LED Lights from the Store

LED bulbs are available on Amazon for less than $4.00 each. These are sold in packs of 10 with each bulb 5000K (Daylilght) or 2700K (Soft White) and put out 1600 lumens.

The issue of using LED store bought bulbs was previously discussed in 2013 but the automod would not let me link.

The conclusion in that thread by Brother Jerico who did a nice price comparison analysis between CFL and LED was that there is limited appeal to LED back in 2013. However, today the prices and power of the bulbs are very different. The prices discussed at that time were $35 PER BULB for 800 lumens while the prices today are $38 for 10 BULBS each 1600 lumens!! That is a factor of 20 times lower price per lumen and today they appear to be a low heat, cost effective solution.

I have also seen several warnings about LED light burn but my plants grow right into the bulb and they seem to love it. That suggests to me these cheap shot lights are MUCH less powerful (no kidding!)

My biggest concern is light spectrum.

1. Do I need 1-2 UV bulbs?

2. Would it make sense to mix some CFL's in to expand the spectrum?

3. What do marijuana plants look like if they are deficient in certain spectrums (and is there even such a thing?).

mixture of the led bulbs and the cfl bulbs do work together. I'm doing one right now like that....

1. No you don't need UV, yes you could attempt using it if you want.

2. More light is always nice, if you already got it then why not? Otherwise just replace it with LED.

3. A deficient plant is just that, your feeding schedule may work fine in your room but could require different ratios in other rooms.. They can eat differently in different environments, its up to the grower to find the right feed.

I actually found data sheets for some of the screw in type LED bulbs, not terrible..... I found cases of them at a wholesale liquidator store, 4 Pack 2700k, for $2 .... I forget the brand I found, but each bulb had an 9.5w engine, that produced 800 lumens. So were looking at just over 80 Lm/w, obviously there are far better options, but hell, if that's all a guy can get his hands on.....If you put enough of these units together, you can get worthwhile results....

The plants use more red spectrum than blue, blue will keep them shorter.

For now, my vegetation chamber is outfitted with:

(4) LED bulbs 800 lm each - $4
Bulb sockets - $5.60
Power cord - $1

They will work, I'll be replacing them with EB strips so enough, but this setup should last three years before needing replacement.