LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle - YouTube

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LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle - YouTube

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LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle

Check it out...

[video]http://youtu.be/fVkbQ9pPPBc[/video]
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Re: LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle - YouTu

Post by PSUAGRO. »

Efficiency matters :D ...............the fact that 150w hid(one of the most inefficient HID systems too) beats this POS led fixture is due to the cheap generic encapsulated leds used with efficiencies in the teens or worse. Welcome to 2015 with top bin cree cxb cobs hitting 50% + , even giving DEhps a run for it's money.....

Found you SME! :mrgreen:
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Re: LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle - YouTu

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The diode specs on that light: "84pcs x 3W LED LED Chip Brand Name: Cree and Bridgelux Par Value/300mm: 1200.51 Umol Lifetime: 50000Hrs R/T: -20~+40 ℃"

Decent brand diodes but outdated and underpowered for effective growth of that type of plant. The HID was underpowered too but it still did better. Now that larger diodes are available I'd expect LED to start keeping up in more situations but I also expect more heat to deal with too. In the end, cost and efficiency will always matter.

Those were only 3w diodes so even a 5w diode light should have done better. That said the lower the power for HID, the less penetration and intensity too. What you grow matters too, it's hard to justify spending big bucks on lighting and hydroponics to grow indoor lettuce since lettuce is so cheap, it'd cost more to grow (indoors) than buy in the grocery store. LED and HID lighting are also both commonly used in saltwater aquariums for fish/coral heath but I'm no expert in that application. Around here, the hydro store guys that i talk to estimate that 90+% of their customers are growing cannabis. When growing something as valuable (both medically and commercially) as cannabis, I don't recommend skimping on lights.

I'm still not completely sold on DE but I'd probably consider it over LED for now. Some people I know say that DE is the new black but I'd need more evidence before I'd go that far.
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Re: LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle - YouTu

Post by PSUAGRO. »

I highly doubt any of those diodes are cree/b-lux, even so they won't be top group/bin. Without a closeup to confirm, I bet their mostly epistar?/epiled in that cheap fixture with abysmal efficiencies.

I agree, when it comes to cash crops, don't skimp on lighting. if lettuce/microgreens is your thing, your better off trying philips instafit 12w 4ft 4000k T8 led tube @ HD for $20 a piece (133lm/w of directional lighting). Could even make an awesome veg/mom panel too:P

People claiming over a pound yield bump with DE over mogul, Hard to believe IMO. Their all saying it's worth the extra btu load, still yet to see any conclusive evidence on that . What's SME's take on them???
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Re: LED vs HID Grow Lights - The Final Chilli Battle - YouTu

Post by GrowTutor »

That's what the specs said and I have no reason to doubt it so far.

Assuming 1000w DE fixtures and a 1 pound increase in yield, that's potentially a 50% increase and I find that hard to believe too. If everyone could get 50% more yield, for the same wattage, the debate would be over and everyone would be switching to DE. 3+ pounds per KW would be pretty darn good.
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