Going to try LED lighting again... Recommendations?

I haven't tried LED lighting in a few years and I am wondering if I can get the same yields and quality using less power than I currently do. Last time I tried I wasn't impressed. Note that I am not interested in a power savings if the yield per square foot is lower.

So I currently use two 1000 watt DE HPS lights over a 4 x 8 foot area and am looking for lights that will work on a square footprint, say 4 x 4 feet, or perhaps cover a 4 x 8 foot canopy using three lights instead of two. I also need good penetration as I grow big plants.

Cost of the lights is not an issue.

So, what LED fixtures out there, that will work in my setup, are the cream of the crop for flowering cannabis?

Thanks folks!

Try 2 hlg550s, if price becomes an object then diy a similar fixture with strips or boards.

Horticulturelightinggroup.com

Or search diy with quantumboards here on riu.

Or 4x 320's by hlg. Better spread. Or DIY

Definitely check out Amare Technology Bar 8

If you have the knowledge build your light with strips or cobs or QBs or a mix of two or all 3.

Aim for 30-50w of efficient white led per sq.ft. Probably a little more 40-50w since youve been using 2 DE in 8x4 Which mean about 1200w-1600w you could build something with 8 cobs like you could use 32 of them for a gain in efficiency... do you have a budget? There is a tons of option.. but usually people try to find the right balance between cost and efficiency..

Are you using the de hps fixtures for supplemental heat in the winter?

Just got my HLG 135w V2 QB kit @ $250, less money than the 315w CMH I was considering ...1st time grower, will be growing in a 2x3x6' cab I built. I've read some great yields are possible with this QB...we'll have to see....being a newbie to growing the 1st grow could be a disaster...or not....lots of experience on RIU.

I flipped through your other thread and get the impression your a pretty serious grower. Check these out, I'll be getting these for my new setup this spring. They offer commercial and diy led's.
https://chilledgrowlights.com/our-products-services

Has anyone used a Kind LED K5 XL1000 ?

Those look like there might be some promise.

I don't really want to build my own LED lights although thats not out of the question.

Cost is not an issue, what I want is something that will use less power and provide the same yields. I currently pull between 3.5 and 4 pounds per 4 x 4 foot area. Most (about 75%) of this yield is from the top canopy and the overhead light. So a LED that can make 2.6 to 3 pounds on a 4 x 4 area is what I am looking for.

PSUAGRO. said:

Are you using the de hps fixtures for supplemental heat in the winter?

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No, I run a 4 ton AC unit in each flowering room all year long. If I replaced all my overhead lights with LED I would still have enough heat from the side lighting to keep things warm, my AC would just work a lot less.

My grow journal linked below will show the setup.

Renfro said:

Has anyone used a Kind LED K5 XL1000 ?

Those look like there might be some promise.

I don't really want to build my own LED lights although thats not out of the question.

Cost is not an issue, what I want is something that will use less power and provide the same yields. I currently pull between 3.5 and 4 pounds per 4 x 4 foot area. Most (about 75%) of this yield is from the top canopy and the overhead light. So a LED that can make 2.6 to 3 pounds on a 4 x 4 area is what I am looking for.

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don't fall for those marketing claims. just don't.

Renfro said:

Has anyone used a Kind LED K5 XL1000 ?

Those look like there might be some promise.

I don't really want to build my own LED lights although thats not out of the question.

Cost is not an issue, what I want is something that will use less power and provide the same yields. I currently pull between 3.5 and 4 pounds per 4 x 4 foot area. Most (about 75%) of this yield is from the top canopy and the overhead light. So a LED that can make 2.6 to 3 pounds on a 4 x 4 area is what I am looking for.

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With those yields why do you want to change to leds? Thats some frickin great numbers.
No matter what led you get its going to take some serious dialing in to get to 3 pounds from a 4x4.

Rocket Soul said:

With those yields why do you want to change to leds? Thats some frickin great numbers.
No matter what led you get its going to take some serious dialing in to get to 3 pounds from a 4x4.

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Right on. I was just thinking of saving on the power bill. Drops some lighting watts and save on the AC cost as well. I'd even like to add a few more lights but I'm maxed out on air conditioning and available AMPS on my main breaker.

Probably not worth the savings due to the equipment cost and the potential loss in yields.

