I was wondering what your opinions are on the best type of lighting for smaller indoor grows. I will probably have a maximum of 10 plants. Most of the guides and people I talked to initially recommended LED, though lately some have told me to go with HID, and even a few liked CFL. I have read that LEDs have advanced a lot in the last several years, with various advantages being cited. I am willing to put a bit of money into this; I see it as a long term investment. I am most concerned with quality of the bud, and yield is important, but secondary to me. So what do you guys think?
Great topic. Trying to get to the bottom of this too. In my quest for the best possible light, aside from the sun, I have found that a combination of MH and HPS produce a better product than either one by themselves. I have a 1000w HPS that I grow with also which produce nice big buds, however, the dual spectrum seems to produce more trichomes. These HIDs do get hot though. A lot of members on this forum seem to be getting magnificent results with their LEDs. I recently purchased 4 white (and red) Solarspec 260w LED panels to experiment with. I am running them now but not as a true side by side comparison to the HID. Things that I am noticing with the LEDs are closer node spacing and cooler operating temps. My tent hovers around 78º-81º F with no ducting. Just fans. I have yet to flower so I can post with an update when the time comes. The LEDs seem to veg on par, if not slightly better than my 1000w HID and I am impressed with their performance so far. It is some new company (Amare technologies) and I took a leap of faith based on Weed Dude's and DDP's grow journal. The way things are going, the LEDs look promising. The true test would be to run a proper side by side grow. I really enjoy the simplicity of LED panels. No ducting to deal with. Another experiment I plan on performing in the near future would be with LEDs and a MH. Good luck! Hope this helps. -PG
It all depends on what you are looking for and the size, time and money you are willing to put in. There are a lot of variables to consider to choose the right type of light that will be most profitable for you. What is the size of your grow room? Is electricity cost important to you? Is heat management an issue? what is your initial budget? etc... If you're on a low budget and simply looking to get max yield I would probably recommend HID probably 1000W or multiple 600Ws. If money is not too much an issue and your looking to reduce monthly costs and wanna max out efficiency I would probably choose LED. You probably get a bit lower yields, but for me the quality has been superb with LED, so it makes up a bit for a lower yield If you don't care about money, I would go with Dual lighting with LED and HID. Something like one or two 600W HID and a couple of good LEDs. You would get benefits of both.