I see so many baby plants vegged under big HID lights or like 5-6 or more 23w or larger CLFs, when that is hardly necessary. And then the same people talk about GPW... People did not believe the huge plant I vegged with a single 23w CFL, yet this is way more impressive. It is all about not wasting light. Here is my widdle 8" X 8" A-Train vegged under a single 3w cool white LED. Yes, one 3W light with nothing else. The hull wouldn't come off and it was nearly dead and I was ready to toss it, but it made a full recovery and is a happy camper. Think I am lying? A standard CFL radiates in almost a 360 degree radius. This is a 30 degree LED thus the beam is concentrated 12 times and since it has 50% more LPW, that is 18 times the concentration of a comparable CFL. Will probably flip in one more week. I am going to attempt to flower with an absolute minimum of watts and still get an acceptable harvest to see what is possible. I might have to go as high as 18w.
lol, agreed. I think Watts are overrated. PAR is actually what matters the most! Second to that is maybe LUX(not lumina, LUX). Do you have a separate grow journal for this project? would love to follow it.
What I am saying is the secret is not really LUX nor PAR nor watts precisely, but in the utilization of what you are transmitting. The PAR on my light is far from optimum and the LUX cannot compare to the examples I gave, but the wastage is minimal. A 250W CMH has all the right attributes, but put that over 6 small plants and I can easliy match it with 18 watts total of narrow-angle white LED - up to a point. What is that point? I am not yet certain. I suppose I should move this if I continue as this thread IS the grow log thus far.
LUX is all about utilizing your light source, a coherent light source such as a laser used with a widening lens would probably be best (or maybe not!). The PAR on your led being cool white probably contains mostly blue (425 nm) and hardly any red (675 nm). "A 250W CMH has all the right attributes, but put that over 6 small plants and I can easliy match it with 18 watts total of narrow-angle white LED - up to a point. What is that point? I am not yet certain." true, I believe a plant needs more LUX(again, not lumina) as it grows... at what rate? I don't know. Another point I would like to make is that you could probably maximise your LUX by using spinners, covering shady areas or placing the pot on a circular disc that slowly rotates and place the light at an angle. But this is a far fetched idea. HIGHTIMES.COM > Advanced Grow Feature – Spinning Lights! (maybe not as fast as these though!)
After this grow, I will be designing my fourth LED light specifically for four plants. It will be adjustable as to angle of light and which LEDs are on so that little is wasted. There will be no shadows and thus no penetration issues.
^^^^ You certainly got my attetion. I'm a McGuyver Style grower, like a lot of D.I.Y. (Cuz I'm in to save money in every corner) and those L.E.D. are catching my attention. Usually I use CFL Blue n Red Spectrum for Veg. around 200W of CFL and I flower in 600W HPS. Right now I'm super pleased with the HPS so far been growing for 3 years so far, however if I can grow the same amount of bud with L.E.D. I see the Cost Effectiveness, however every single journal I see, the yield is not there, although there is a few people here pulling great weights with U.F.O. Can you post a pic of your set up, so we can see your light in action ? and like the other fellow mention if you make the journal, I'll follow.
sir, everything I do with plants, i always have this post in my head.. thank you for pushing the limits and showing us what is possible. . check out what I'm working on currently.. http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-designsetup/1350462-box1-here-clone-one-today.html i can't even count how many times i have quoted your work/experiment here with the 3W LED. it's all about the angles, not how strong your lights are..! . love & peace bios