LED question for a guy that has not grown in 17 years

Okay guys. As I am about to medically retire and move home to Oklahoma it is time to get back to growing. I used to grow HPS in the old Home Depot C31 cabinets and used DWC. Now with all of this crazy technology and so much legalization, I want to switch to LEDs but use organics. I am NOT going to DIY my lights. I shake quite a bit (TBI) and want the ease of just buying a light hang ready. My tent is going to be a 4x4x7 enclosure. The problem is that as soon as I see a light with great reviews and I want to try it, I see more and different lights with crazy results. Budget will not be an issue and I really like the KIND LED K5 series then I see threads on COB lights and I am a newb all over again. Any and all advice is highly appreciated. :v:

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Sol strips is what I am saving for and a lot of these guys here use them @Baudelaire can answer all of your questions. Plus they are a OG sponsor

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While not the most inexpensive option, Fluence Bioengineering has a good reputation along with several ready-to-go footprint options that allows you to plan for future expansion.

edit: we have measured the spectra for at least a couple of their offerings (what I had available). The offered specs do appear to match up well with what they are claiming in regards to PAR output. Vyprx Plus Greenhouse Spectrum and a couple of the Ray series were evaluated. Some additional info is in this thread:

And, this thread on some of the Fluence offerings:

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Has anyone tried Electric sky 300’s? It seems 2 of those in a 4x4 tent growing 4 autos would be very efficient.

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So, when looking at LED fixtures, find the ones that have (at minimum) verifiable PAR efficiency ratings. For instance,

Photon Efficiency [300nm-780nm] 2.0 Umol/J**

The higher the number, generally the better / more modern discrete diodes are being used. Try to go 2.0 or greater with the most efficient fixtures 2.5 or better.

This is the first time that I’ve head of Electric Sky. Efficiency looks ok. Would like to see the spectral distribution. Decent warrentee at 3 years.

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this is what I was talking about in the other thread - Electric Sky gives you several pages of text but they don’t tell you how much light is coming out of the fixture. **EDIT, found the specs - they do tell you 2.0 umol/J and 300 watts, so it is 600 PPF:

Fluence gives you one sentence and the PPF number - this should work well in a 4X4X7 - a little more expensive than E-Sky 300 but 2.6 umol/J efficiency vs. 2.0 - that ends up being 50% more light for the plants with only 42 watts more electricity:

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Luckily I have a couple of months before I am clear to begin. That is two more months of research! Thank you for the feedback. :ok_hand:

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If you dont want to DIY, Fluence is money well spent. :+1::seedling:

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if money isn’t an issue than fluence is a great option for plug-and-playability

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Hate to sound like an echo chamber but Fluence would be my first suggestion as well.

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there are some other high-quality lights for cheaper than Fluence, you can watch this store & see what goes on sale, HLG lights are good, Timber is another good one, both a little cheaper than Fluence. A friend of mine picked up some HLG quantum board lights on sale and loves them:

Grower’s House has HLG for good prices also -

https://growershouse.com/indoor-led-grow-lights/l/horticulture-lighting-group

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I buy parts from these guys and havent tried their full light fixtures, I have however heard nothing but positive feedback from the growers that use them.


I like that all the data is available on these.

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I am really liking everything I find on the Timber lights. They seem solid and backed with a good warranty. Again I am very thankful for the feedback and looking forward to,starting my Medical grow journal on here and relearning older techniques and learning new ones!! :v:

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SolStrip makes a fully assembled plug-and-grow light as well, that equals or exceeds the useful output and spectral quality of most if not all of the lamps mentioned here, at about half the cost per watt. And we support the online grower community directly and unabashedly.

https://solstrip.com/en/home/16-311-solsheet-x.html#/45-cct-3500k/63-driver-no_driver

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Well…I just won a kind K5 750…in a contest on FB.It arrived on Friday and let me tell you…it appears to be a very serious LED grow light. Does anyone have any knowledge of these lights? any feedback is appreciated!
tnx
DrkestStar

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The CannaGodz have blessed you my friend. I watched some grow videos on YouTube with those and they are sick!!!

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congrats, who can turn down a free $1300 fixture?? Kind is good at distribution - even Home de Pot is carrying them now…

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kind-LED-Grow-Lights-K5-Series-430-Watt-LED-Grow-Light-XL-750/303060695

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if you don’t mind putting together a kit rapidLED has some good deals on COBs and stuff too … i wouldn’t even call it DIY, it’s more like putting in a couple screws and maybe a wire or 2 …
https://www.rapidled.com

imo HLG is way over-priced for what it is … may as well cut out the middleman and order direct from the manufacturer for like 80% discount

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I’m loving the terms "wide band’ and “near field” in the context of an LED light lol. Marketing speak cracks me up.

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I appreciate it. I have a Traumatic Brain Injury and shake quite a bit. Combine that with vision problems and PTSD and I could see myself getting way to frustrated doing a DIY. Thank you for the feedback. Those are lovely lights. :v:

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