Log in

View Full Version : Supplementing CFL with LED?


Pedro de Pacas
10-01-2007, 03:17 AM
Just wondering... I've read poor reviews about LED lights as the main light source, but how about as a supplement? My current cabinet is a Home depot cab that's 25" X 22" X 6' tall, Ihave a fan inside and an average cab temperature of 26 Celsius.

My current CFL is a 200 Watt energy saver in Natural white (45 w equivalent of 200 watts; 4100K, 3000 Lumens) in a hanging fixture with a cone-shaped reflector.

The strain I'm growing is KC-36 which grows about 2 and a half feet tall when grown indoors. I have this hunch that supplementing the CFL with LED fixtures would increase the light while keeping hydor consuption & cabinet temperatures under control.

Good idea? Bad Idea? The lights I speak of contain 168 LED's, generate little heat, consume 13 watts and fit in a standard light socket.
Zeus2007
10-01-2007, 01:35 PM
From what Iv read online, youd just be better off adding more cfl's rather than adding LED's. And if your only using one 45w cfl just now, you'l need a few more.
Comatose
10-01-2007, 02:21 PM
He probably isn't too keen on adding lights because of temperature issues that he would take on. Even though they are CFL's, they make the temperature go up in a cabinet that small.
Pedro de Pacas
10-01-2007, 04:44 PM
Yup...LED pundits claim that the "perfect blend" would be 60% LED and 40% CFL. I did find a 125 watt CFL Grow-light (they boast the equivalent of 625 watts and generates 6500 K) but I don't think that would be prudent as my light fixture's rated at 60 Watts...
Opie Yutts
10-01-2007, 10:54 PM
Any supplimental light is good light as more light = more weed. However Zeus is correct that it would be more cost effective to add more CFL instead.
Pedro de Pacas
10-02-2007, 03:20 PM
CFL's is something I don't lack ...I just added a second 45 watter in the cab - so one is the equivalent of 200 Watts in Natural White and the one I just added is the equivalent of 150 watts in Warm white.

I'd prefer more blue spectrum but ...this will have to do. I've rearranged the lights so that one bulb is centimetres from the top of the seedlings and the other is a few inches above.
Pedro de Pacas
10-02-2007, 07:10 PM
Okay ... inner cabinet temperature averages out just under 30 degrees Celsius, the fan is cooling the reflector and the seedlings seem to be dealing well with the extra light. I'll give it another look when I return from work...:thumbsup: