Are L.E.D.'s worth it?

[JGVermont1965]

What's your opinion?
Are they worth the money?
Is there a better option?
Good/bad/ugly or beautiful I want to hear it !

 

[QBCrocket]

I have had 3 grows on LED after 10 years of HPS I don't think they have the penetration the HPS has , could be the quality of my lights - but by changing the style of grow Ive had some good results - there are other benefits- easier to control temp - power bill has halved- plants look better alround

 

[2RedEyes]

Me being a late comer, I never bothered with anything other than leds...my grow space is small and not in the house but in my shop/shed...no ac so I need to keep the heat down...I doubt my yield is as good as most but I’m still learning, I try to keep my costs as low as I can and leds seem to help with that as they use less power and don’t seem to produce as much heat as other lighting systems...I see a lot of people using leds these days and I see some pretty nice looking flowers being produced so for me they seem worthwhile...I don’t know if they compare to the old school lighting systems, but I’ll stick with what I got...

 

[novitius]

From what I've seen lately as someone wondering the same thing, yes, but it takes more fixtures. That's my opinion based on research, not actual experimentation. My experience with vegging plants however says I'll never buy another CFL or Flouro fixture again and I feel like with a decent LED Id skip MH for vegging too. Onc eI got comfortable with moving the lamp down to about 3" from the canopy they started to look great.

 

[Locked]

You can find good budget friendly LED Lights or go with the pricier and better options. I have been using King LED Lights for a couple of years now and get good result. Been pulling a steady 3+ounces dry per plant in one gallon smart pots.

 

[Aksarben]

I use a full spectrum SANSI LED light. Looks good and things are growing green. One has to account for cost of electricity overall, and LED will do for my situation.

 

[Chewbongo]

You can find good budget friendly LED Lights or go with the pricier and better options. I have been using King LED Lights for a couple of years now and get good result. Been pulling a steady 3+ounces dry per plant in one gallon smart pots.

What kind of veg time??

 

[Locked]

What kind of veg time??

Usually 5 to 6 weeks veg. 10 weeks of flower time.

 

[Rosebud]

I don't think LED's are in the same catagory as the others you mentioned. I think they are better. HPS are hot an cost a lot to run. LEd isn't hot and cheaper to run. Here is the last sativa I did and it penetrated the whole bush.

 

[Aksarben]

I would agree, that LED for home- hobbyist is a superior light in output vs cost of electricity. However, in the commercial aspect I have seen pictures in magazines of HPS and hybrid systems using HPS & LED. HPS would be (my opinion) a more desired light in massive grow rooms exceeding 12 feet wide or wider and very long. Nothing like 220 V for dealing with large industrial light concerns either.

The better LEDs are now made to have effective light growing spectrum, and put out that light cheaper than just about anything else.

 

[HFMedicinals]

I believe fully in the LEDs. I was skeptical, but I have some serious plant growth under a single 450w LED. My mothers (I had 4 in a 3x3 area) loved the light. I had to remove two of them because there was just too much growth. going on.

Put two of the mothers into the flowering tent and they are under a 900w LED and I simply can't control the plants. I am going to have to make some serious changes next flowering because it's going to get crazy in there.

But, as people are saying commercial side of things may be different, but I see a LOT of commercial growers here going to LED over HPS/MH simply because one light can do both, they last longer, and are essentially cheaper in the end when compared to buying replacement parts, bulbs, cooling fans, reflectors, etc.

I think it ultimately comes down to your processes and flower rotation. If you have that down, you can still produce as much as HPS/MH using multi stage veg/clone/flower processes. Every couple months here at home I am producing well over 1/2lb doing very minimal work. That's with just two plants in each phase of my grow operation. 1/2lb might not be much for everyone else, but for me, it's actually TOO much.

 

[Locked]

For the home grower LED is where it is at. I will never switch back. 2 years and I have not had to replace a bulb or worry about heat.

 

[Passionbilly]

Full spectrum, VIPARSPECTRA been using it for two years. Bills are very low. Hydro, the light stays right on top of the plant, check once a day, if it burns lift the light.
I only have one hook with strings from the corners of the lamp unit. It,s full auto system, sometimes I don't check it for days. If I go away for a long weekend I just make the water is topped up
and the lift the light two inches.

 

[Baudelaire]

LED lights with top quality premium white LEDs like Samsung's LM561C and LM301B chips installed blow away HID lamps on efficiency (+50%) and spectral quality and distribution. Add in ZERO "bulb" replacement costs over 10 years, and there's really no comparison left to be made. Prices for quality LED lamps have dropped to $1/watt, check out SolStrip.com

 

[stinkyattic]

I think all 3 types (LED, HID, and fluoros) have a place in the growroom. Each one can be a rockstar for certain applications.
I actually depend on the heat from HID lamps during the long New England winter, to the point of putting the ballast for my veg room lamp in the flower room to help stabilize temps.
This is a silly reason for sure, but I do appreciate the coziness, and the electric heaters don't have to cycle as much.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt since I haven't flowered under LED panels... yet... lol

 

[spaade]

I do believe that there is a place and a circumstance for both HPS an LED. Most home growers would do fine with LED when growing in a grow tent, closet or small room BUT one does not get the photon penetration into the canopy that HPS produces not do LED produce the broader light spectrum wave lengths produced HPS including infrared and far red wavelengths which are absorbed by specific phytochrome receptors and aid in seed germination and flowering. The takeaway from HPS is the resultant heat produced and higher power cost. When LED technology advances to the point where light photon penetration/broader light specrum approaches that produced by HPS then LED will probably replace HPS as the prefered light of choice in larger growrooms, which is what I do as a profession... Build growrooms.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have T5 fluoros, HPS, and LED and use all of them. Vegging will be with T5s and LED. I've got a 2' 12 bulb T5 that I just love for vegging. Flowering will be with HPS and LED. Like stinkyattic, I really do need the heat from the HPS in the winter. Trying to decide if I should invest in a 1000W DE Gavita. My indoor grows will always be in the winter, so this influences my decisions. HPS can be very hard to keep cool in the summer. I always ran my flowering lights at night when I used to grow inside during the summer and it still presented a challenge to keep things cool.

If you are buying new lights, you really need to look into LED.

 

[stinkyattic]

I totally agree with HG about the points she made, and especially with choosing a light/dark schedule that balances heat generated from lamps with the natural temp swing of day vs night to match seasonal changes. July and August (northern hemisphere) is a great time to focus on starting new plants from seed, which doesn't require HIDs at all, and the low heat output of LED s and fluoros isn't a deal breaker. LED agro lighting is an evolving technology and the future looks bright!

 

[Daxtell]

As a home grower, LEDs are better than the alternatives. Electrical costs are high in my area meaning that the total costs of a grow batch are affordable. Stealth is easy as long as I am at 4 plant or less scale.

My lamps are good quality and $.50/watt. Costs per lumen are half that of my old HPS or MH. Blurple works better in growth per costs too for the small grower.

I am currently experimenting using daylight Kelvin LEDs to compare to CFL for seed starts. The new LEDs are leaps and bounds better than older generation LEDs of only a few years ago. At some point I will be testing a light inside and below a plant to see what can be done with a vertical leaning scrog.

I also grow herbs. Cost per oz is high and quality diminishes quickly for kitchen herbs. My income has been badly hurt by politics so I have to watch costs closely.

I am keeping an open mind on other LED possibilities. At least, until I can get a greenhouse shed.

 

[Alabaster]

I've been thinking about buying some Verta 8's, but haven't done so yet. I'm wondering if the plants use nutes different under LEDs. They are easily the brightest lights I've ever seen.