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LED vs HPS pros and cons?


Grassisgreener

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I think this is the right catergory I use hps myself but LED looks interesting what’s the pros and cons to them both I’ve seen some good grows from led and hps

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Alright there @Grassisgreener

 

Pros for me are,

 

Cheaper to run.

 

Overall cheaper to buy.( over the years I have been using them, at least 3) 

 

Better efficiency.

 

Less heat.

 

Not spent any money replacing bulbs.

 

Cons,

 

Urmm.....

 

Have to buy a wattmeter to set up properly.

 

Urmm.. 

 

Cant really think of any, 

 

Had to get them imported from the USA,

bit they are available in the I’m now, @diyleduk is the man for the job :yep:

 

Take it easy. Jj :yinyang:

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Nice one for the info, will take a look now mate

Edited by Owderb
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3 minutes ago, Grassisgreener said:

What you using mate 300w led?


I have a total of five Quantum boards, 

 

Two 3k 304’s, a pair of 324’s and a lonely old 288.

 

I run them all at low power, around five hundred watts in total, but obviously I can turn them up if required. 
 

More than enough wattage for a small personal grow.

 

Take it easy. Jj :yep:

 

 

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1. Cheaper to run...................I say debatable 

2. Overall cheaper to buy................Once again debatable 

3. Better efficiency................debatable

 

@Grassisgreener

 

Its up to you mate what you grow with and how you grow but before you choose you have to work out what will be the best for you

 

The reason I say cheaper to run is debatable is because what manufacturers of LED tend to do is over exaggerate the power of them compared to hps plus sometimes even at lights on you have to run supplementary heating because temps are not high enough

 

Also LED's dont have the penetration power of a hps yet usually you have to have your LED quite high above plants because they can bleach your plants which is not good for penetration. Plus not good for those who are lacking in height

 

Theres a few things to take into consideration before you buy and work out what's practical for you

 

Owd

Edited by Owderb
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2 minutes ago, Owderb said:

Also LED's dont have the penetration power of a hps yet usually you have to have your LED quite high above plants because they can bleach your plants which is not good for penetration.

 

Maybe with the old LED systems but the white LEDs being used now don't bleach, they just push the plants into showing deficiencies at high umols without the feed input to match it.

 

I run my LEDs as close as 14 inches in flower, some plants produce dense flowers all the way down so I think it's more of a genetic thing, that's my observation anyway.

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10 minutes ago, Owderb said:

The reason I say cheaper to run is debatable is because what manufacturers of LED tend to do is over exaggerate the power of them compared to hps

 

Some do and has been the case with the cheaper manufacturers, I've never seen our resident supplier @diyleduk tell a fib in regards to efficiency and the results are there to be seen, plenty of people are showing lower wattage consumption and higher yields.

 

As for the heat thing? Lights off is the same as HPS and lights on is no different, the heat doesn't blare down on the plants it rises upwards from the heatsinks but you can push this air around your environment anyway using fans. 

 

If I need higher temps then I raise the lights and turn up the watts.

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Agree with the supplemental heating required for LED, if you are in a cold space you may need to run leccy heaters which would mean you lose the efficiency. My grow uses the warm air from my house so not an issue for me

 

Don't agree with the lack of penetration. I can run my LEDs 6" above the top of my canopy with no issues. I've never seen popcorn buds on any of my grows.

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I've actually experienced better light penetration with my Logic LEDs from Diyleduk than I ever had with HPS or CDM, and that was at a distance of 18" above the canopy.

 

I've not used any other LED to compare (for flowering anyway), but I'm seeing exaggerated phenotypic expression and all around better results.

 

I do think your environment has to be more on-point with LED and there is most definitely a learning curve to getting all the elements balanced. 

Edited by SYZYGY
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3 hours ago, Exhale said:

Some do and has been the case with the cheaper manufacturers, I've never seen our resident supplier @diyleduk tell a fib in regards to efficiency and the results are there to be seen, plenty of people are showing lower wattage consumption and higher yields.

 

When I said efficiency I meant the grow as a whole not the light itself.

 

I know not all lights are the same thats why I also said usually

 

Owd 

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In terms of penetration (oooer) you've also got to consider the footprint of the light source.

 

A hps is one source of light, everything comes from that single point (or length of tube) and goes off in all directions.

 

LEDs give multiple sources of light, generally covering your floor and canopy space. 

 

This will allow much more light to pass through the canopy to reach the lower parts, you also get a fairly consistent level of light reaching the whole canopy.

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12 minutes ago, Owderb said:

 

When I said efficiency I meant the grow as a whole not the light itself.

 

+1. I FUCKING LOVE my led unit, but over my autumn grow I also had about 360w of heating running almost 24/7 in addition to the low watts my light burned. (outbuilding grow) 

My current grow uses HPS in the tent next door to import warm air in to the led tent.

Just sticking a led unit in there and giving it no more thought would not have worked. 

 

It's easy when we're talking about these topics to forget the light does 2 jobs in many cases, not just one.

Edited by Jimmeh
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3 hours ago, Owderb said:

1. Cheaper to run...................I say debatable 

2. Overall cheaper to buy................Once again debatable 

3. Better efficiency................debatable

 

@Grassisgreener

 

Its up to you mate what you grow with and how you grow but before you choose you have to work out what will be the best for you

 

The reason I say cheaper to run is debatable is because what manufacturers of LED tend to do is over exaggerate the power of them compared to hps plus sometimes even at lights on you have to run supplementary heating because temps are not high enough

 

Also LED's dont have the penetration power of a hps yet usually you have to have your LED quite high above plants because they can bleach your plants which is not good for penetration. Plus not good for those who are lacking in height

 

Theres a few things to take into consideration before you buy and work out what's practical for you

 

Owd

Cheers mate will consider all factors weigh up pros and cons

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