Isn't LED now more superior than HPS+CFL?

Reason I'm saying this is because LED's I've been looking at on Ebay charge around £140 for a 180w 320x320x180mm UFO. While another guy charges £145+ shipping for a hps 400w reflective hood etc *complete kit*

As I've heard LED's are supposed to be more effective electric/heat wise in general, no?

Discussion!

X: it depends a lot on who you talk to. Lighting is generally divided into three camps or categories:
1. High intensity discharge, (HID) which includes: metal halide, (MH), and HPS, (High pressure sodium). They put out a lot of light but they burn hot and they ue a lot of electricity.
2. Fluorescent lighting includes: CFL's, (Compact fluorescent lamps, the curly-cues and tubed lamps in fixtures like: T-5's, T-8's and T-12's. They don't put out as intnese an amount of light but they're cheaper to operate.
3. LED's, (Light emitting diodes), aren't that new but they're still more than I can afford. A friend of mine who I think has more money than brains always has to have the most expensive of everything, not necessarily the best but the most expensive. He read an article on LED's and he sprang for $499 for a square LED fixture that measures 14" on each side. It covers one plant nicely but it doesn't do any better than my four tubes 4' T-5 fixture that covers four plants.

I'll be up front with you and admit that I use only T-5's but that's because they're affordable, they burn cool and they're cheap to operate for a single personal meds grower. I don't think you can beat them. I hope that helps because you can get a lot more from the following resources so I’d suggest you RTFB. Refer to the following sources and you'll get a wealth of information:
1. Read: SeeMoreBud’s book, “MARIJUANA BUDS FOR LESS- GROW 8 OZ. OF BUDS FOR LESS THAN $100.”
2. Read: Jorge Cervantes’s book, “MARIJUANA HORTICULTURE THE INDOOR/OUTDOOR MEDICAL GROWER’S BIBLE.”
3. Read: Ed Rosenthal’s, “MARIJUANA GROWER’S HANDBOOK.”
4. You’ll also want to read: Mc Carthy’s book, “GROWING MARIJUANA.”
5. You should also subscribe to, “HIGH TIMES,” magazine. Each issue is chocked full of useful information. .” All these resources are very well written, well illustrated and packed with information that will answer most of your questions before you know to ask them. And I want to add a new book to the list, a 6th one: “THE CANNABIS GROW BIBLE- SECOND EDITION,” written by Greg Green. It’s a match to, if not better than, the ones listed above. Doing your homework and consulting these resources will save you and your plants a lot of anxiety before you plant. These forums are great but often they can’t get the information you need to you in a timely fashion. I hope this helps. Hank

Answered my question, thanks!

X: it all depends who you ask. If it's someone selling LED's they're going to favor LED's. You might RTFB and get a consensus there. I hope that helps. Hank

X: it all depends who you ask. If it's someone selling LED's they're going to favor LED's. You might RTFB and get a consensus there. I hope that helps. Hank

Yeah I know where your coming from. I'm considering using CFL troughout veg then swapping to a 400w HPS. Any input on that?

I have heard of a lot of people doing exactly that and recommending it highly. I'm vegging with CFLs as we speak and so far so good

I have heard of a lot of people doing exactly that and recommending it highly. I'm vegging with CFLs as we speak and so far so good

Nice! You got a grow journal I could spy on you from?
Also, I was wondering if I bought a reflector hood would it work on both my HPS and CFL? and how many CFL's are you using for how many plants? sorry for a lot of questions, trying to do my research

Ya I'm growing one plant and it's actually my first attempt too (click the link in my signature for the thread). I used these forums for all my info and decided to go with all CFLs in soil, I'm using 8 bulbs (6@26w,2@13w) 18 days from sprouting. I believe you cannot use CFL and HID bulbs interchangeably because of the difference in voltage .

Ya I'm growing one plant and it's actually my first attempt too (click the link in my signature for the thread). I used these forums for all my info and decided to go with all CFLs in soil, I'm using 8 bulbs (6@26w,2@13w) 18 days from sprouting. I believe you cannot use CFL and HID bulbs interchangeably because of the difference in voltage .

Sweet, subbed. and I'll look forward to seeing how it works out for you. It is a shame about not being able to use them, so I'd have to buy two separate reflectors if that's the case right?

You could buy individual reflectors for any CFLs that you use or use something like mylar or aluminum tape to make your walls/ceiling one big reflector. You should probably look into a ventilated hood for you hps reflector. Veg with CFLs and flower with the hps and you should see great results.

Yeah I know where your coming from. I'm considering using CFL troughout veg then swapping to a 400w HPS. Any input on that?

