Indoor LED Question

[Chester]

I gotta say; I love LEDs ... the reduction in heat is tremendous, plants love them, lower energy costs ... what's not to love ?

A couple questions I have about LEDs ...

1. Will LED light fade carpet ?

2. Will LED light power a small solar panel ?

 

[smokerjoker]

i dont know about fading it but if u dont cover the carpet the grow will mess it up, ur second question do u mean will a solar panel power a led, sj

 

[Chester]

i dont know about fading it but if u dont cover the carpet the grow will mess it up, ur second question do u mean will a solar panel power a led, sj

I cover the floor of my grow space, I'm wondering about the spill over light. I'm trying to find out if an LED would power a small solar panel, such as you might use to run a small motor or light ...

 

[Eastwood]

UV fads material, both UVB and UVA. thats why window glass has ratings that show how much UVA is reduced. UVB can't travel through most glass. it takes a special type of glass like Starfire from PPG. your leds dont have any UV unless you order it that way and its so insignificant that it wont fad anything or help your plants.

 

[Bonzo Mendoza]

QUOTE=Chester32141;213083]I gotta say; I love LEDs ... the reduction in heat is tremendous, plants love them, lower energy costs ... what's not to love ? [/QUOTE]

I don't mean to rain on your parade but ...

1. They cost too much.

2. If you set aside the promotional materials of LED manufacturers, it is difficult to find any non-biased publication that says that LEDs are any better than anything else. To the contrary, the California Department of Transportation published a study that says that LED lighting has no significant advantage over T5 lighting (altough they cost 3x as much). If you can find any publication (besides LED advertising ) that states that LED's have any advantage over t5s I'd sure like to see it.

 

[Bonzo Mendoza]

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode

United States Department of Energy (DOE) testing of commercial LED lamps designed to replace incandescent lamps or CFLs showed that average efficacy was still about 46 lm/W in 2009 (tested performance ranged from 17 lm/W to 79 lm/W).[46]

Wikipedia states "As of 2010, the cost per thousand lumens (kilolumen) was about $18. The price is expected to reach $2/kilolumen by 2015" (that's good!!!)

Right now, an eight foot four lamp (224 watt; 20,000 lumen) t-5 light fixture costs $70 (add $15 for the bulbs) at Home Depot ($4 per thousand lumens; about 100 lumens per watt).

T5s have the advantage that you can change out a blue lamp for a red lamp for flowering too

 

[Eastwood]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=DAw13w9eFxY&NR=1 this is the kind of report i review in my lighting business

 

[Eastwood]

OH, and i tryed to post a very comprehensive comment on the LED group but i'm getting a code message. we got to find new ways to grow. T12 is now banned by the gov. t8 and t5's will follow in the next few years. to much mercury and energy. by them LED will have evolved to a more cost effecent and imporved light in general.

 

[Scott817]

QUOTE=Chester32141;213083]I gotta say; I love LEDs ... the reduction in heat is tremendous, plants love them, lower energy costs ... what's not to love ?

I don't mean to rain on your parade but ...

1. They cost too much.

2. If you set aside the promotional materials of LED manufacturers, it is difficult to find any non-biased publication that says that LEDs are any better than anything else. To the contrary, the California Department of Transportation published a study that says that LED lighting has no significant advantage over T5 lighting (altough they cost 3x as much). If you can find any publication (besides LED advertising ) that states that LED's have any advantage over t5s I'd sure like to see it.

You are doing a short sided comparison on costs. IF you factor changing your bulbs every 6 months LEds will be more cost effective over time,

A full spectrum led can produce better yield and color than a single spectrum bulb set as well. also for people in a smaller setup where you only have 2-3 feet of space you can much better lighting with a led than with a smaller t5 setup. In a larger setup its easier to use larger t5 55w bulbs than add led's but once again you will still need to replace the bulbs in a about 6 months still.

 

[Muddy]

I've done the numbers comparing LEDs to other types of grow lights. While the up front cost of LEDs is higher, when you factor in the savings in electricity and replacement bulbs, LEDs come out cheaper in the long run. Like the old Fram Filter ads, pay me now or pay me later.

Regarding their ability to produce, all you need to do is look at the results the LED growers here are getting. Very hard to argue with. For many of us who grow in small spaces, the reduction in heat can mean the difference in being able to grow or not.

I don't mean to rain on your parade but ...

1. They cost too much.

2. If you set aside the promotional materials of LED manufacturers, it is difficult to find any non-biased publication that says that LEDs are any better than anything else. To the contrary, the California Department of Transportation published a study that says that LED lighting has no significant advantage over T5 lighting (altough they cost 3x as much). If you can find any publication (besides LED advertising ) that states that LED's have any advantage over t5s I'd sure like to see it.