Amare SolarBar-8. Is an 880w on a dimmer, evenly spread source allowing close & high applications. This light will provide you with over 1000ppfd, 2.7 umol/j, of enhanced white spectrum.
$1200ish via RIU discount.
To much to list.
500 umol @ 4' down outta grow your big Girls. Hmu if u have questions.
This is the Cream in my shorts.

Led is definitely worth it but theres a pretty steep learning curve. Youd need to change environment to a lot hotter due to missing infrared if your main light is led. You may need to change your nutes a bit and ph.
With your standard (up to 4# per 4x4) it would probably be quite some time before you reach the results you want. Id suggest you go about this in a little by little fashion to get the hang of it before you take the plunge. Some suggestions:
Diy: much cheaper and you would be able to get something that fits your needs, rather than fit your grow to your lights. Theres several threads here on DIY with pcb boards.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-with-quantum-boards.927159/
the same company i mentioned above, horticulture lighting group who are also on the forum. Top quality but a bit pricey in comparison to
https://www.rollitup.org/t/the-chinese-quantum-board-knock-off-builds.971560/
Some of us have been sourcing these boards from china, where some of the quatumboards where manufactured until recently. Theres a lot that can be said about buying from china, im almost certain that the quality is not the same as with hlg but for me (not in the us so i get taxes/shippment fees etc from both china and US) and many more the china way has made a lot of sense. If everything is about 3 times as cheap theres a lot of builds that make sense that wouldnt make sense using the top standard of HLG. Also they have a fair few designs not available thru HLG.
There are also other options for example ledstrips using samsung diodes or even bridgelux. They are available from digikey, arrow electronics and more. Its a good halfway solution between HLG and china boards, but require more work with framing and heatsinking.

Your situation: you mentioned using side lighting. This might be the perfect place to start. These pcbs and strips can be setup so you can get them in right close to the side cannopy. What lights are you using now for side light?
Another way you could go would be trying to make a board/strip design using www.cutter.com.au. they have some similar designs to HLG but with added benefits of special spectrum control and such. Look up solskin on the forum or their web. If you wanted to buy a board where you could design it so you have UV/infrared/bloomboster reds etc on separate controls this could be a good option. They/Mark are on the forum as Welight. If you get a hang of things on one board you could later scale up easily.

Hw2 also has a great suggestion in Amare, but i can honestly not say ive seen someone pull 4# from a 4x4 with any of amares products.
Oh, yeah and there is also chilled growlights and if you havent seen it yet maybe check out growmau5 on youtube he has plenty of vids on diy and works for chilled nowadays.
Hope you find so.ething u like

Rocket Soul said:

Your situation: you mentioned using side lighting. This might be the perfect place to start. These pcbs and strips can be setup so you can get them in right close to the side cannopy. What lights are you using now for side light?

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Thanks for the reply.

For side lighting I currently use 400 watt HPS with a batwing hung vertically on the ends of the rows and in between the rows I use naked 600 watt vertical HPS.

The HLG 550 V2 looks promising and it's a lot cheaper than the Kind LED K5 XL 1000. I may have to give one of these a try. Thanks man!

so each 4x4 has a 1000W DE centered over it, but youre also using 400s and 600s as side lighting. whats the total wattage and total canopy area?

CobKits said:

so each 4x4 has a 1000W DE centered over it, but youre also using 400s and 600s as side lighting. whats the total wattage and total canopy area?

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Total wattage is 1600 per plant. The ends of my 4 x 8 foot rows have 400 watt HPS vertical with batwings. In between the rows I have a 600 watt HPS vertical naked bulb.

Each plant has a 4 x 4 foot "footprint" but with the sides being trellised they grow out more where there is not a wall.

Total canopy area is 192 sqft on the top based on the 4x4 footprint.

1600W per 4x4?

so 3.6lb = 1634 g = ~1 g/W

sound slike youre doing it over more of a 5x5 which is 65 g/SF

the yield per SF is definitely acheivable with LED. you could probably get close to 1.5 gpw from the efficiency combined with the better directionality for side lighting

16 cobs in a 4x4 running 60-80W each would give you a uniform 800-1300 W from above and there are multiple options for sidelighting. i know you dont want to build.. i could be talked into it.