from the light.

I know many are all about LED lighting but as with most things one size does not fit all. I'm about growing weed and I'm doing that just fine with the HID lighting I'm using.
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Lighting isn't a one size fits all. People pretend like it is
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
Led bleached my plants 6" from the light at less than half power {100w)
_20201005_130432.JPG
3rd day back under T5s
_20201008_143732.JPG
A marked improvement.
 
Chunky Stool

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
mistergrafik said:
OKAY U LED GURUS * & FOO'S. I currently run an LEP setup. I like it ( I love it second to the sun ) but I want to do a side by side. I've been drifting around in here trying to decide what to blow some stripper money on and the only thing I'm for certain is that I'm not buying an LED with a fan in it. Want to fill a 4x6 space exactly like my experiment room.

Where should I start? Ebay?

thnks
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lol
 
C

chronnie49

Well-Known Member
Chunky Stool said:
Yield & quality both increased when I switched to LED.

No more fluffy larf on lower growth.
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Usually when I see people switching to Led and not getting better results they dont have the temps in the 80s, or they expect the same yield from 500 watts of led compared to 1000 watts hps.

I'm only on my second run with Led so Im no expert but if you have the environment right and dont have unreasonable expectations they are nice lights.
 
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