I should have been here a month ago, I am using the LED Solar-storm, And i have to say i am liking this light. I started the awesome plants in bloom below two months ago, When i got the solar storm i was using a 1000 watt HPS and had to finish up with the 1000 watt, Also i realized i did not have a camera to take pictures, Pics are a lot better than writing a lot of text. In my opinion the solar storm is better than any HPS or Metal halide. I have been doing some research on the net, I am finding out some users are not happy with the leds, And one thing they all show and point out is they stick the light 4 or 5 feet above the plant, This is not how you use the solar storm, The closer the better And it does exactly what they claim. See for your self below, I will be posting more often now that i have a camera.
Why do you like the SolarStorm better than your HID, I thought you just got it and finished your last grow with HID? I've never seen anyone using LED with 4-5 feet headroom but that would be a bad thing, unless they're seedlings or rooting clones, no matter what kind of light. I think the SolarStorm suggests ~18-24 inches and it uses 5w diodes so it's more powerful than the average LED light, penetration wise.
Looking forward to seeing more of your grow...
SME
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
Oh, I see. So how long did you veg this grow, how long have they been in in flower now? Soil - hydro? From seed or clone? How big is your grow space?
1) I've never had any problems putting the light where I wanted it. I'm not sure that I understand.
2) HID lights can be cooled inexpensively. Either air or water cooling would allow you to move HID lights closer than 18-24 inches. I'd never raise a HPS light 4-5 feet above a flowering plant either.
3) A lot of people have noticed that the SS light does put off some heat but I'm sure that it's cooler than a large uncooled HID. I guess it depends on a number of factors like location and set up too.
Don't get me wrong, LED has come a long way and it can grow decent crops, just not quite as good as HID, imo. I just don't see the cost/benefit analysis on the LED side yet. YMMV...
I'm looking forward to your next update.
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.