G
Guest
the hps is killin it, i was hoping the LED's would fare a bit better than they are
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Led Vs. Hps - 70w Challenge
- Thread starter Medved
- Start date
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G
gsavill90
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LED_experiments
Member
the consumption is not the same. hps draws about 80W, leds just arround 65W (total consumption on resistors and leds). next thing is the growth. hps plants have bigger internode spacing (stretching), that is why they filled the net sooner. if using proper veg time for both boxes, led plants should have 1-2 weeks longer veg time. internode spacing under leds is smaller, so therefore you have more budshots at the same surfance (or branch lenght). medved decided to switch both places to 12/12 at the same time, and the led plants didn't fill the net to the same stage as hps plants. but that is what the majority of users wanted to see (both places switched to 12/12 at the same time). if using proper timing, i'm sure leds would win the match. in this circumstances i think that hps will have a bigger yield, but the quality should be better under leds (according to my experiments).
G
gsavill90
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Last edited:
LED_experiments
Member
leds that are used in this experiment don't have the optimal wavelenghts (wl). they are very close but still not optimal. the models we need are not commercially avaiable yet. i'm sure if using the optimal wl, the results would be a bit better.
about making 400W lamp - it is no problem to make it. the main problem is to buy the material. if using 5mm leds like in this case, the costs would be very high. there is another way - using high power leds. you can get 1, 3, 5W leds, but there is even less models with proper wl than if using 5mm. i think we will have to wait a little bit so that companies start producing the models we need. i'm sure they will do that in a year or two max. the positive side of high power leds is that the $/W ratio is much lower than using 5mm leds and the prices are still dropping, there is less soldering work,... besides lack of proper wl models there is another small problem at high power leds. they need to have proper cooling body because they can get really hot. if the cooling is not good enough, they die very soon.
i'm in this ledgrow scene for quite a long time and i'm sure leds will be used for growing in near future. all we have to do is wait for the prices to drop and the models to get even more powerfull than they are nowdays.
about making 400W lamp - it is no problem to make it. the main problem is to buy the material. if using 5mm leds like in this case, the costs would be very high. there is another way - using high power leds. you can get 1, 3, 5W leds, but there is even less models with proper wl than if using 5mm. i think we will have to wait a little bit so that companies start producing the models we need. i'm sure they will do that in a year or two max. the positive side of high power leds is that the $/W ratio is much lower than using 5mm leds and the prices are still dropping, there is less soldering work,... besides lack of proper wl models there is another small problem at high power leds. they need to have proper cooling body because they can get really hot. if the cooling is not good enough, they die very soon.
i'm in this ledgrow scene for quite a long time and i'm sure leds will be used for growing in near future. all we have to do is wait for the prices to drop and the models to get even more powerfull than they are nowdays.
Medved
Member
Sloppy Seconds
Member
been watching, keep them coming! thanks.
to me the fact that the cabinet exhausts the heat from the HPS into the LED chamber kinda negates one of the main advantages of the LEDs, though i realize its just for comparison purposes, to me the biggest advantage of the LEDs is the low heat and therefore the lower ventilation and space needed, with a scrog and the LEDs lowered right down practically on top of the plants you could stack grows in a cabinet and maximize space efficiency. Thats what alot of people here seem to be missing, for micro growers, space efficiency is often more important than power/light efficiency.
LED_experiments
Member
there are a lot of thnigs in this grow that are not made optimally just because of the comparison reasons (the same veg time, ventilation through both boxes, growing technicque,...)
you are right, you can grow in smaller boxes with leds. you need couple of inches for the pots, then lets say 4-6 inches for the plants and maybe 1-2 inches for your array. if you choose right pots, proper scrog method and good lamp position, you could convert your PC box into double decker grow box. 50cm height (less than 20") is almost too much for leds. let's say you have 20cm high pots, you use 10cm distance between pots and net, you take 15 cm space above the net for buds and lamps - you have 45cm. in a 50×50×200 cm drobe (l×w×h) you have 1 square meter of grow surfance (4 levels). if you use smaller net-pot and net-lamp distance, you can have 5 levels.
you are right, you can grow in smaller boxes with leds. you need couple of inches for the pots, then lets say 4-6 inches for the plants and maybe 1-2 inches for your array. if you choose right pots, proper scrog method and good lamp position, you could convert your PC box into double decker grow box. 50cm height (less than 20") is almost too much for leds. let's say you have 20cm high pots, you use 10cm distance between pots and net, you take 15 cm space above the net for buds and lamps - you have 45cm. in a 50×50×200 cm drobe (l×w×h) you have 1 square meter of grow surfance (4 levels). if you use smaller net-pot and net-lamp distance, you can have 5 levels.
