Led lights watts advertised vs actual watt output???

Dumbguyneedshelp

Dumbguyneedshelp

Well-Known Member
So confused. Looking to buy a 600-1000w led either white or the red blue . on Amazon. There's thousands....the deeper I get.. The,more,confused I am... Only looking for 3-4 plants tops. Closet grow . not to big . I see 1000w lights and some brands are cheaper than others 600w lights. They all out on a good show and deliver their speech and everyone I look at I'm like that looks good. Then I see thr next one and I think that looks good to.. And after a few hundred ....they all look the frickin same... Lookijg to keep it under 100. What do I do?
 
I got off point.. They all are advertised at 600-1000w in the title.. Then you look and says max or actual watts. From like 100-250watts... I just want a light that will get me from start to finish. Nothing insane. Not starting a business. Just a few plabts in a closet.
 
What size space are you looking to cover? Go to the lighting section and check out the leds(lighting forum on here)
 
But really wondering whats up with advertising a certain wattage and it actually being way less actual wattage..and if I get a 600w or a 1000w. Is 1 really better than thr other
 
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Dumbguyneedshelp said:
But really wondering whats up with advertising a certain wattage and it actually being way less actual wattage..and if I get a 600w or a 1000w. Is 1 really better than thr other
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It’s all marketing, and Chinese shit. They should spec the actual watts in the info on the lights. I started out with viparspectras, they work.. just not super efficient. A vipar 600w or 900w would cover your area. Actual draw is about half of that.
I use HLG quantum boards now, and like you said everyone argues over it. I don’t have time to build strip lighting so I went with the diy kits from HLG. Pretty reasonable and efficient, also much better than vipars
 
Ya I'm Definitly not capable of making my own. I have been using cfls. Hps is to much and I'm not an electrician . lol I don't want to build anything I don't want to run wires and what not. About 100 dollar limit on lights and the highest I found was 240. Would that cover
 
Some basics I've read along my travels...
- Light advertised as say "1000W"...usually is something like 100 x 10W chips/cobs = 1000W and the same for 600 and so on...wattage of chips/cobs all added together.
- Actual draw...this tells the true amount (or average) of what the light draws from the wall outlet and is actually producing...if not advertised they are usually hiding the truth for some reason or another.
- Most lights (LEDs) are not run/driven at the max because it will just burn out in no time...so the power (voltage and or current) is reduced to make the fixture last longer.
- Most growers go for about 30-35 watts per square foot of growing area...in your case a (2 x 3 = 6) * 30)) = 180W to (2 x 3 = 6) * 35)) = 210 ...so if the true watts/draw power is around 180-210 watts for 2' x 3' flowering footprint you should be good.
- Spectrum is last part and is very confusing still...most lights now run more "white" light which gives you a wider/better color pallet of light for the plants beyond the old "blurple" color of mostly just blues and reds.
Hope this helps some...I'm still doing research on LEDs myself and still using the lights I built 3 years ago...3W blurples...but mostly waiting on the new tech to come down in price to meet my budget..lol
 
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Mak'er Grow said:
Some basics I've read along my travels...
- Light advertised as say "1000W"...usually is something like 100 x 10W chips/cobs = 1000W and the same for 600 and so on...wattage of chips/cobs all added together.
- Actual draw...this tells the true amount (or average) of what the light draws from the wall outlet and is actually producing...if not advertised they are usually hiding the truth for some reason or another.
- Most lights (LEDs) are not run/driven at the max because it will just burn out in no time...so the power (voltage and or current) is reduced to make the fixture last longer.
- Most growers go for about 30-35 watts per square foot of growing area...in your case a (2 x 3 = 6) * 30)) = 180W to (2 x 3 = 6) * 35)) = 210 ...so if the true watts/draw power is around 180-210 watts for 2' x 3' flowering footprint you should be good.
- Spectrum is last part and is very confusing still...most lights now run more "white" light which gives you a wider/better color pallet of light for the plants beyond the old "blurple" color of mostly just blues and reds.
Hope this helps some...I'm still doing research on LEDs myself and still using the lights I built 3 years ago...3W blurples...but mostly waiting on the new tech to come down in price to meet my budget..lol
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Haha I was just number crunching when,I seen this. You saved me some brain strain lol. This one is about 240 actual watts. And if I hung it lower as in not the full height of 5 feet would that watts per square ft be increased. Or not because there's light reflecting back up ?
 

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Its between that one and this one. That's 240w with mostly red blue...and then there's this 200 actual watt white led less wattage but better spectrum... You pick
 

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Well I'm not much good at this remember, but that light might be fine, but I'm wondering a few things about it.
1 - The description says "...Compares to traditional 00Watt HPS/MH..." ...zero watts...lol
2 - Is the 240 watts in all stages of the switches or just veg when all the leds are on...where when in flower it may be much lower due to some of the leds are not used (blues I think in this case)...would have to ask them or search the net for reviews on the light.
3 - The last part of lights are the ppfd (umol/m2s)...I believe most growers go for 600-800 umol/m2s at about 18" from plants if the temp isn't too hot for them.
So all in all that light may work for you and produce some fine plants/buds, but I'm also the type that buys things that are about 25% over min needs...so in you case the 180-210 is minimum and add 25% to be safe = 225-262.5.
And yes drugs are a gateway to math and science after all...bet teachers never thought of using that analogy...lol
 
First light is more "blurple" spectrum tech with some supplemental leds to help and the second is "white" spectrum tech (or it seems), but says 200w...so little short for your needs.
I'd go more towards first one you posted above...or keep looking to see if you find one better matching all your needs.
 
Mak'er Grow said:
Well I'm not much good at this remember, but that light might be fine, but I'm wondering a few things about it.
1 - The description says "...Compares to traditional 00Watt HPS/MH..." ...zero watts...lol
2 - Is the 240 watts in all stages of the switches or just veg when all the leds are on...where when in flower it may be much lower due to some of the leds are not used (blues I think in this case)...would have to ask them or search the net for reviews on the light.
3 - The last part of lights are the ppfd (umol/m2s)...I believe most growers go for 600-800 umol/m2s at about 18" from plants if the temp isn't too hot for them.
So all in all that light may work for you and produce some fine plants/buds, but I'm also the type that buys things that are about 25% over min needs...so in you case the 180-210 is minimum and add 25% to be safe = 225-262.5.
And yes drugs are a gateway to math and science after all...bet teachers never thought of using that analogy...lol
Click to expand...
I would definitely run it wide open as would be more power. And I also have around 150-200 watts in cfls. Would the watts add together like that so if had the 240 plus cfls Would that realistically,give me 400w gice or take
 
Dumbguyneedshelp said:
I would definitely run it wide open as would be more power. And I also have around 150-200 watts in cfls. Would the watts add together like that so if had the 240 plus cfls Would that realistically,give me 400w gice or take
Click to expand...
Well in theory you could run it full no doubt, but for flowering you want to try for more reds (thats why the blues get shut off and looks more red) and more red and blue when in veg (looks blue/purple)...or something like that.
Adding more lights like the CFLs would give more watts yes, but again use the right spectrum for the right times...CFLs usually have the Kelvin labeled on the side of the bulb or package...~3000K or less for flowering and ~ 4000K or more for veg.
And I'd use the CFLs in the corner areas to help bring the ppfd up in those ares that are usually a little lower then the center of the main fixture...more of an even ppfd pattern for the footprint.
 
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