X: a couple of the guys in my hydro class were there when the instructor told us about the progressive light schedule and T-5's. They tried it but then they went back to MH and HPS for flowering. Admittedly their flowers are tighter and prettier than mine but they're not any more potent and they don't taste as good as mine. I guess some people have to learn the hard way. The thing I find interesting is that the literature hasn't caught up with T-5's. Hank

go to the search and find rumpleforeskins grow, he did two 180w ufos vs 1 600 hps

at least i think thats the right wattage for both, the led company sent him the ufos and had control of the environment while he used hps as he normally would. it was a good grow

ck out my last grow,
using leds from china,I got 11.7 oz from 3 plants
it really depends on the light,led's have come a long way

Damn that's a nice grow. Think you could link me to your supplier?

ck out my last grow,
using leds from china,I got 11.7 oz from 3 plants
it really depends on the light,led's have come a long way

i find that hard to believe may-be wet but looking at them buds some look pretty fluffy
but to the op don't get fooled LED isn't in the same ball park as Hid lighting not even close.
if it was the case then these million dollar grow op's would be using them and they are not lol
to be honest LED are week compared to hid lighting so many thing that eventually LED will surpass hid that again is a mis conception
hordilux and other big companies spend millions upon millions
on bettering there product and technology
people train plants , buy products that are for sure going to make there grow happen
keep to the basics use flourescents for cloneing and even adding them in Veg and use HPS , MH further along in veg etc
99 percent of LED users HAVE to Ad HPS when converting to flower If LED was so good then why would one have to right
Oh i am sure someone will start mentioning spectrums of led lighting Again talking science you notice these grow journals with so called LED lighting
do you see the super growth lol i sure don;t
You here this black star led comparing them to what 600 watt hid again as previous post mention he got 11.7 0z from 3 plants
here is a 4 plant with 2000 watts so what 500 watts per plant if you break it down 16 oz dry per plant there you have it
you decide oh also on note they were vegged with 136 watts of flourescents

what it really amounts to is this,
some people refuse to see whats staring them in the face,no the buds are rock hard,and cost alot less in electricty and heat.
If we all listened to you we would be going to work on horses and lighting our houses with candles,I'm sorry you refuse to even acknowledge led as an alternate source for growing,even when pictures prove otherwise
ps:please learn to spell

what it really amounts to is this,
some people refuse to see whats staring them in the face,no the buds are rock hard,and cost alot less in electricty and heat.
If we all listened to you we would be going to work on horses and lighting our houses with candles,I'm sorry you refuse to even acknowledge led as an alternate source for growing,even when pictures prove otherwise
ps:please learn to spell

what i am saying here is LED is junk compared to hid what is not staring you in the face is that 5 plant 5 - 6 pound dry harvest hid grow i will purposely post some bud shots later on just for you that will be 14" long and 8" wide buds something that LEd will never do you mention electricity costs i reply as who cares about electricity,its all about yield but in your case trying to be cost efficient living in your parents basement i can see your point you don;t want your parents to find out here is 2 k grow day 15 flower 5 feet by 8 foot scrog table full oh by the way how many can you stick under a LED light source ???? in your closet / pc grow box grow ????

Edited by DrGreener, 05 July 2012 - 10:31 PM.

99 percent of LED users HAVE to Ad HPS when converting to flower

Now you're just spewing random bullshit.

:gc_rocks:to drgreener,sorry you feel the way that you do, some people will never listen to logical arguments, btw,if I was in my parents basement it would be under water seeing as I live in florida and am a 60 yr old vietnam vet that wanted to experiment with leds,and to my surprise here on GC there are like minded people,wish you alotta luck in life because with an attitude like yours,you are going to need it.

LEDs will grow some fine weed as long as you keep the plants short. They will not give you more weed per KW hour as lots of LED sales folks and cool-aid drinkers will tell you. In fact all the grows I visit using LEDs, the owner has accepted the smaller yields as part of the trade off. It is hard to find someone growing a full five foot tall plant using a single LED lamp. LEDs must remain real close to the buds to be effective.

I have been testing LEDs on and off for a few years, and none of them can match a HID lamp watt to watt. Even LED grows need proper ventilation, so you are not going to get off scot free. Most average folks can out think the HID ventilation issue.

Some good things about LEDs, they last a long time, your ventilation cycles less (great for saving CO2 in enriched grows), easy to hook up, no ventilation ducting required to the lamp.

LEDs fail at the things I care about most: Fast cycle time, large per plant yields, and quality buds from top to bottom.

I think you can do just as well with fluorescents as you can with LEDs, but for a fraction of the cost.

Don't start sending me pictures of fine ass LED buds, I have seen and grown lots. I know you can make some killer weed using LEDs, just don't ask me to drink the cool-aid.

Edited by Rumpleforeskin, 06 July 2012 - 06:59 AM.