LED grow lights... input please.

[DreadedHermie]

Can someone tell me about how many would be needed in a stealth cabinet or closet size grow box?

To me, a stealth cab and a closet are two way different sizes. I would say:

Using good parts and efficient drivers, 50 watts of LEDs will match 100 watts of CFL, fluoro, or HID.

Costs about $2/watt for the LEDs plus $1/watt for the drivers.

So, for $180 you can build a 60 watt LED light that'll match 120 watts of something else. (A 90-watt UFO will NOT replace a 400w.HPS. That's a sales pitch. 200 watts of high-end emitters and drivers, though....no problem.)

Not really cost-effective (yet) unless:

a) heat is a big problem
b) electricity's real expensive, or
c) maximum stealth (no electrical or thermal footprint) is critical.

I'm probably gonna put together a DIY tutorial if anybody's interested in building their own light. Let me know, Hermie.

DreadedHermie Reviewed by DreadedHermie on 10-19-2009. LED grow lights... input please. Hello guys, I'm exchanging eMails with a representative from a LED company. I asked him if they could produce a custom light for growing, and here's what he told me: Our options are as follow: 940nm, 850nm, 660nm, 630nm, 610nm, 590nm 570nm, 530nm, 510nm, 470nm, 460nm, 400nm and a total of 64 LEDs in the bulb. Rating: 5

[mgjscdhl]

I guess thats true, when I think stealth cabinet I think roughly half of closet (at least height wize) or maybee one or two rubbermaid boxes stacked ontop of the other, like : http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-gr...ml#post2031626

I'm guessing from what you said price wise its more efficient for other methods. I'm not sure of a cabinet (size I mentioned) or closet would have major heat problems but I have yet to build.

I'm thinking one advantage over the other methods though is that the led lifespan should be more? or am I wrong?

forgive ignorance what do you mean by driver (led)? I've normally seen only leds in computer/electronic components, not hardwired in sequence.

I would definitely like to see how its setup, so a diy would be great. no pressure or anything but I'm curious already.

[DreadedHermie]

I'm thinking one advantage over the other methods though is that the led lifespan should be more? or am I wrong?

Oh, leds will last several years in any decent design. What we're hoping is the current production will be obsolete long before that time. Lotsa companies making streetlights, residential lighting, car lights, etc. Technology will trickle down. :thumbsup: Still, for some, leds make sense now, for any of the above three reasons.

forgive ignorance what do you mean by driver (led)?

I guess when I talk about a driver, it's like a Mean-Well brand unit. They have an A/C plug on one end, and two wires, + and -, on the other. Very simple and neat. You wire that directly to the leds --nothing else is required.

It's a power supply, but it's also got current regulation built in. You can dial the voltage up and down, and limit the current to dim the leds. You can run your leds exactly as hard as you want.

With highpowered leds you can power each color with its own individual driver and have total control of the spectrum.

The "current controlling electronics" part itself can also be referred to as a driver, too, but you have to add a wall-wart or some other kind of power to them. That's pretty simple, too. Real cheap, but not real efficient. :rastasmoke:

[hollywood33]

I have a grow going on using a 600 watt Full Spectrum LED panel. Check out the Video on youtube.. Please subscribe!

YouTube - LED Grow Light 600 Watt Six Spectrum Grow light Part 2

[Jcenter]

High Tech Garden Supply

heres some leds

[JackdaWack]

I'f ur not going to spend more then 500bucks on an led systems its not worth it IMO. I've seen the difference first hand in light output and the panels that work on the HID scale are around $1000. Keep in mind the 2watt bulbs they use for these panels cost about 20bucks each. My hyrdo guy over at the store is putting together a panel to sell that incorporates 3watt leds, its going to be a 600watt HID equivalent and is going to be about 1300 bucks. They sell some really good systems over there but he's trying to get more bang out the same size panel. They have some grows set up in the shop, and the UFO light was ok but not much for flowering and the bigger systems were so intense u couldnt even look at the light with out doing damage to ur eyes. I'm gonna wait for the price to come down on the systems worth buying before i make the decision to change.

[Weezard]

"Keep in mind the 2watt bulbs they use for these panels cost about 20bucks each"

That is incorrect by an order of magnitude.

3 Watt "stars" are around $5 ea.
High quality 5 Watt mounted emitters are only 8 or 9 bucks.
15 Watt emitters can be had for $26.

Dunno where you get your info, but I'll be happy to sell you 2 Watt "bulbs" for 18 bucks each.
Such a deal!

Still, you are right about waiting for decent commercial lights at a reasonable price.
Won't be much longer.

Aloha,
Weezard

[JackdaWack]

Well it was directly out of my hydro guys mouth who's building them. I asked why they cost so much and his answer was the leds. I tried to find some places that sell the LED's 2w or 3w but cant so i only have to go on what he said.

Now that i'm looking more into it, im finding LEDs that cost a buckets load that have high lumen output. NOT YOUR STANDARD LED that cost 2 bucks.

[JackdaWack]

Cree MC-E - Cree Xlamp - LED Supply.com

But still they can be had cheaper.

[radtek]

Reading this thread has been extremely tedious and to be honest I skipped a good deal of it. Typical forum fodder...

I've been researching this quite a bit. Seems that LED tech is still being proven depending on who posts but HID is a known quantity that delivers consistent results.

Furthermore, experienced naysayers demand even greater performance than HID before they'll accept LED's.

For myself the heat/fire-risk issue from HID is a deterrent and LED lights would solve my awkward attempts at using CFL's effectively.

My conclusion is that higher wattage panel such as 300+ should work adequately for veg and flower?