Beginners guide to buying an LED Growlight.
I'll update regularly as technology advances and lights get ever more efficient but hopefully this brief guide can answer the most often asked questions.
So I've done a few grows now, I'm by no means an expert grower but I'm not so bad on the theory and technical aspects of led lighting.
I'm going to lay out a few important aspects of choosing which light or lights are best for your grow space.
1. First thing is budget, you need to be realistic and get enough bang for your buck.
There are cheap lights out there offering the world but buyer beware!
I'll say now that I use Vipar led's as they are the cost effective choice for me. I could get better but I'm not prepared to invest any more
than the Vipar's cost in £/watt. Chinese companies are just like Western ones, some good, some bad but you've got Alibaba and Aliexpress to shop safely now from there so do your research and you can get a real bargain if you are brave enough
If you can't stretch to enough panels think about a cheaper, smaller, decent brand UFO led and cfl combination.
The next step up from the Vipars and similar brands are the units from companies like Grow Northern. Think Ford to BMW and you get the idea, worth it if you can afford it.
Then you get to the high end panels costing upwards of £1000 but again, if you can afford it and want a 600w led that competes easily with a top end 1000w HPS then get in touch with the makers. Expect Rolls Royce service and advice, custom specs and great aftercare.
Walk away from any maker that won't talk to you and beware of panels that look like top end stuff for half the price, they aren't.
2. The second thing is to figure out how much light you are going to need. I'll be using watts, they advertise/sell in watts. It's a crappy technical measure of led's but new tech needs to give people something familiar to relate to so we're stuck with it for now.
The consensus seems to be anything between 30w - 40w per square foot will give good results, the more you can get in there the better imho, you'll run out of hanging space before you get too much light but this may change as tech advances!
Now before you rush off to order a shiny new 400w to cover your 10sqft tent you need to bear in mind that led panels are mostly advertised at their maximum output.
For example, a 400w panel will have around 133 3w bulbs (3x133= 399watts), however you will then check the actual power draw in the
manufacturer's spec sheet and see that it is 200w +/- 3w!
While led's are able to concentrate their light with lenses and reflectors and so are more efficient than other types of lighting they aren't magic so you still only get out what you put in power wise. Lenses are available in different angles but 80-90 degrees is pretty standard and seems to work well.
This is simply because the panel would burn out in a matter of days/weeks if it was driven at full power.
As a general rule of thumb if the panel is powered below 50% of it's maximum then walk away and look at another brand. The parts used will be cheap and unable to handle the heat generated if the bulbs are driven higher.
Same applies if there is no spec sheet supplying ALL the details, walk away!
So if a 400w panel isn't enough and your budget is too tight to get a 800w panel have a look around and see if anyone is selling pairs of panels or simply email a few companies and see if they will do a deal on a couple of 300w panels. This will also have the added bonus of seeing which companies actually give a shit enough to email you back
I suggest a pair of panels usually instead of one big one because;
a. beam crossover from 2 panels seems to help growth
b. 2 panels allow you to move the lights when you need to and it's easier to spread the weight when hanging them
c. you can also have one panel on when the plants are young and add the other panel once they are bigger hence saving power plus treating your plants gently like all babies need to be.
3. So by now you've narrowed your choices down a bit and the next thing to check is the spectrum.
This is a very contentious area so you should ask advice from lot's of people if you are in doubt about what you need.
The basics for me are red, blue, infrared and both whites for vegging and indeed the whole grow.
For flowering I get a bit controversial and say that most off the shelf, not all, "seed to harvest" panels are lacking a bit in the reds to get the most from your ladies. Don't get me wrong, they'll do the job well but not the best possible job! A custom spec is always possible if you contact the makers.
I overcame this at first by using red cfl's, then I bought a Vipar COB with what I see as a flowering spectrum of mostly red light and it does
the trick! As an aside, the COB was sold as a "seed to harvest" panel but I promise you that unless you have a 6ft+ tall tent or you have a
perverted desire to see what too much concentrated led light can do to the cells of a young plant's leaves then it's really not the best light
for a whole grow
By this stage we've done our research and decided on a nice 300w(200w true) panel for the first few weeks of vegging and 300w(200w true) panel to add once the seedlings become plants. That's down to judgement and I don't know your plants but around week 3 to 4 is usually when I add my 2nd vegging panel. Now you've got a real 40w per sq ft.
The next small point is that you'll be surprised by how cold the panels run, it's fall/autumn and getting colder outside so you'll need to think
about adding some heat to your space during lights off. A standard greenhouse heater will work well but once the temps drop a bit more you will need to think about whether you want to use the heater all the time or, if you have the space, you can add some cfl's to add heat and usable light at the same time. It really caught me by surprise how cold it can get with the lights on, I had three panels in the tent at the height of summer and it never went above 28c so you get some idea what I mean.
Anyway, I hope this helps a bit and there are plenty of experts on here who will gladly help you out making your choice. If not, do your
research, read everything you can and choose the right lights for your unique space! Then order your calmag supplement, you WILL need it under LEDs.
This is all just my opinion, I do try to keep up with technology and nothing I've put here will steer you in the wrong direction but if you have anything to add please feel free. Any questions also welcome and if I don't know the answer I'll find out
I'll update regularly as technology advances and lights get ever more efficient but hopefully this brief guide can answer the most often asked questions.
