Does LEDs really yield the same as their "HPS equivalent"

[Biologist]

When I see my growing idols (Jungleboys, etc.) switch to LED I will switch. Until then they are all still using DE HPS and I think they would switch if there was even 1% more profit in using LEDs instead of HPS. They go to great ends to maximize every aspect of their grow's quality, quantity, and energy efficiency.

 

[Klompen]

When I see my growing idols (Jungleboys, etc.) switch to LED I will switch. Until then they are all still using DE HPS and I think they would switch if there was even 1% more profit in using LEDs instead of HPS. They go to great ends to maximize every aspect of their grow's quality, quantity, and energy efficiency.

I suspect it has a lot more to do with not wanting the up front cost of changeover. LED tech is objectively better in basically every regard. I love my old Philips Mastercolor Retrowhite CMH, but even the super generic LED flood lights I got at the hardware store absolutely crush it. Its comical how bad even those cheap LEDs demolish any HID I have ever had. Those guys probably have dozens of lights and ballasts already though and retrofitting all that to LED would be a lot of money at once.

 

[saitama]

When I see my growing idols (Jungleboys, etc.) switch to LED I will switch. Until then they are all still using DE HPS and I think they would switch if there was even 1% more profit in using LEDs instead of HPS. They go to great ends to maximize every aspect of their grow's quality, quantity, and energy efficiency.

ROI would take quite some time for an operation that big. That's why the majority of the established bigger names still haven't switched over. It will just be a matter of time.

 

[TakenByTheSky]

If .7 grams per watt is average for for HPS I would need to pull about 1.6 gpw from LED.

So 1lb from a 600 HPS I'd want 1lb from a 300-350w LED..

Who's doing it? Is it possible?

 

[TPFTFW]

If .7 grams per watt is average for for HPS I would need to pull about 1.6 gpw from LED.

So 1lb from a 600 HPS I'd want 1lb from a 300-350w LED..

Who's doing it? Is it possible?

I know of plenty of people who consistently get 2lbs+ Per 640 watt gavita 1700e

It’s not uncommon

 

[ozzieAI]

If .7 grams per watt is average for for HPS I would need to pull about 1.6 gpw from LED.

So 1lb from a 600 HPS I'd want 1lb from a 300-350w LED..

Who's doing it? Is it possible?

...and here is where it gets interesting...not only do you power light savings but there is also a whole raft of environmental controls that now can be reduced...

the case i mentioned earlier 520 watts hitting 1.8gpw only actually is averaging around 400 watts over the whole grow as he increases the light intensity as the plants grow and need more, keeping wattage low and distances closer during veg makes bushy strong plants that support a lot of growth...

the cost of environmental control has dropped considerably as well and changing from 600 hps to 520 led has reduce overall power consumption (whole house) by 10%...

and most importantly....he is getting more, better quality buds...

 

[Chevy cHaze]

...and here is where it gets interesting...not only do you power light savings but there is also a whole raft of environmental controls that now can be reduced...

the case i mentioned earlier 520 watts hitting 1.8gpw only actually is averaging around 400 watts over the whole grow as he increases the light intensity as the plants grow and need more, keeping wattage low and distances closer during veg makes bushy strong plants that support a lot of growth...

the cost of environmental control has dropped considerably as well and changing from 600 hps to 520 led has reduce overall power consumption (whole house) by 10%...

and most importantly....he is getting more, better quality buds...

That's a good point! Yes the LEDs will use less overall, but you can maximise performance and minimise electricity used by further aligning the LEDs' output with the real needs of the plants at every stage of the growth.
I've always hung the light higher when plants were young but really I should have dimmed it and hung it closer to exploit the benefits.
I always thought I don't need a built in dimmer but now I think I do!


Still, even without the possibility to tailor output all the time and with it distance light to plant they're doing a great job!


Cheers
CC

 

[Biologist]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDKU4okJrRb/

JungleBoys have a room now of LED and said they will share the test results and yields. This could get interesting. They talk a bit about it and why they are trying LED now in the comments. This is why I love the JungleBoys, lots of big growers won’t say shit in the comments and keep everything they do a secret.

