Led Users Unite!

newworldicon

Well-Known Member
Also bare in mind that the technology involved is only very recently being developed specifically for plant growing so in a few years from now the diodes we use will be running 10-20W and offering insane penetration. LED technology still has a while to go before it is at it's full potential.
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
So I'm just wondering what everyone's opinions are about wattage comparisons between led and hid...how many led watts equals how many hps/mh watts? I know I've seen people saying that even at equal wattage hid outperfoms, ive heard the opposite, ive heard you only need 50% led wattage to compare, etc... Having grown under both lighting options, i know what my opinion is, but what's yours?

And yes, I know it depends on the specs of the leds, so just assume 3w, 90 degree angle standards..
 

newworldicon

Well-Known Member
So I'm just wondering what everyone's opinions are about wattage comparisons between led and hid...how many led watts equals how many hps/mh watts? I know I've seen people saying that even at equal wattage hid outperfoms, ive heard the opposite, ive heard you only need 50% led wattage to compare, etc... Having grown under both lighting options, i know what my opinion is, but what's yours?

And yes, I know it depends on the specs of the leds, so just assume 3w, 90 degree angle standards..
I say considering the lack of massive coverage of LED it would take the same amount of watts of LED to compare to watts of HID.
 

curly604

Well-Known Member
I have yet to see some1 Post a Pic of a LED GROW with a LEGIT ROOM PACKED full of plants.. I keep seeing 4-8 plants under these led setups. I do not condone breaking the law by going over plant limits but cmon ppl. No way you can out preform a HID lit room packed full of plants with a room that uses LED. it may Look* neater, more colorful. but no way in hell will it out yield a HID. I continue to hear "if you know how to grow, their is no yield loss" Bs cause from the Get go their is Plant loss seeing as you can grow bigger more plentiful batches under HID. I will be proven wrong the second some1 posts 40-80x 1-3ft plants under a single LED setup.
soon i will have some interesting stuff for you man, a friend of mine recently changed his setup from full hps to full led and he has been at it for years, he is not gonna post his journal untill he is done for security reasons but in a month or two you will be able to see a true spectacle of led growng. :)
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
I say considering the lack of massive coverage of LED it would take the same amount of watts of LED to compare to watts of HID.
Say youre growing in an enclosed space, say 4x4 or smaller, coverage in that space wouldn't be an issue with decent leds...and you were previously growing in there with a 1k hps...do you think one would still need 1,000w led to compare? Just curious because I totally agree that if left in open spaces light from leds dissipates quickly but when surrounded by reflective properties in a predefined space youre really not losing that light and your footprint doesnt decrease
 

newworldicon

Well-Known Member
Say youre growing in an enclosed space, say 4x4 or smaller, coverage in that space wouldn't be an issue with decent leds...and you were previously growing in there with a 1k hps...do you think one would still need 1,000w led to compare? Just curious because I totally agree that if left in open spaces light from leds dissipates quickly but when surrounded by reflective properties in a predefined space youre really not losing that light and your footprint doesnt decrease
I have a few 4x4 spaces currently and have a 550W (true wattage is 420W) and still feel I could have a bit more in there for the coverage. Bare in mind the 4x4's are tents with the mylar etc.
 

curly604

Well-Known Member
I have a few 4x4 spaces currently and have a 550W (true wattage is 420W) and still feel I could have a bit more in there for the coverage. Bare in mind the 4x4's are tents with the mylar etc.
ya ima get 2 - 290w units for my 4x4 just so i can move em around and shit.
 

espoker19

Active Member
Got one 345 watt unit 1 watt LEDs 60 degree lenses. Not too bad so far in veg. these are about 1 month old. about to flower em and see what this light can really do...got a grow thread goin if anyones as interested in the buds this thing can make as I am.

IMG_5811.jpgIMG_5813.jpg
 

HoomSad

Member
just got my Spectra 500W in.. Fantastic. Looks great, very substantial. Great spread on the coverage. true watts= 451W FANTASTIC, finally some truth in advertising. 4.1A at 110V, Im happy!
 

hoss12781

Well-Known Member
I say considering the lack of massive coverage of LED it would take the same amount of watts of LED to compare to watts of HID.
I think a bit less depending on what kind of unit you have. Since I didn't want to drop the upfront $$ on a 500ish wattage unit to experiment with leds I wound up getting 1 small unit and being happy with the results I transfered all my lighting to LED with two additional units. Was ultimately glad I went this way. On a four plant gardent I went from 2 400w HID lights plus a lot of clf side lighting to 2 180 Pro-grows(130 power draw) and 1 PG 250 (probably somewhere around 150w power draw), and a pos 90w ufo (probably around 80w draw). The ufo isn't on now but will be used as side lighting later so to add it all up (roughly) lets say I'm around 1000w draw with the old hid/cfl set up. I'm at 410w w/o the UFO, 490ish with. I have two plants under the PG 250, and one under each 180.