So I've done a few grows now, I'm by no means an expert grower but I'm not so bad on the theory and technical aspects of led lighting.
I'm going to lay out a few important aspects of choosing which light or lights are best for your grow space.
1. First thing is budget, you need to be realistic and get enough bang for your buck.
There are cheap lights out there offering the world but buyer beware!
I'll say now that I use Vipar led's as they are the cost effective choice for me. I could get better but I'm not prepared to invest any more
than the Vipar's cost in £/watt. Chinese companies are just like Western ones, some good, some bad but you've got Alibaba and Aliexpress to shop safely now from there so do your research and you can get a real bargain if you are brave enough
If you can't stretch to enough panels think about a cheaper, smaller, decent brand UFO led and cfl combination.
The next step up from the Vipars and similar brands are the units from companies like Grow Northern. Think Ford to BMW and you get the idea, worth it if you can afford it.
Then you get to the high end panels costing upwards of £1000 but again, if you can afford it and want a 600w led that competes easily with a top end 1000w HPS then get in touch with the makers. Expect Rolls Royce service and advice, custom specs and great aftercare.
Walk away from any maker that won't talk to you and beware of panels that look like top end stuff for half the price, they aren't.
2. The second thing is to figure out how much light you are going to need. I'll be using watts, they advertise/sell in watts. It's a crappy technical measure of led's but new tech needs to give people something familiar to relate to so we're stuck with it for now.
The consensus seems to be anything between 30w - 40w per square foot will give good results, the more you can get in there the better imho, you'll run out of hanging space before you get too much light but this may change as tech advances!
Now before you rush off to order a shiny new 400w to cover your 10sqft tent you need to bear in mind that led panels are mostly advertised at their maximum output.
For example, a 400w panel will have around 133 3w bulbs (3x133= 399watts), however you will then check the actual power draw in the
manufacturer's spec sheet and see that it is 200w +/- 3w!
While led's are able to concentrate their light with lenses and reflectors and so are more efficient than other types of lighting they aren't magic so you still only get out what you put in power wise. Lenses are available in different angles but 80-90 degrees is pretty standard and seems to work well.
This is simply because the panel would burn out in a matter of days/weeks if it was driven at full power.
As a general rule of thumb if the panel is powered below 50% of it's maximum then walk away and look at another brand. The parts used will be cheap and unable to handle the heat generated if the bulbs are driven higher.
Same applies if there is no spec sheet supplying ALL the details, walk away!
So if a 400w panel isn't enough and your budget is too tight to get a 800w panel have a look around and see if anyone is selling pairs of panels or simply email a few companies and see if they will do a deal on a couple of 300w panels. This will also have the added bonus of seeing which companies actually give a shit enough to email you back
I suggest a pair of panels usually instead of one big one because;
a. beam crossover from 2 panels seems to help growth
b. 2 panels allow you to move the lights when you need to and it's easier to spread the weight when hanging them
c. you can also have one panel on when the plants are young and add the other panel once they are bigger hence saving power plus treating your plants gently like all babies need to be.
3. So by now you've narrowed your choices down a bit and the next thing to check is the spectrum.
This is a very contentious area so you should ask advice from lot's of people if you are in doubt about what you need.
The basics for me are red, blue, infrared and both whites for vegging and indeed the whole grow.
For flowering I get a bit controversial and say that most off the shelf, not all, "seed to harvest" panels are lacking a bit in the reds to get the most from your ladies. Don't get me wrong, they'll do the job well but not the best possible job! A custom spec is always possible if you contact the makers.
I overcame this at first by using red cfl's, then I bought a Vipar COB with what I see as a flowering spectrum of mostly red light and it does
the trick! As an aside, the COB was sold as a "seed to harvest" panel but I promise you that unless you have a 6ft+ tall tent or you have a
perverted desire to see what too much concentrated led light can do to the cells of a young plant's leaves then it's really not the best light
for a whole grow
By this stage we've done our research and decided on a nice 300w(200w true) panel for the first few weeks of vegging and 300w(200w true) panel to add once the seedlings become plants. That's down to judgement and I don't know your plants but around week 3 to 4 is usually when I add my 2nd vegging panel. Now you've got a real 40w per sq ft.
The next small point is that you'll be surprised by how cold the panels run, it's fall/autumn and getting colder outside so you'll need to think
about adding some heat to your space during lights off. A standard greenhouse heater will work well but once the temps drop a bit more you will need to think about whether you want to use the heater all the time or, if you have the space, you can add some cfl's to add heat and usable light at the same time. It really caught me by surprise how cold it can get with the lights on, I had three panels in the tent at the height of summer and it never went above 28c so you get some idea what I mean.
Anyway, I hope this helps a bit and there are plenty of experts on here who will gladly help you out making your choice. If not, do your
research, read everything you can and choose the right lights for your unique space! Then order your calmag supplement, you WILL need it under LEDs.
This is all just my opinion, I do try to keep up with technology and nothing I've put here will steer you in the wrong direction but if you have anything to add please feel free. Any questions also welcome and if I don't know the answer I'll find out
