LED vs HPS?

So I have been researching lights, and I am seriously considering getting some LED lights.

MY CONCERN is that all the LED lights I see say for example: MarsHydro 600w. But the actual power draw isn't 600watts.

Does this mean that the 600w is just the model number? and it only really puts out 200watts or so? and will give me the same results as 200watts of hps?

Or does this mean that the 600w can do the same job as a 600watt hps, just with a smaller power draw?

LED manufacturers outright lie about the wattage. They almost always put the wattage of the HID light they would replace. IE they say they LED is 1000 watts because it can do a 5x5 tent, but because LEDs are efficient it only uses 3-400 watts.
For example here's one that advertises as 600 watts but right in the description it says it only uses 260ish watts. At least that brand is honest enough to tell you. Some brands (cough china) will bury the true wattage in the fine print or won't tell you.
Whenever you buy an LED you need to pay attention to the amount of watts it consumes. And if they don't tell you that anywhere assume they don't want you to know.
I have a 550 watt LED that consumes 600 watts. That makes me believe it really puts out around 550 watts.
So when you're calculating how many watts you need and taking into account the efficiency of LEDs use the wattage of the power draw not the advertisement.

if your going led i would say go with cobs seems all the test data says they are the closest to HPS minus the UV and you can get a lizard lamp for that. can get a premaid from someone like timber http://timbergrowlights.com/600-watt-cree-cxb3590-4x4-framework/ or make your own and get the parts from somewhere like http://www.cutter.com.au/categories.php?cat=Grow+Light . if your crafty maybe making one would work for all the effort i wold just buy a premade but i'm lazy that way. Also check out growmau5, Greengenes, and chilled grow lights for more info on led

Preferred lighting source's

COB LED
CMH (ceramic metal halide)
Dual arc 1K HID (600w HPS with a 400w MH in one bulb)
HPS
T5HO (vary the spectrum of the bulbs and include deep blues)

Everything else will work but, have their own problems or limitations...

Blurple LED's don't quite "finish" right.......

datshieeet said:

So I have been researching lights, and I am seriously considering getting some LED lights.

MY CONCERN is that all the LED lights I see say for example: MarsHydro 600w. But the actual power draw isn't 600watts.

Does this mean that the 600w is just the model number? and it only really puts out 200watts or so? and will give me the same results as 200watts of hps?

Or does this mean that the 600w can do the same job as a 600watt hps, just with a smaller power draw?

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Mars.....sigh. There's no governing body over leds imported from china. They advertise whatever they want and make their own reviews. This goes for all Chinese leds I've seen. Notice they're a dime a dozen on eBay. If you must grow with them understand Chinese panels are less efficient than HID and need 50w of actual power from the wall per sq foot to properly flower. So a 600w uses about 250w at the wall and can cover about 5 sqft for actually growing proper plants.

If you go leds cobs are about the only way to go. Fluence and California light works that are legit non cob lights. Both companies use white for the base of light and add red or red and blue.....but white is the staple of any good led.

Check out timber grow lights.

datshieeet said:

So I have been researching lights, and I am seriously considering getting some LED lights.

MY CONCERN is that all the LED lights I see say for example: MarsHydro 600w. But the actual power draw isn't 600watts.

Does this mean that the 600w is just the model number? and it only really puts out 200watts or so? and will give me the same results as 200watts of hps?

Or does this mean that the 600w can do the same job as a 600watt hps, just with a smaller power draw?

Click to expand...

I like and prefer LEDs. I have and tested a lot of the main high end lights out there and they aren't all bad. But building a cob light is best I have one I'm putting together at the moment just waiting for my uv diodes to add to it.

Yet another thread with a specific question asked and the COB trolls come out in force.

I have a "900w" vipraspectra that pulls 425w from the wall. It was advertised as comparing to a 1kw hps, but I see results comparable to my 600w hps. The LED does put out a fair amount of heat tho, idk if it runs cooler than a 600 honestly.

So the advertised wattage is usually what they would suggest it compares to.

And to jump on the COB troll bandwagon: COB are going to be the most efficient way to go. Expensive up front tho.

Yeah, you can't compare LED and HPS watts for that reason.

I'd recommend 60-75 W/ft^2 for HPS and 50 W/ft^2 for LED minimum, but always aim for more light.

I have a 600 W full-spectrum LED panel (250 W actual) and eight 23 W, mostly 6500K, CFLs in a 2x2 feet tent which is more than enough. Though I'm ScrOGing a single plant in this area.

txponto said:

Yet another thread with a specific question asked and the COB trolls come out in force.

