I’ve seen more LED then HID on here so far. I just can’t wrap my mind around the two. I read HID produces a stronger spectrum which in return grows more resinous buds. HIDs also produces more penetrating light. So why so many LEDs and not so much HID?
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I hear ya. I still roll HIDs on my best work, but am transitioning to LED based on the science. Here’s a wonderful resource that sheds some great light (no pun intended;-) )
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Interesting. Thanks for posting that. What I gathered was that leds can possibly put out more far red light which is beneficial. Iv read studies though that say when it comes down to it, it’s about how many lumens you can pump out and not color. I also read alot about stronger light spectrums the better…
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The times they are a changin’
- LEDs are good for 50,000 Hrs or more (+80% relative luminous flux)
- efficiencies are better and that means less waste heat to deal with.
- custom spectrums
Basically you can build or buy good LED lights for less than a buck a watt.
It seemed to me the tipping point was about 2019 but there’s still lots of folks doing HID.
Cheers
G
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I used to grow with HID lighting, and fully switched to LED. A couple things I like about it is not having to swap out bulbs or replace spent bulbs. Efficiency/performance is pretty great for price per watt. Also, my main love for them… pretty much no heat so its easier to maintain temps in summer without AC, most days.
Also less worry about a fire.
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I can grow without AC using leds. Plants need a different nute profile. Apparently no one really cares and just grows nitrogen toxic phosphorus deficient light sensitive plants and accepts the poor results. You can increase almost everything BUT nitrogen and hit 3-4 grams a watt… But people dim their lights. I’ve cut nitrogen to almost nothing, as long as you got calcium and everything else to match it, you don’t need all the nitrogen under Leds.
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My LED setup runs cooler for sure. It sure helps when attempting to maintain proper RH and VPD. I’m digging that.
I think the point Bugbee makes in his video about being able to actually see the plants is totally legit as well. In the orange light of HPS I can’t see jack when it comes to nutrient deficiency or insects or mites. Under the LED, they are right there.
Unfortunately my LED runs, and there have been some good ones, have so far failed to produce the same levels of density in the buds that the HIDs always seem to produce.
As much as I’d like it to be different, and as much as I believe in the science that says LED = better, my results, so far, just don’t seem to match those expectations.
The transition is weird for me, but right now, I’m committed to using Mars Hydro’s FC series properly sized for my space.
Hoping this latest run will help me to dial it in without having to revert back to the power-sucking-furnace lights that make my trichomes stack on fat nugs.
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They both work. I prefer LED.
HID better spectrum hogwash
HID better penetration hogwash
(I like the word hogwash)
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Are you using cuts that were selected during your HPS/HID runs? Perhaps search out something that performs really well under LED and then run it under HID to see how that compares.
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For a few years, I ran clones and compared results from two different grow spaces. Not all factors were equal there though and I can’t say the LED lighting was the only reason harvests from that space didn’t match up. I’m running the LEDs in the former HID space now.
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Maintaining heat (keeping it low enough) try putting your plant 10 inches away from a 600 watt hid. Then try and do the same with a good modern 600watt led and watch what happens. In most cases with the led that close and that powerful your plants will end up burnt and frazzled. Not from heat but shear light intensity. Watt for watt led lights nowdays are able to give out higher light levels and they can be manipulated to give a broader colour spectrum within a range the plants can use. Put up the ppfd levels of a 600 w hid and then put up the ppfd levels of a 600 w led and see the difference. Also put up the colour spectrum charts up of the two different types of light nect to the spectrum of the sun from the earth and a chart showing what colours are used by the plants and all will be clear. The only downfall with led is being able to penetrate as deep while holding high ppfd levels but this is resolved by lenses. Usually with good leds you can get quite a bit more light eg a 400 watt led can push out similar ppfd levels to a 600watt hid.
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Yep that seems to be the standard comparison, 600w mh and/or hps to a 400w full spectrum LED fixture, not “blurples”
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Guy in the video has a great product that does as it should. Which is reliably analyze the color spectrum and gauge the intensity of many forms of light.
Yes he has an understanding of light. Yes his methods works. But with a little fine tuning the light can be ran with very little wattage and based fully on what the plant needs.
The light currently on the market are of excess wattage. They are sold for light quantity, not light quality. Better quality of light will reduce the need for excess wattage. Which only equates to more heat and more excess wattage to reduce the heat. You end up in an endless circle that takes it toll on your plants and your wallets.
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Heres some generalizations.
Hps/mh/cmh puts out radiant heat. That heat drives transpiration and nutrient uptake.
Leds don’t put out radiant heat like hid. So people run 82 to 85f to drive transpiration. Also since theres less heat the ac doesnt run as much so dehumidification needs increase. Also it seems I need to increase ec for led. Hps I could get away with 1.2ec. While learning leds, I have been feeding about 2.4ec.
The spectrum is larger in most bar style leds than mh or hps or cmh. With cmh being bigger than hps and mh.
Theres definitely not a drop off in resin content, trichome development, or cannabinoid content.
Penetration use to be an issue but not anymore. There are deep penetrating leds and if you light a whole room with the bar style leds you can get flower ppfd to penetrate to the drain table. Im sure a 720w bar led in a 4x4 on 80% will hit 500 ppfd on the bottom of a grow tent. Bag worthy flowers from bottom of plant to top. Just dont get too close to leds just because of low heat. The intensity will bleach them easily when too close.
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