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Best led light?

For me, 3 plants would need 6-8 sq ft of floor space. For most commercially available fixtures in your price range I'd shoot for at least 30W/sq ft of actual power used. 200W should give you respectable results. I agree with what Dangerdan suggests-HPS is always going to be the most economical option, provided you can manage the added thermal load the lamp will introduce into your grow space. The benefit of leds or any other lighting source should be based on its ability to convert electricity into usable energy that your plants can use to grow. I would take a closer look at either building your own rig-it's very easy to do. Cob's, Quantum ?Boards or light strips give you access to state of the art diodes in a package that makes it so simple an old hippie like me can build it-I'm sure that you can too.. I would also ck out this forum for ideas- www.ledgardener.com
 

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The cob fixture I'm buying will use less kilowatts, have a wider spectrum where it matters, and will produce 30-40% more photons than my 600 hps. Sounds like my hps loses, but at a higher price.
 
4x4 vero29 gen 7 setup. It's a full flower light so I was going to go with 3000k 90cri but didn't know if I should mix in 80cri as well. It's about $800 without the substrate. I can build the frame myself. It's my first so I figured I'd get a kit while research specs, brands, theories, and overall just what people think and the results they get. For me the goal is high quality dense nugs.
 
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Yea you definitely save some cash when you build one yourself. I dont know the radiometry specs (they only provide photometry) for the vero modules. However their cxb3590 cree version i know has a photon efficiency of 2.3 when driven at the full 1.4 amps that those drives can provide. With 12 fixtures driven at 1.4 amps thats 600 watt draw with about 1300umols PPF. In other words, you get 1000 watts HPS with only 600 watts usage.

I would enquire about the efficiency differences between the two COB chips and if they are for any reason not as efficient. (Comparing photometry values such as lumens would be ok) then i would get the slightly more expensive cree version.
I wouldnt worry about CRI, just get a balanced spectrum for all of them.

It has to be said, of the products i have seen, these guys provide the best value for DIY kits.
 
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Yes, a lot of what I read is about the cree cxb3590. I appreciate the input Dan. Your articles are always way above my understanding but I enjoy reading them regardless.
I will inquire about the difference as I would like to know myself.
 
Please give me your feedback on it, i personally like most of it, except for my discussions on each technology and how they relate to horticulture performance. I want to make it better.
 
The cree are 5-10% more efficient than the vero at ~50 watts. The veros are more efficient at ~100 watts. I'll probably get the cree since I won't be needing 1200 watts from the wall. Cree has 2700k, that's what I'll be getting. I know you said not to worry about cri but any thoughts on mixing 2700 and 3000? DANGERDAN
 
Ah interesting, i figured as much. If it were not the case they would have just done away with the cree and sold only the veros. Theres no harm in mixing spectrums, both 2700k and 3000 are inbetween a metal halide and high pressure sodium. The white LED's are blue LED's with phosphor coatings to turn some of the blue into other colors and make a white. As such the lower the kelvin and the warmer color it gets, the less efficient the lamp will be. I have not gone over the numbers in a while, but it can add up a lot. Saying that 2700k to 3000k is a good mark. Just make sure thats kelvin and not cct. Im only familiar with kelvin.
 
Ok thanks. I'm going to order tonight, the 4x4 cree with extra wide lenses and hopefully 6/6 2700k/3000k. Not sure if you can mix colors on the same driver, do you know by chance? If not then 8/4 2700k/3000k.
 
The different colors say they have the same forward voltage, which should be fine. But of course ask the supplier.
 
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