LED vs. HPS

Don't get me wrong, I think LED's are obviously a great thing in terms of lighting and compare well with all other lights in vegging, but flowering still seems questionable. I am by no means bashing, just trying to understand a little more since I am new to LED's.

LED's are cost efficient, are better per watt than HPS, less heat, lots of long term benefits to growing. But what is the time frame and the yield compared to HPS? Why does LED not penetrate as good as HPS? How come most hydroponic shops don't offer LED setups for lighting, they mainly focus on their HPS systems and boast how good they are over everything on the market, not to sound like a dick but I would believe them over anyone on forums, they are running a business and they are in it to make money. So why not push the most cost efficient product, unless there was also downsides to it?

Well I just got off the phone with HTGSupply (and you guys are welcome to call them)

I asked the guy what is the absolute best lighting from start to finish, vegging to flowering. Would it be an LED setup or HID setup. And this is exactly what he said:

"The best system overall would be an HPS setup because you would get more lumen output, more intense light, better coverage, and better penetration throughout. Now if you were in a very small confined grow area, then LED would do fine overall I would rather stick with HPS, but side by side comparison the HPS system would have a better overall yield than that of the LED setup, and would take less time. The only downside to HPS would be the amount of heat that it generates." Exact words from the mouth of someone at HTGSupply.

Here is the phone number I called to get this answer:

1-866-710-GROW (4769)
High Tech Garden Supply

They offer both LED and HPS systems. So I trust his answer, you are welcome to call and ask them the same question.

Reminds me of that Dead tune Loose Lucy - Round and Round and Round...

Most people here are small growers. That is one of the appeals of this site.

Just b/c he works for a grow shop doesn't make him an expert. His comments on lumen output indicates he is giving an answer that has been heard by others. I'll give him coverage and penetration but those are issues that can be dealt with via super cropping. On the downside of HID lighting he failed to mention the costs - electric consumption and bulb replacement. He also failed to mention increased fire hazard.

I am going to leave it to others to point out other flaws in his answer vis a vis lumens as they will cover it much more accurately.

bigsby I understand where you are coming from, as I said earlier that of course cost and heat will play a role with HID lighting. But why would he sell me something cheaper, and comment on its effectiveness over LED when he could have just as easily sold the LED and made more money from it. Either he is not well informed, or he knows what he is talking about.

I see alot of threads on LED vs HPS and I gotta say its quite sickening, because 1, most of the people that comment on those threads are the same people that sell LED systems... hmm big surprise! So of course there will always be talk about how HID systems generate alot of heat, and cost more to run than LED's. That is something that I will agree with, but when it comes down to it, overall yield from a LED grow side by side to an HPS grow I would like to see them say that hands down LED will produce more, we all know that is complete and utter bs. I am no expert on plant physiology etc, but I do know that HPS and MH imitate the sun better than anything out there.

If you look on many boards, not just this one, there are similar discussions about LED and HPS and majority of people agree that HPS is the best. Why would people make such claims? I will look more into it, and in the mean time I am going to call local nursery's and see where they stand on this subject.

I use HPS, so I can comment on how well it works, I have seen many grows from MH/HPS, and I have seen a couple from LED strictly, and the LED grows look lanky and less dense... maybe there is some underlying reason for this? Look at just about every HPS grow, all the buds are dense and thick...


And to be completely honest, how many plants can you really fit under one LED UFO fixture, doesn't look like much, and we both agree that penetration would be an issue so therefore you would need additional LED on the sides, to penetrate which in reality would probably cost the same as an HPS system to run. So really, lets take all factors in to consideration, not just the downsides to HPS and all the upsides to LED.

As for bulb replacement, once every one or two years, vs the amount of bud you grow = minimal cost. And fire hazards, well, if you have your setup properly fire hazards are not an issue. Same goes for a 60W light bulb on your coffee table. And to compensate for heat, just get ducting, an inline fan, and your set, no more heat.

maybe the guy at HTG could look at these pics and tell me why won't LED lights flower!?!?!?:smokin:

Hey I never said they wouldn't flower, they just won't be anything compared to an HPS flower, that's all. And how long have those been flowering for?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by THContent

Hey I never said they wouldn't flower, they just won't be anything compared to an HPS flower, that's all. And how long have those been flowering for?

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day 63...would have been chopped today but do to personal scheduling issues they will be coming down on tuesday :D

str8, where did you gut yours from, I want to buy the exact same ones so I can do a side by side and have almost like a mythbuster thing and compare overall cost to time and yield for each system, this way we know what is more of an investment to have.

Please keep in mind I am not bashing LED's just learning as I go. And letting you guys know what I have heard. I am intrigued by the idea of course, and the cost effectiveness, but overall yield is what worries me, and the extra time it might take.

Please lemme know where you go those, I want a set to test run.


For an LED grow, I am definitely impressed, since overall cost won't be much in terms of monthly electric usage.

i got mine from the manufacturer in China :D...these are hard to find...and grow shops carry most of the same crap on ebay so i got a bunch for friends and myself and opened account so i could get more for others...they are only sold commercially....you can hit my yahoo or skype :smokin:

By far, Stra8's panels are superior. He's rolling 3w diodes in those panels. I've likely got the top-class 1w panels, given my research and raw power output and balance.