Cheap LED Strips : A Viable Alternative

No big deal. :slight_smile: I recommend reviewing them again because they’re very instructive on this subject.

I’ve posted it before in this thread, but here’s the goniosphere analysis of Bridgelux EB3 2700k 90cri strips at close to nominal current:

I would say get the most efficiently-produced photons you can for your money from this type of white, midpower LED anywhere in the range of 3000k - 4000k for veg & flowering, 2700k - 3500k 90cri for flowering.

It doesn’t have to be Bridgelux, but their strips represent the most photons for the money and nearly the most efficient. And it’s not even close. Samsung and boutique brands are quite a bit more expensive or they have diodes placed too closely to give you an even spread. Or they run too hard so you need expensive and heavy heatsinks.

Don’t spend money on supplementing or doing anything exotic - there’s just no proven benefit outside of FR and you only need a little of that. (Luckily there’s lots of FR in the Bridgelux 90cri strips!) And as in the case of UV, a lot of possible danger to both you and the plants. You’re better off just getting better at growing. Save your money instead of chasing a theoretical 1% gain for 20% extra cost. I mean that generally, not you specifically.

As for mixing CCTs, again, there’s really no benefit to adding 5000k. In a production setting, you want the fastest growth you can within the morphological parameters you define (essentially, with the shape you want). Scientifically, red and far red photons make for the fastest and biggest growth. If you have a very small space and don’t want big plants, sure go with more blue in veg. But, if you have no serious restrictions, there’s no point to add blue in veg against a typical 3000k or 3500k spectrum from Bridgelux or Samsung. But do remember that the CCT does not equate to a particular spectral distribution.

The reason why people wanted to veg with metal halide (fair amount of blue but also lots of green and yellow photons) in the past was because the only other option was HPS, which was almost exclusively yellow/red photons. If you have only yellow/red photons, without any blue to temper them, you end up with fast growing but viney plants. That’s as undesirable as going with mostly blue which ends up with tiny, no stalk cabbage patch plants. :wink:

Modern white LEDs in the range of 3000k - 4000k contain mostly green/yellow/red photons with varying proportions of blue (more blue the higher the color temp). But you don’t need very much blue to keep the vining response from the red in check. Hardly any at all. For sure no more than 20% no matter what cultivar, but typically 10-15% photons in the range of 380-500nm is fine.

Blue photons make plant cells grow smaller and slower. In general, we’re pretty sure most cultivars like a little more blue in veg because it results in smaller cells which means hardier stems which is good outside in unpredictable wind conditions, but almost any spectrum will grow your plants in veg. Flowering does slightly better with more red and far red mixed into a broad spectrum white. Terps and cannabinoid content being impacted by spectral distribution is only theorized, but very few action mechanisms are hypothesized and none of it is proven at this point (not even UV).

And, lastly, it’s currently theorized that cannabis stretch in veg is largely due to spectrum. However, as the theory goes, stretch after flip is mostly genetic and happens (largely or completely) independent of light spectrum. This isn’t proven, but they think stretch after flip is mostly due to genetic factors and Daily Light Interval (DLI - how many photons the plant receives per 24hr period). The shape and weight after stretch, however, is dependent upon spectrum (all other variables being held constant).

@Who Digikey, Futureelectronics for the strips, and lots of places for the drivers and wire and extras. Octopart.com has a great part number search, so search here for builds that list the parts, then search those places for the part numbers.

Hope that helps!

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