 

[gladysvjubb]

Here.... rock 'n roll you deadbeats.

https://smile.amazon.com/Deformable...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J0YSE2QK2S22GT83C1GP

 

[Horselover Fat]

I wanna see someone put 1kw worth of lm301b per 4x4 and run it hps style with the lights pretty high up. I think you could produce almost 3000umol with 1kw. Hang the lights high up enough to achieve desired canopy par level and I guarantee there will be a buttload of penetration.

Does anyone think HPS is going to outproduce led kw per kw?

 

[zachrockbadenof]

Does anyone think HPS is going to outproduce led kw per kw?

probably not...BUT... what is 1000w of HPS going to cost vrs 1000w of LED... u prob have to sell your 1st born to pay for the LED...

 

[Horselover Fat]

probably not...BUT... what is 1000w of HPS going to cost vrs 1000w of LED... u prob have to sell your 1st born to pay for the LED...

Ha, well the prices are coming down as we speak. Let's see... uhm, I think about 1000€ and up.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

Ha, well the prices are coming down as we speak. Let's see... uhm, I think about 1000€ and up.

well thats not toooo bad... i would have thought that 1000w of LED would be closer to 2k....

 

[Horselover Fat]

well thats not toooo bad... i would have thought that 1000w of LED would be closer to 2k....

Yes, that 1000€ light certainly would be diy. I didn't actually do the math, but I think it's possible.

 

[Joint Lock]

The new LEDS like MARS TSW2000 or 3000 model are nice will yeild as much as HPS then u get to the better companies like HLG or KingBrite and they will crush it with the new LM301H chips . PLC and others are also great . But if u go buy blurple or old tech . Your probably going to be disappointed unless u use alot of them . The better cheaper alternative would be a COB setup or LM301B boards QB288

Kingbrite 480w (draw) HLG v3 copy is 400$ Alibaba has great reviews
MeiJiu 240w (draw) also has great reviews

Myself i would settle for anything thats not a LM301 B or LM301H (better) - QB288 board

And make sure u get meanwell drivers/Ballast

If u want the investment to be worth it and yeilds .

Best of the cheap cheap brands it dont get better then a Mars (TSW3000 or TSW2000) if u want amazon or Ebay leds (Both great lights and newest epistar chips) Its just the Samsung Boards are a little better in efficacy (Light per watt used)

 

[Chi13]

probably not...BUT... what is 1000w of HPS going to cost vrs 1000w of LED... u prob have to sell your 1st born to pay for the LED...

Probably becomes a little more cost effective if you factor in what you would spend on HPS replacement bulb vs a light that may last 5 years without the need to replace anything.

 

[Klompen]

probably not...BUT... what is 1000w of HPS going to cost vrs 1000w of LED... u prob have to sell your 1st born to pay for the LED...

Nah, you can buy Chinese COB lights for a fraction of what expensive grow lights cost. Of course the grow lights of any quality are generally more efficient; the COBs still do a great job. I got my COB lights for less than 2 dollars per 50W chip, and they run direct off 110V AC(they make 220V too). All the COBs in my current grow(450W worth of them) cost about 15 dollars. I had to replace 2 though so make it maybe 18 dollars. It cost me more to make the cooling setup for them than the lights themselves cost.

For a bit more, there's plenty of DIY quantum board projects out there, and the low end of quantum board type lights is getting fairly affordable already.

 

[Horselover Fat]

^those are seriously cheap cobs. How is the efficacy?

 

[Klompen]

The generation of them I am using is pretty inferior to the newer version, but basically they're about 90 or so lumens per watt. That's actually better than it seems though because they're grow spectrum and not lumen-weighted. The newer ones are 100-110 depending on the model and feature constant current, solderless connectors, overcurrent/voltage protection and are dimmable. I am pretty eager to give the new ones a try. Hard to get anything out of China at the moment though....

 

[Horselover Fat]

The generation of them I am using is pretty inferior to the newer version, but basically they're about 90 or so lumens per watt. That's actually better than it seems though because they're grow spectrum and not lumen-weighted. The newer ones are 100-110 depending on the model and feature constant current, solderless connectors, overcurrent/voltage protection and are dimmable. I am pretty eager to give the new ones a try. Hard to get anything out of China at the moment though....

That seems a common category for the more common leds. Led bulbs and shop lights usually have the same ~100 lumen/watt efficacy. Not up there in the high efficacy class, but very cheap to set up. In a few years stores will be full of cheap 150+ lumen/watt fixtures.