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if I spent that much for a grow light I would be trying to convince everyone that I made a wise choice too I spent $92 for a 6 bulb T5 ho and $16.5 for 3 roseate bulbs to add to the fixture for improved spectrum. it pulls 270 watts from the wall (34 watts/sq.ft 2ft by 4ft closet grow) and my first harvest with that light produced 8 ounces of high quality smoke.(.83gpw). I don't see a $600 LED beating that by much.on the other hand CMH bulbs are impressive. many commercial growers up here are switching to them form HPS

ismann said:

Yeah, you can't compare LED and HPS watts for that reason.

I'd recommend 60-75 W/ft^2 for HPS and 50 W/ft^2 for LED minimum, but always aim for more light.

I have a 600 W full-spectrum LED panel (250 W actual) and eight 23 W, mostly 6500K, CFLs in a 2x2 feet tent which is more than enough. Though I'm ScrOGing a single plant in this area.

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there is a point of diminishing returns and I think you have passed that.

mauricem00 said:

there is a point of diminishing returns and I think you have passed that.

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Yeah, probably. My LED looks to be around 3000K range so I just wanted a bit more blue light. I can tell a noticeable difference when the CFLs are off though.

Mr.Goodtimes said:

I have a "900w" vipraspectra that pulls 425w from the wall. It was advertised as comparing to a 1kw hps, but I see results comparable to my 600w hps. The LED does put out a fair amount of heat tho, idk if it runs cooler than a 600 honestly.

So the advertised wattage is usually what they would suggest it compares to.

And to jump on the COB troll bandwagon: COB are going to be the most efficient way to go. Expensive up front tho.

Click to expand...

Mr.Goodtimes said:

I have a "900w" vipraspectra that pulls 425w from the wall. It was advertised as comparing to a 1kw hps, but I see results comparable to my 600w hps. The LED does put out a fair amount of heat tho, idk if it runs cooler than a 600 honestly.

So the advertised wattage is usually what they would suggest it compares to.

And to jump on the COB troll bandwagon: COB are going to be the most efficient way to go. Expensive up front tho.

Click to expand...

I was actually looking to get the 600w viparspectra for my 2.5x2.5 tent. Do you think that would be enough?

Dr. Who said:

Preferred lighting source's

COB LED
CMH (ceramic metal halide)
Dual arc 1K HID (600w HPS with a 400w MH in one bulb)
HPS
T5HO (vary the spectrum of the bulbs and include deep blues)

Everything else will work but, have their own problems or limitations...

Blurple LED's don't quite "finish" right.......

Click to expand...

Don't forget other new (old) tech;

Double Ended HPS
Double ended Metal Halide
Double ended Ceramic Metal Halide

And the Tesla lamp I can't remember the name of right now. PL?

All with great life and great spectrums.

datshieeet said:

I was actually looking to get the 600w viparspectra for my 2.5x2.5 tent. Do you think that would be enough?

Click to expand...

Sure.

mauricem00 said:

I don't see a $600 LED beating that by much

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$400 California light works Solar system 550 gave me about a pound each light. I have 3. Granted I bought them on the grower program paid half of retail but cobkits can find them for about $550...... even against cobs it's a close match at that price.

600 is the output. The actual used wattage is less, approx half or just over half. The closer it is to half...The weaker it is. One of my 300w LEDs uses 150w the other uses 130w. When I place a light measure meter under both, the 130 has less influence on the meter. This confirms that you want that "high number".

BM9AGS said:

$400 California light works Solar system 550 gave me about a pound each light. I have 3. Granted I bought them on the grower program paid half of retail but cobkits can find them for about $550...... even against cobs it's a close match at that price.

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thats still 3 times what I would pay for 3 T5 fixtures that produce 1/2 pound each. and T5 produce a better spectrum including violet and UV which improves flavor and potency.this may not matter to commercial growers but to PU MMJ growers it does

mauricem00 said:

thats still 3 times what I would pay for 3 T5 fixtures that produce 1/2 pound each. and T5 produce a better spectrum including violet and UV which improves flavor and potency.this may not matter to commercial growers but to PU MMJ growers it does

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Idk. Are your t5 fixtures using 400w to make a pound? Efficiency to me is why I like leds. Also the guy doing the growing with my lights was always a hid grower but is certain the quality and quality is higher now with the CLWs and cobs than his 2600w of hid he had......so I can't say I've seen any non agenda based evidence that a "fuller" spectrum makes for better weed...... got any studies showing weed better with uva/uvb that is greater than a 2% increase in get high values for weed

Apical Bud said:

LED manufacturers outright lie about the wattage. They almost always put the wattage of the HID light they would replace.
.

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No. They do not. They go by the maximum watt rating of the LED's, and they run them at 40-50% of that rating, to extend their life and for higher efficiency. If a panel has a hundred 3W LED's in it, its called a "300W" panel and will typically consume 125-145W at the plug.