What are those cobs your talking about?
Chip On Board LEDâs which are stunningly bright for not much power. Common replacement nowadays for the old halogen yard flood lights etc
Iâll have to research them
The likes of CREE COB chips can be very expensive and thatâs before you add heatsinks and drivers etc and to be honest i wouldnât want the things to be overheating in an already hot and humid greenhouse.
You could always go cheap, and i mean real cheap https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-30W-12V-LED-Floodlights-Outdoor-Garden-Wall-Security-Flood-Lights-Waterproof-/173269282180
I like cheap lol but will those really be worth the time and effort? I donât mind the time or effort if Iâll see my hard work in my yield or potency
Way i see it is they are so cheap they have to be worth a try and with the blue/white light extending your day things shouldnât stretch too much. Have a hunt around pal, i knew about these things cos i have a womble friend whoâs got greenhouses and was not looking to spend much as usual so i kind of found them for him as a bit of a joke really. Thing is heâs not laughing, he thinks they are a great idea. They aint much money down the drain if they donât work well cos you connect them straight to your 12V battery with no hassle over drivers etc. Oh and they are water proof to a degree which other types wont be unless you spend over 1000 dollars on a professional horticulture led bar or similar which needs your inverter to run it
You could get a couple to try for the price of a decent pizza here and if they work ok get some more
Like my mentor would say if the universe wants it to work it will work. So I guess itâs worth a shot
If you were looking to fully light a space like a grow tent or something they might not be worth bothering with but you just need supplemental lighting so why not give them a try. You should be able to find a cheap supplier near you if you have a hunt on feebay or amacon
If the goal is 500 watts of light, then all you need is 11 sol strips for a total of around $220. Then add a few Meanwell LDD drivers like @ReikoX suggested above - which are very cheap - like under $5 ea. I havent done the math on the drivers required but it would be maybe another $50 at most. Add in a few bucks for mounts and wire and youâre done.
Should be able to do all that for the $400 budget easily.
Of course, that does NOT include the solar cells, batteries, battery charger, etc etc. That part will cost far more than the LEDâs or any other kind of lights. Rough guess = $1000 Plus or minus.
Yup and on top of all that the strips are not really suitable in this case because they need to be within 12" of the canopy to be efficient and thatâs not very practical in a greenhouse. You really need overhead lighting that wont block the sun too much
Check out these cat tracks I found on my car this morning. . . Time to go hunting
Edit- itâs not letting me post pictures
Good thing to have around an outdoor grow. Itâll keep rabbits, and rodents away and you wont even need to pay itâs vet bills
I canât let it get the wifeâs animals. it left signs of trying to get into the dog yard
Itâll be smelling their dinner and wanting a share. Chase the lazy bugger off with some firecrackers
We dont keep there food outside so itâs mostly wanting them for dinner but Iâm just gonna trap it. Maybe relocate it after or keep it for a few days so it never wants to come around again
Cats will do the exact opposite of what we want them to, They are thrawn by nature so if you make it stay around for a couple of days you probably wont ever see it again when you let it loose. Especially if it thinks you want it to stay
We have these here but they are getting very rare now - Scottish Wildcat (can get to about double the size of a big domestic moggy)
I think I have a mountain lion problem but those Scottish Wildcats look awesome
@99PerCent my green house. More of a hot frame sorry these took so long . . . Not much to wait for in my opinion
These look very efficient, and hey, the plants think they are super fancy