LED bulbs vs CFL bulbs: Which is better for growing cannabis?

[NebulaHaze]

So we all know about the type of LED grow lights that are designed specifically for plants. When it comes to growing cannabis, LED panels consistently get more yields/watt than CFL bulbs, often getting twice the yields for the same amount of electricity!

However, what about the LED bulbs you see at hardware stores, which are slowly becoming more common for house lights? Do these types of bulbs also beat CFL bulbs for yields when it comes to growing weed? Or does their unique bulb coating or some aspect reduce the amount of light received by the plant?

Traditional LED grow lights - Average yield of ~0.5 grams/watt of electricity



CFLs - Average yields ~0.25 grams/watt



"Over-the-counter" LED light bulbs - Average yield of ???



Have any growers here been growing marijuana with LED bulbs like these? What has been your experiences so far?

[StoneyTony]

That's a good questions Nebula. I've been wondering that myself contemplating those LED's for seedlings.

[Weed Pharma]

I use LED's for all stages of growth, but have not used the common house LED's for anything but a space bucket ( http://www.spacebuckets.com/seedlings) for clone rooting, seedlings.
They are a great way to keep the heat down in the summer and give excellent results on clones which only need a PAR of 60-90 umoles.

The light diffuser should be removed to increase available light to the plant, as the number of LED's is low in number and watts.

https://www.spacebuckets.com/

[Jason]

My local Ace Hardware has a screw in LED light for $40. 5000K, 300W, about 6-7" long. I thought about buying it just for yuks and checking it out.
But then I think of all the time and effort I put into my science projects and just don't want to invest the time to figure out its a piece of crap for my growing needs.
So Ace still has it.

[GreenArmadillo]

Subscribed to this thread. I was considering these as supplemental lighting at one point, so would love to hear if anyone has experience with them.

[Weed Pharma]

not really good for supplimental lighting- I use these- http://www.ebay.com/itm/150W-UFO-LED...SZ8XifKAJYvwPQ , especially to add more red when gong into flower.
I have tried other vendors- but like his the best, as others were too blue!

[GreenArmadillo]

I also considered ordering these, but I read that these cheaper LEDs are just not worth it in the long run, not to mention being a fire risk because of the cheap chinese build.
What would you say fam?

[flytier]

Hi Nebula. I'm a new grower and I actually use a combination of CFLs and LEDs. But I don't use those light bulbs; I use LED floodlights, also purchased at any store. You don't have to mess with rigging up reflectors because they concentrate the light in one direction by their very design, thus saving a bit of hassle and probably money. Having said that, I should probably rig up some reflectors for my CFLs just the same. Hope this sheds a bit of light on things hahahahahahahahaha!