Flowering under CFLs and LEDs

So I was wondering, would flowering under 150 watts of CFLs and 50 watts of LEDs be comparable to flowering under a 400 watt HPS? yes it is only a total of 200 watts, but you can't really mesuare leds in wattage... they use much less power.
Flowering just under cfls or leds isn't enough, but if you use the cfls to supplement the leds it should be around that of a hps lamp. the vegging area that I currently have uses about the same setup and the plants are doing really well, better than just one type of light by itself.

I guess this really isn't a question, more of an experiment, but i wanted some feedback
what do you guys think?


I'll post pics a little later

There is no way that you can compare the two. This if from FAQ

HID (High Intensity Discharge) Lamps are:

• Efficient. They put out more light, with less energy usage, than any other type of illumination available to indoor growers.
• Bright. HID's produce more light than other types of indoor horticultural lighting.
• Expensive. HID's cost more than flourescents. They range in price from $50-$600 dollars.
• Hot. HID's produce considerably more heat than standard fluorescents.

Fluorescent lamps are:

• Inexpensive. Shoplight fixtures can be purchased for as little as $7. Compact fluorescent bulbs only cost a couple of dollars a piece.
• Locally Available. Most discount stores and home improvement stores carry inexpensive, fluorescent fixtures and bulbs.
• Fine for vegetative growth. Fluorescent bulbs put out plenty of light for plants growing vegetatively, including mothers, seedlings and clones. Some growers prefer fluorescents for vegetative growth because of the slower pace of growth and better root development.
• Fluorescents need to be in close proximity to achieve their rated output, which means their canopy penetration is more limited than HID's.
• Comparatively inefficient. 10 forty watt fluorescent bulbs use the same amount of energy as a 400 watt HID, but produce far less light. Since they use the same amount of energy but produce less light, the remaining must be given off as heat. Contrary to how it may first appear, fluoros actually run hotter than the equivalent wattage of HID-- they just disperse the heat over a wider area.

Maybe compare isn't the word I wanted. I know hid and fluorescents are completely different, they each produce light in a different way, leds too.
Anyway, what I'm trying to do is not use a HID lamp as the growing space is very small and I already have heat problems. Since the leds give off very little heat and are very efficient I'm using them. But the leds only give off red and blue light. The missing wavelengths is what the fluorescents would be used for. (the missing wavelengths really don't matter all to much, as plants mainly use red and blue for photosynthesis. but yeah supplement )

I'm sure that it would be better (and a lot less work) if I just went out and bought a HID lamp, but I kinda have a couple thousand leds that should work just as well or better if done right.

Its mainly an experiment, plus with the leds I can easily implement side lighting.

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to hearing the results of your experiment. Remember, ventilation is not just important to reduce heat, its also important to bring in fresh air. Your plants use the available co2 up, and need a fresh supply. Still need to solve that problem no matter what lights you use. Sounds to me like your plants will be getting about the same amount of light because you can place the lights closer. VV

as promised, pictures.

I'm doing this in a closet so there is very limited space. There should be plenty of room though for these three plants.
Right now there is a bagseed which has been flowering for almost 4 weeks. The one with buds on it in the back. The bagseed was the test plant and luckly turned out to be female.

The other two in front are at the end of their first week of flowering. both of those are of a hindu kush strain. I'm expecting buds to start forming in the next week to 2 weeks.

The growth of everything did get stunted a couple weeks ago as the temp in the room rose to over 100 . lost many leaves but the plants came back fine. since then I've installed a temporary AC to cool the room outside the closet. there are plans to setup a computer controlled thermostat with Air conditioner and humidifier, but I haven't had the time or money, so thats gonna wait.

The flowering room contains around 34 watts of LEDs, and 69 watts of warm CFLs. ( I broke one the CFLs a while ago but never replaced it )
All of the Lighting goes to a bunch of relays and is controlled by a controllers timer. The LEDs run off a 420watt computer power supply at 12volts. which also controls a bunch of fans.


From my observations all of the plants are doing very well. Aside from the overheating and the spidermites in the begginning, everything is doing great at the moment. if you notice there are still some burned leaves. oh and LEDs do work

Couple more photos.

1st showing above the canopy looking towards the back of the room.
2nd above looking down.
3rd light fixture build using steel tech (erecter set), plywood, mylar, and a lot of time

update!?! let us see whats up...

Wanna see how they are fairing under those LED's! Give us an update!

hello astronomy,

i have been doing a little research myself on l.e.ds. would like to chat a bit, compare notes if you will.

have a great day
drew

mogie said:

There is no way that you can compare the two. This if from FAQ

HID (High Intensity Discharge) Lamps are:

• Efficient. They put out more light, with less energy usage, than any other type of illumination available to indoor growers.
• Bright. HID's produce more light than other types of indoor horticultural lighting.
• Expensive. HID's cost more than flourescents. They range in price from $50-$600 dollars.
• Hot. HID's produce considerably more heat than standard fluorescents.

Fluorescent lamps are:

• Inexpensive. Shoplight fixtures can be purchased for as little as $7. Compact fluorescent bulbs only cost a couple of dollars a piece.
• Locally Available. Most discount stores and home improvement stores carry inexpensive, fluorescent fixtures and bulbs.
• Fine for vegetative growth. Fluorescent bulbs put out plenty of light for plants growing vegetatively, including mothers, seedlings and clones. Some growers prefer fluorescents for vegetative growth because of the slower pace of growth and better root development.
• Fluorescents need to be in close proximity to achieve their rated output, which means their canopy penetration is more limited than HID's.
• Comparatively inefficient. 10 forty watt fluorescent bulbs use the same amount of energy as a 400 watt HID, but produce far less light. Since they use the same amount of energy but produce less light, the remaining must be given off as heat. Contrary to how it may first appear, fluoros actually run hotter than the equivalent wattage of HID-- they just disperse the heat over a wider area.

Click to expand...

What the FAQ fails to point out is Fluros have a much superior PAR rating than HID and can be kept within a few cm's from the plant without burning. And because lumen output lessens the further it moves from the light source fluros can actually be more efficient if your setup and grow technique (scrog etc) have been given some thought.

They are fidley little buggars tho (fluros) with the constant lifting of the lamps and multiple light etc. But I like to fiddle with my setup so thats all cool with me.

But those LEDs certainly look interesting.

the only effective leds are blue and red spectrum. beware of any company selling green leds, as this color is not absorbed by the plant. cfl and led grow will work just fine, and is very comparable in terms of health and yield as a 600w hps.

L E D light is great but i think for the grower that is using any thing over 400watts like hps and other things the way to go is C F L 's because they are getting better and better and the light is very intense when you you put it close and also it causes the bud to get very fat insted of reaching for the sky there are great lights that get around 100 lumens per watt i know because i make indoor grow lights for the public i have found great great results using a special desinged hood holding 10 CFL at 42 watts and using 102 lumens per watt total 420 watts 3.7 amps and producing 42,840 lumens at what ever kelvin spectrum you want and also since these lights are so cool i can put them about 1 inch from the top of the plant. if you would like pictures of this email me at [email protected]