Lighting Bilbo's Brief Guide to Choosing Your LED.

[MikeH]

The Ledil reflectors are not usually a true reflector, they are usually a very complex lens, Ledil make some really interesting products and they are mostly very very good. In this case you are talking about a product that is designed from the ground up to be used with a high power WHITE LED, in general terms most reflectors for lights are not nearly so well made, so a typical HPS reflector is nowhere near this good. Neither are most reflectors.

Here we go again...a lumen meter...lumens are for humans...they are seeing a human programmed spectrum across the human spectrum...the light output will increase, but that isn't what a plant sees! White light intensity is what is measured, less than 40% of that light is what a plant uses...you can create the brightest, whitest light in the world and boost the central spectrum all you want, but the fact is that unless you are boosting either end of that spectrum in line you are not producing what a plant uses, you are creating a nice neutral white based around how the sun looks...which is not how it looks to a plant!

 

[Xagor]

about a product that is designed from the ground up to be used with a high power WHITE LED

Why would someone use anything else?
The reflector must fit for the led holder, so it wont even work to buy something that was not designed specifically for these big white cobs.
I looked even at some random ledil reflectors that cost like 4$ and even those had atleast 91%.

Here we go again...a lumen meter...lumens are for humans

I used a solar cell as "sensor" not a lumenmeter.
I think it doesnt matter at all what I use, could be a lumenmeter too, as long as I dont compare different lightsources with different spectra, -as long its a relative % measurement.

White light intensity is what is measured, less than 40% of that light is what a plant uses...

Wasnt this discussed?
I strongly disagree.

Look at whole leaf for absorption and crop plants for action spectrum.
Which 40% of white are not used?

Because green light can penetrate further into the leaf than red or blue light, in strong white light, any additional green light absorbed by the lower chloroplasts would increase leaf photosynthesis to a greater extent than would additional red or blue light.
By using chlorophylls that absorb green light weakly, modifying mesophyll structure and adjusting the Rubisco/chlorophyll ratio, the leaf appears to satisfy two somewhat conflicting requirements: to increase the absorptance of photosynthetically active radiation, and to drive photosynthesis efficiently in all the chloroplasts.

In other words, because red absorption is so high the upper leaf chloroplast get saturated with red light and more red wont help substantially.
Red and blue is like the engine and wheels of your car that can go 100mph, at 100mph green becomes the turbo that lets you go up to 200mph

Also green is closer to PSI PSII 680/700nm final acceptor, so its even more energy efficient than blue.

 

[garnier]

I'm quite novice in this kind of thing.
However from all that time I spent by researching on forums, grow reports etc etc. I can say that best light ever made is MS0006 / MS0004.
I'm owner of HS1 also have Mars Reflector series boosted with some CFL lights so I can't really judge what is best from my experience.

Think that best light You can get need to have these parameters:

• Luxeon Rebels
• 660nm for Red
• UV-B spectrum
• IR spectrum
• good quality driver - Philips X titanium preferable.

I'm currently looking for some MS0006 to buy, I've seen one on eBay recently so fingercrossed there might be some more in future.
If not then there are some kind of chinese clons on eBay, I might give them try - also seller states that he can build them for spectrum that customer require...

I have little question for Tang he will be probably best person to ask:
Is HS1 really better then MS0006 ?

I don't think this is possible as HS1 has everything concentrated on tiny little square and we all know that wider means better.

 

[mrsmall]

Oh well,
After reading through all that I still have no idea which led to go for!

I am looking as to the whole point of being less power costs with better results then regular hps!
I have seen some good posts from people using them but I have never achieved a GPW with a hps so cannot see me getting + GPW with a led

 

[Autonugs]

@TaNg few posts up a guy wants an answer if you can. I'm curious myself. Setting some money aside for a new GrowNorthern and I'm wondering how much exactly I need to set back.

 

[teamexplosion]

just a quick question that might be of interest too somebody I was just having a look on Alibaba and saw special design 1440w grow lights spider 16 cob led grow light has anyone any ideas or information about the spider cob cheers

 

[Patient]

id like make smtg on 3mx3mx2m tent,48pots,wchich leds should i buy? cost; 2000-2500e