yeah you have to kind of digest that information and figure out what you're looking for and put the two together. there aren't too many good guides on how to build the most straightforward highest bang for your buck light (or even what to look for for that kind of set up), but it's basically just the reverse of looking for the most efficient set up.
that said, as of right now at least, cobs make the most sense in high efficiency (therefore lower overall power) setups. anything under 50% efficiency and the arguments for picking cobs over an equivalent hps get real weak.
for me, i'm looking at building my first light (and starting my first indoor grow, or serious grow altogether) soon. looking to grow one plant in a smaller space (probably a dr60 or something). so i'm not replacing anything. way i figure it, 150w@~56% efficiency (3 3590s@1400mah) will give me a hair less in lumens than a 250w dual spectrum hps (27k vs 28k) while costing a bit more, but will give me a better spread, easier thermal management, longer life, etc. this math only really works if i run the cobs efficiently; the more power you try to squeeze out of each individual cob the less it makes sense over mh/hps.
that said, as of right now at least, cobs make the most sense in high efficiency (therefore lower overall power) setups. anything under 50% efficiency and the arguments for picking cobs over an equivalent hps get real weak.
for me, i'm looking at building my first light (and starting my first indoor grow, or serious grow altogether) soon. looking to grow one plant in a smaller space (probably a dr60 or something). so i'm not replacing anything. way i figure it, 150w@~56% efficiency (3 3590s@1400mah) will give me a hair less in lumens than a 250w dual spectrum hps (27k vs 28k) while costing a bit more, but will give me a better spread, easier thermal management, longer life, etc. this math only really works if i run the cobs efficiently; the more power you try to squeeze out of each individual cob the less it makes sense over mh/hps.
