Are LED lights better than high pressure sodium lights?

[mikewatts]

Hello guys,

I just read an article that says high pressure lights are a thing of the past and that LED lights are what's happening right now because of they are cooler than HPS and they are full spectrum lights as opposed to HPS which only provide a limited spectrum of light. Any thoughts?

[SoOrbudgal]

Oh man this could start a discussion. Never grew with HPS but I use LED couple of OK ones I think.

[Weed Pharma]

Are LED lights better than high pressure sodium lights?

Better No:
LED's are different and some are more energy effecient.
I believe we are fast approaching the point where LED's will be better for most grows.

I am amazed with the new CoB and ChilledLogic puck's harvest quality/quantity- compared to grows under blurple lights from my past.

The best lights are the ones you have experience with, and I was surprised at the learning curve when switching from blurple to the CoB/ChilledLogic combination.

[s62]

Better at what? Producing weed, energy efficiency, electric bill, lifespan? I think Weed Pharma nailed it. They’re different.

[Toker1]

Cheap blue-purple LED’s are much less efficient than HPS. So no savings in heat or electricity there. Quantum board LED’s are better in efficiency, but cost much more. Replacing HPS equipment costs much less than LED.
What is best for your situation might not be best for others. What are your long term goals with the lighting?

[JohnEmad]

Some would say a CMH aka: LEC lights mimic the sun the best and are cost efffective compared to HPS and LED.
I have only used LED but may try a CMH when I make a grow room in the garage suitable for a lamp like that. heat can be an issue.

[mikewatts]

Thank you all for your responses. Something that Weed Pharma stuck out to me. This member said, "I believe we are fast approaching the point where LED's will be better for most grows." The fact that LED's are cooler than HPS is good to know if I choose to grow in the summer. The fact that I found out that LED's are full spectrum as opposed to HPS which only produce a red spectrum, according to my research(Google), should produce denser nugs. I will take action and tell you guys what happened. Thanks again.

[Toker1]

One thing.... a watt is a watt is a watt. It’s a specific unit used to measure energy in a given moment in time. It’s a measurement of heat specifically. Doesn’t matter if it’s an HPS, LED, CMH they all consume watts of electricity and create heat as a Bi-product.
If you find a truly efficient LED (forget about the blue-purple light kinds). You use less watts to fill a space with light, that is the only way to assume savings in heat. Because you are physically using less watts.
HPS actually runs cooler when comparing watt for watt and considering air cooled technology vs LED heat sink technology.

[az2000]

Hello guys,

I just read an article that says high pressure lights are a thing of the past and that LED lights are what's happening right now because of they are cooler than HPS and they are full spectrum lights as opposed to HPS which only provide a limited spectrum of light. Any thoughts?

The downside to LED is that it's hard to objectively compare. There's so much flim-flam out there. People will swear by some brand, and have photos to back it up. But, when you get into details you find out they're running 50-70w/sq ft. That's HPS territory. (I've seen fantastic LED grows that were pushing 90w/sq ft. Everyone got jazzed about "gotta have me one of those lights." But, it was never mentioned *how much* light you needed.).

Personally, I like CMH for tall grows (at 35w/sq ft. Maybe 40w/sq ft in flower using supplemental sidelighting). I like T5HO for shorter grows (at 40w/sq ft, maybe 45w/sq ft in late flower with supplemental side lighting.). What I like about this is that the fixtures are commoditized, componentized. You can replace the bulbs every couple grows. You can replace ballasts. If you're in a warm climate, you can get remote ballasts (Fulham makes a remote ballast for T5HO. It's in the Racehorse ballast product line. I can give you the part numbers.).

That's one thing I haven't liked about LED is that the entire fixture tends to be disposable. If you make your own, you might have more flexibility that way. But, most people don't want to get into it to that level.

The only LED I run are household LED lightbulbs. They grow *surprisingly* well. Cut the plastic globe off the bulb, and all the LEDs are surface-mounted to the base: instant directional light without the need for a reflector (although a reflector helps a little). Removing the globe will expose line-current surfaces. It's best to power the lights through a GFCI outlet. (You can easily make an extension cord with an outlet box on the end, and two GFCI outlets in the box.). I grew the attache photo 5 years ago under 18-22w/sq ft of household LED lightbulbs. (The Caliber IV hygrometer is for scale).

The only real downside to growing with household LED lightbulbs is: it can be some *work* mounting them, and aiming, etc. But, that *distribution* of watts around the plant creates an effciency that you can't get anywhere else. The inverse-square law is very powerful. The closer you can move the light, the more efficient it will be (by orders of magnitude). To do that effectively, you need granular light sources (not a single top-down source), to create better coverage, surround the plant with all angles of light. For most people, it's just easier to throw 40-50w/sq ft on top. But, if you only grow 1-2 plants, the more you can break it up (smaller, lower-watt fixtures), you can get huge improvements compare to that amount of light from a single source.

I created a How-To" about this topic (including how to make that light fixture shown in the photo). I don't know if it's ok to post a link to that. PM me if anyone wants it.

[alltatup]

I've grown with both, and for my grow room I definitely prefer the LED COBBs. For one thing, they keep the grow room temp much lower, which is all around good for the plants and ideal for flowering. I'm also really happy with my bud results.

[Smokesteve]

I started with Vipar spectre and Mars hydro I had three. The mars reflector is my seedling and veg light the other 2 blurples are in cardboard boxes. I flower under a digital dimmable HPS/MH solistek ballast and hood 660w. That's all I need for now. The heat of the summer is hard to deal with in my situation but the fall winter and spring are prime HPS time baby.