Switching to LED from HPS

I’ve been growing for 5 years in soil in an excavated basement. Its 15x10 x 14 feet tall. I’ve been growing 8 plants under 6 older 1000w hps lights and want to cut the utility bill as much as possible. I’ve been looking at the hlg 500 and wondering if 10 would cover the same area. Does enough watts of led = hps and is the light strong enough to penetrate 8 To 10 foot plants

thanks
 

growingforfun

Well-Known Member
I’ve been growing for 5 years in soil in an excavated basement. Its 15x10 x 14 feet tall. I’ve been growing 8 plants under 6 older 1000w hps lights and want to cut the utility bill as much as possible. I’ve been looking at the hlg 500 and wondering if 10 would cover the same area. Does enough watts of led = hps and is the light strong enough to penetrate 8 To 10 foot plants

thanks
Cobs would probably do a better job on plants that size than QB's but I dunno.

I could be wrong but I think a lot of people using led scrog their plants, not all but a lot
 

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
I’ve been growing for 5 years in soil in an excavated basement. Its 15x10 x 14 feet tall. I’ve been growing 8 plants under 6 older 1000w hps lights and want to cut the utility bill as much as possible. I’ve been looking at the hlg 500 and wondering if 10 would cover the same area. Does enough watts of led = hps and is the light strong enough to penetrate 8 To 10 foot plants

thanks
I guess the question with what you have presented is - does saving 1000W of power justify spending $9,000.00 on light fixtures?
 

BCBLondesLEDGrowLights

Well-Known Member
6 x 1000 watt SE hps's put out about 7200 ppf(par) and burn 6360 watts

6 BC Blondes 680 GCI's put out 10410 ppf and burns 4080 watts.

you would increase your light by 45% and cut your power bill and heat by 35-40%

Using the coupon code riu10 you can get the lights for $899 USD / $1215 CAD with free shipping

link to lights is here: https://www.bcblondes.com/product-p/bcb-680-gci2.htm

let me know if you have any questions.
 

GreenHighlander

Well-Known Member
I’ve been growing for 5 years in soil in an excavated basement. Its 15x10 x 14 feet tall. I’ve been growing 8 plants under 6 older 1000w hps lights and want to cut the utility bill as much as possible. I’ve been looking at the hlg 500 and wondering if 10 would cover the same area. Does enough watts of led = hps and is the light strong enough to penetrate 8 To 10 foot plants

thanks
IMHO there are no lights that will properly penetrate 8-10ft plants. Half of that is about the max of the highest powered of any type of indoor light.
Also IMHO unless you live in a place without a real winter LEDs are still not quite there for cost and effectiveness compared to HID for flowering. Trust me I know I will get blasted by the LED crowd on this and I am not saying you can't grow great buds with LED, but in certain setups and situations the tech and cost are still not comparable.

Cheers :)
 

BCBLondesLEDGrowLights

Well-Known Member
IMHO there are no lights that will properly penetrate 8-10ft plants. Half of that is about the max of the highest powered of any type of indoor light.
Also IMHO unless you live in a place without a real winter LEDs are still not quite there for cost and effectiveness compared to HID for flowering. Trust me I know I will get blasted by the LED crowd on this and I am not saying you can't grow great buds with LED, but in certain setups and situations the tech and cost are still not comparable.

Cheers :)
I agree with the first part of your statement, but not the 2nd :)
 

GreenHighlander

Well-Known Member
I agree with the first part of your statement, but not the 2nd :)
Of course you don't, that should be a given. You have your business in mind. I am just trying to pass on my opinion as a grower.
Not once have I seen the efficiency numbers and power savings claimed by an LED maker included the cost and use of having to add heat and not once have I seen anyone KILL a 1000w with an LED. SO why should I pay many , many times more for an LED when I live in a northern climate?

Cheers :)
 

RocketBoy

Well-Known Member
The best option ( and the cheapest) would be to go with dimmable 1000 watters and drop them down to 75% (750 watts). It's not quite 600 nor 1000, it's just right.
 

GreenHighlander

Well-Known Member
Lots of great info thanks guys. I’m going purchase a couple lights from different vendors and and do a test beside the hps. I’m in FL and keeping the room warm enough isn’t an issue lol
Then you certainly want to look into LED. BCBlonde, HLG , cobs, Quantum boards. There are lots of options. In hot climates Non HIDs are absolutely the way to go.

Cheers :)
 

growingforfun

Well-Known Member
Lots of great info thanks guys. I’m going purchase a couple lights from different vendors and and do a test beside the hps. I’m in FL and keeping the room warm enough isn’t an issue lol
It really comes down to what you want to pay and if you want to build your own lights.

If you can drop the bucks and dont want to be bothered with building it yourself and possibly making a mistake (even guys here with experience can mess up a connection) then look into hlg for QBs or timber grow lights for COBs as they are the 2 biggest names.

No offence to bcblonds.. but I havent been "properly educated" as to why that vender is a "product to beat" shall we say.. but I'm fairly uneducated in led matters. Long time hps guy, only have 1 run done under a tester QB
 
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