Indoor what is the best LED Grow light ?

[babab00ey]

I have 3 plants in a small tent with a 90w ufo right now. My 500w 2011 blackstar will be hear later today! Should I wait for flower time? I was going to keep them under the 90w ufo for about a week or 2 then switch to the 500w. My local hydroponic shop owner laughed at me when I told him about my LED purchases. He said sorry that someone in his industry ripped me off. I wanted to slap him but I just laughed at the old man. Tried to tell him LEDs are the future. I havent tried LED yet and this is my first real grow. If its crap then Ill just sell it and carry on. From what I read a good LED like Blackstar is not too shabby at all.

 

[The Medicine Man]

So, with a 500w LED for example... is that 500w that actual power draw? Or is that an equivalent of something? I've got around 110 sqft that's under HID lighting right now, but am very interested in learning more about LED's. But, only if the power consumption will actually be smaller. 500w is 500w to the meter man. Just in the research phase of it all, so I know next to nothing about LED's. Thanks for any insight.

 

[TshirtNinja]

So, with a 500w LED for example... is that 500w that actual power draw? Or is that an equivalent of something? I've got around 110 sqft that's under HID lighting right now, but am very interested in learning more about LED's. But, only if the power consumption will actually be smaller. 500w is 500w to the meter man. Just in the research phase of it all, so I know next to nothing about LED's. Thanks for any insight.

It only works around 55-50% of the total max wattage of 500w. LEDs do not run at full capacity as they would quickly burn out. I would compare his unit up with the best 400w hid on the market.

 

[The Medicine Man]

Cool, thanks a bunch!

 

[TshirtNinja]

Also don't forget your cooling requirements won't be as high with LED too. So that helps with the power bill

True that!
Guys the main thing to remember with any led optics are the restraints to what they are for. They need to be above/side of no more than 3 feet of vegetation. Also they are for more of a tight area such as a tent or closet where your sides reflect well. An open grow space will do terrible vs hid since there is little refractive light to assist. The hid is so intensely concentrated with hoods that they do well in open situations. Even with lenses LEDs shoot sidelights but this is great in a tent or closet setup. You don't have to vent some models at all but if you do a 4" fan will do fine for quite a bit of led. I personally run over 500 drawn watts of led and the 4" is major overkill. The saving in electricity are offput by startup price but honestly it's well worth it for one simple reason...... Cops!!! Cops simply cannot detect an led growroom with flir cameras. If the windows don't glow punk then there is no way for them to detect you. The heat offput by larger setups I have helped configure was no more detectable than a normal output from a bigscreen but was over 5k of drawn wattage.

 

[lou9571]

My new stealth dresser with 100w black star led !



this is what i ended up doing

My Stealth Dresser Grow With Short Rider

This is my Grow started 6 20-11 ( the smaller plant was started 1 week later)

100 w black star led
stealth dresser that I made
2- 110 cfm computer fans for exhaust
1-110 cfm computer fan for intake
lined walls with Mylar and lined floor with panda film
carbon coal on the exhaust sitting behind the dresser
my 2 Nirvana short rider plants sitting in 1 gal pots in a soil mix of 1/2 pro mix and 1/2 metro mix 510


please ask any questions and i would love any feedback as i am a new grower


thank you guys for all the info and please let me know what you think ?

 

[lou9571]

on my other grow room i had i had it inside like most people have it but with this small stealth grow i had to put it on the outside. i will see how it works so far so good

 

[Muddy]

I agree with your assessment that LEDs perform best in smaller spaces with reflective surfaces. This spring I moved my 180 watt GLH light from my 2 x 2.5' area to my 4 x 4' area and saw a big difference. Even though both areas have walls covered in mylar, the results were far less impressive in the bigger area than in the smaller one. I'm hoping to replace the 400 watt HPS system I normally use in the 4 x 4 area with an LED by this fall. Rather than buying a 500 watt unit, I'm considering buying two smaller units, say 240 watters, instead. Not only do I think that will provide better coverage, it will also give me the option to have them at different heights to compensate for differences in the plants. Price wise the money will be about the same to buy two smaller rather than 1 bigger unit.

True that!
Guys the main thing to remember with any led optics are the restraints to what they are for. They need to be above/side of no more than 3 feet of vegetation. Also they are for more of a tight area such as a tent or closet where your sides reflect well. An open grow space will do terrible vs hid since there is little refractive light to assist. The hid is so intensely concentrated with hoods that they do well in open situations. Even with lenses LEDs shoot sidelights but this is great in a tent or closet setup. You don't have to vent some models at all but if you do a 4" fan will do fine for quite a bit of led. I personally run over 500 drawn watts of led and the 4" is major overkill. The saving in electricity are offput by startup price but honestly it's well worth it for one simple reason...... Cops!!! Cops simply cannot detect an led growroom with flir cameras. If the windows don't glow punk then there is no way for them to detect you. The heat offput by larger setups I have helped configure was no more detectable than a normal output from a bigscreen but was over 5k of drawn wattage.

 

[TshirtNinja]

yo muddy thats exactly what i mean.... i use the 240's just for the ability to regulate heights or introduce multiple strains. Heck I had 5 going at the same time like a week ago.

 

[Scott817]

If you want to know what the best are then you need to check out all the different grow logs out there comparing them side by side and then make your decision based on that. There is also price to consider as well. The GLH lights will get you a slightly better yield than a Black Star but at 3x+ the price. You will want to factor in warranty and if the provider has a loaner or swap system in case yours goes down and needs repair as well. I really like growing with LED's and the only thing that seems like a downside is they do seem to take a litte longer to finish off than with a HPS setup but personally I am not in a hurry so I dont mind.

I did a nice write up where is you search around for what you want to look for in a LED grow light as well if you are interested.