LED Grow Light Forum

ok well how many leds do u think this will take??

growthebestalways - welcome to the LED gang! I'm new too so no worries...

As I understand it, you should shoot for a minimum of 40w per square foot, like SME said. More is probably better, considering that you want to grow tall crops.

So, if you want a 12x12 garden, that's 144 square feet. 144 x 40w = 5760w

You will want a minimum of 5760w if you want to see growth like you get from your HID bulbs. LED companies have claimed that their bulbs are more efficient than HID bulbs for years, but the data available actually suggests that both yield about the same per watt.

As far as which LED model to buy, I can't really help you much there since I haven't begun to grow with LED yet (soon! ). I would recommend one of the American made brands that use 5w diodes though. Lumigrow and California Lightworks are the two companies that I know of.

I really want to see pictures of your current setup. Tobacco and corn. That's wild stuff, man.

Dave

ok so how many watts of light do you think it would take?? what nutrients would u use?? and what would u keep your ph leves at??

sry that was for another forum. ive been on like ten today talkin bout same thing. the only reason i want leds soo bad is cause i can run them with no effort so that alone makes it more efficent than any other yea soo what an initial 1000 bucks for everything panels lights thats the whole hydroponic system and all pumps and all. then u have a self sefficent grow room that runs its self. how am i going wrong i know ppl that have thousands in grow rooms and only half the space.

Well, I think you might find the price of LEDs to be prohibitive. Consider this:

The cost of a California Lightworks SolarStorm 800w is $1,600 shipped from a 3rd party site. Its actual operating wattage is around 640w.

640w / 40w = 16, so each SolarStorm 800w will cover 16 square feet (a 4'x4' space).

144 / 16 = 9, so you will need 9 SolarStorm 800w lights for 144 square feet.

9 * $1,600 = $14,400.

OR

1000w HPS / 40w = 25 square feet

144 / 25 = 5.76 (round up to 6) HPS lights.

6 * $500 = $3,000.

$500 is a reasonable estimate for a complete 1000w HPS setup with ballast, hood, and bulb. Of course, there may be extra cooling costs, but nowhere near the difference of the two total prices ($14,400 - $3,000 = $11,000). Yes, $11,000 in savings in lights alone if you go with HPS.

Also, if it is true that 1w of LED light grows the same amount of veggies as 1w of HPS light, there is no savings in electricity. Therefore it's no better for solar power, and it won't lower you electrical bill.

Double check my numbers for me, but I'm pretty sure that LEDs are waaaaay too expensive. Having said that, I'm waiting for my first LED light and I'm going to try it out for myself.

Hope this helps,
Dave

beefxer:
That's essentially correct, I used 40w sqft because that's what CLW claims the SS800w covers in the 4x4 area that they suggest for the light but some crops need more and some, like lettuce, might need less. For our "medical crop" I prefer 50+w/sqft but I prefer flowers that are exceptional. Even the SS with it's 5w diodes won't have the penetration power to grow something tall like corn well and I'm not even sure that an overhead 1000w HPS would grow corn well seeing as it can get 10 feet tall. If he used additional side lighting, maybe, but he said he didn't want/need that.

SME, you did an SS800w test? Is it up here on the forum?

beefxer wrote:SME, you did an SS800w test? Is it up here on the forum?

No, I'm a HID guy still. I based the 40w/sqft on the CLW specs and the results of the journals I've seen but, like I said, some plants will need less and some need more. Same with PH and nutrients...

ok well i get 500 watt 5w 8 bands for 75 a peice so like i said even if i needed 50 of them it wouldnt be a problem. i have 300 in whole hydroponic and that at most.thats with 400 sites. thats running on a solar pool pump running at only 60gph and 73 degrees. and two co2 generators.

hey guys once again i have no electric bills. im off the grid completley i make all me own power with solar panels and water generater that i have my natural spring. so i electricity ain a problem cause im already getting it for free. hps bulbs draw too much constant power. i can run leds off fewer panels and batteries than hps or anything else. i know this for a fact ive proven it over and over.