Given the coverage area of each unit I think this should be solid to carry through till harvest. We'll see journal still in progress. I may end up getting another 180 if I can scoop one up cheap on the ebay which would still only put me at 620w of power draw. Based on my experience I'd say mayble 2/3 the wattage of your HID/CFL set up, but this remains to be proven. I'll post picks when this grow is done and we'll see it in full color compared to some of my old HID pics and total harvest weights.

Then again I'm always one for over doing things and two 400w hid lights plus many clfs was probably overkill for four plants to begin with. It was certainly overkill on the electric bill and heat in my spare basement bedroom.
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Just put in my order for my new lights. Should have them in the next week or so. Upgraded panels all around. These new panels should outperform current generation led lights with roughly half the watts. Cant wait!
 

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
Wrong.. even with 1 plant.. you cannot go wrong with 2x 400w HID.. will out preform. maybe you need the heat /electicity reduced but that doesnt mean the HID wouldnt knock the ball out the park.. Never overkill .. I would grow 1 plant under my 600w if I had too, and still yield as much as 6 plants.
I think a bit less depending on what kind of unit you have. Since I didn't have the upfront cash to drop on a 500ish wattage unit I wound up getting 3 smaller units over a 3 month period. Was ultimately glad I went this way. On a four plant gardent I went from 2 400w HID lights plus a lot of clf side lighting to 2 180 Pro-grows(130 power draw) and 1 PG 250 (probably somewhere around 150w power draw), and a pos 90w ufo (probably around 80w draw). The ufo isn't on now but will be used as side lighting later so to add it all up (roughly) lets say I'm around 1000w draw with the old hid/cfl set up. I'm at 410w w/o the UFO, 490ish with. I have two plants under the PG 250, and one under each 180.

Given the coverage area of each unit I think this should be solid to carry through till harvest. We'll see journal still in progress. I may end up getting another 180 if I can scoop one up cheap on the ebay which would still only put me at 620w of power draw. Based on my experience I'd say mayble 2/3 the wattage of your HID/CFL set up, but this remains to be proven. I'll post picks when this grow is done and we'll see it in full color compared to some of my old HID pics and total harvest weights.

Then again I'm always one for over doing things and two 400w hid lights plus many clfs was probably overkill for four plants to begin with. It was certainly overkill on the electric bill and heat in my spare basement bedroom.
 

hoss12781

Well-Known Member
fair enough Budski, for my purposes the 2 400 watters + CFL were making way too much heat/light in my spare bedroom. I had no ventilation set up and am purely a hobby grower I'm happy with the close to 500w of led I'm running. Heat issues were a major problem. Plus this is way stealthier than my old rig. I had nice air cooled hoods and fans on them but it still was stressing my girls out. My switch to led is fairly recent, and the grow in my journal (sig) was my first pure led grow and slightly basterdized as my son poured concentrated nutes on my plants after I neglected to lock the bedroom door. Even with this I was able to achieve, on the plants that survived a yield comparable to avg HID yields but the bud quality was far better. Bud quality, being a hobbist is what I'm all about. Four autos, to keep it a misdeamor in my state give me all the bud I need to keep my and my close friends heads lifted in our R&R time.

I don't doubt the efficacy of HID over LED in larger commercial settings but for the residential grower keeping it small for what my 2 cents is worth I dig the leds
 

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
:) I wish I had the preety Glare of Bright LED colors :[
fair enough Budski, for my purposes the 2 400 watters + CFL were making way too much heat/light in my spare bedroom. I had no ventilation set up and am purely a hobby grower I'm happy with the close to 500w of led I'm running. Heat issues were a major problem. Plus this is way stealthier than my old rig. I had nice air cooled hoods and fans on them but it still was stressing my girls out. My switch to led is fairly recent, and the grow in my journal (sig) was my first pure led grow and slightly basterdized as my son poured concentrated nutes on my plants after I neglected to lock the bedroom door. Even with this I was able to achieve, on the plants that survived a yield comparable to avg HID yields but the bud quality was far better. Bud quality, being a hobbist is what I'm all about. Four autos, to keep it a misdeamor in my state give me all the bud I need to keep my and my close friends heads lifted in our R&R time.
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
what are they?
The Diamond Series from Advanced. New larger diodes with specialized lenses, new dual heatdinks, new drivers,better airflow, etc. They are preselling them early for previous customers at discounted prices. One of the tests they did put up a 200w against their top selling 180w and 360w and the 200 nearly surpassed the 360w in yield. They will be realeasing units ranging from 100w to 800w I think
 

newworldicon

Well-Known Member
The Diamond Series from Advanced. New larger diodes with specialized lenses, new dual heatdinks, new drivers,better airflow, etc. They are preselling them early for previous customers at discounted prices. One of the tests they did put up a 200w against their top selling 180w and 360w and the 200 nearly surpassed the 360w in yield. They will be realeasing units ranging from 100w to 800w I think
Their website does not seem to have the details of these new panels, do you have any info that you can pass on to us what they sent you? Any pics and literature from them etc.
 

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Yeah they aren't selling or advertising on their site yet. They sent me an email, it had some pics. when I get back home to my computer, i'll try to take the pics from the email and post them here with whatever info was included...won't be for three or four hours until I can get to my computer though
 
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