[cjk]

hello everyone,

just have a few questions ...

1. i see the led girl saying to keep temps above 80. is this something to do with how led's are utilized. i always keep my temps from 72 - 80 with my current hps set up, occasionally spiking to 83 or 84.

2. if i do decide to go led, i want to go ahead and maximize my space so would the 205 watt be fine for a 2x2x4 (exact) area??

3. how loud are these lights?? i see many fans and know that the axial type computer fans, such as the ones on the leds, can be pretty loud and this is something i can't sacrifice being i have a stealthy set up.

4. is the power being drawn from these lights including all of these fans?? if so, then the lights aren't as powerful as thought, correct??

that's it for now. i'm liking what i'm seeing with this brand of led's and hope to see even better with all the experiments going on.

thanks guys ...

[LEDGirl]

Originally Posted by cjk

1. i see the led girl saying to keep temps above 80. is this something to do with how led's are utilized. i always keep my temps from 72 - 80 with my current hps set up, occasionally spiking to 83 or 84.

LED Gardening is a bit different than HID gardening due to the lack of radiant heat emitted from the light source. HID's operate at 450-650 degrees F, and the light moving away from the bulb carries a lot of heat with it. This heat stimulates faster transpiration (respiration) rates with your plants, which increases the rate of photosynthesis and growth. We use IR in our lights to stimulate this response and provide a small amount of heat to your plants, however our other LED's do not have this radiant heat, or have very little of it, so if your garden is missing the "heat" factor it will greatly reduce the growth rate of your plants.

Marijuana thrives in an environment that balances out around 85 degrees F. So in a 76 degree HID room (ambient temp), the plants may be experiencing 88 degree actual temps due to the amount of heat they receive from the HID. In a LED environment at 76 degrees, the plants would likely be experiencing about 78 degrees of actual temperature due to the low heat emitted by the LED's. So with LED's, the goal is to keep your ambient temperatures around 83-85 degrees F during "light hours" to stimulate optimal growth rates. Lower temps (especially below 75 degrees) will slow transpiration, photosynthesis, and development. Hope that helps to answer question 1

Originally Posted by cjk

2. if i do decide to go led, i want to go ahead and maximize my space so would the 205 watt be fine for a 2x2x4 (exact) area??

The 205W would be perfect for a 2x2x4 area. It would literally fill the area with light, as the unit measures 19"x19".

Originally Posted by cjk

3. how loud are these lights?? i see many fans and know that the axial type computer fans, such as the ones on the leds, can be pretty loud and this is something i can't sacrifice being i have a stealthy set up.

I believe the sound rating is about 45 decibels at 3 feet away? I know I received that data once upon a time, but I'm not sure exactly where it's buried at right now in my emails lol. With the lights running inside of a grow tent, I can barely hear them being in the same room unless the tent door is open. If it's in a cabinet, I doubt sound would be heard at all. They do produce some sound, but certainly nowhere near as much as a 4" can fan for example.

Originally Posted by cjk

4. is the power being drawn from these lights including all of these fans?? if so, then the lights aren't as powerful as thought, correct??

The 2nd gen 126W draws about 112W actual power, the 205W draws about 182W, and the 345W draws about 310W. The actual power is the total power being consumed by the unit, including all LED's and fans. Red 1W LED chips (which make up the majority of our product) draw approximately .8W, whereas 1W blue LED chips draw approximately 1.2W. We rate our products based on the # of 1W diodes that are included in the model, and we've recently begun posting the actual power draws as well. So you are correct, the actual light from our 126W model is right around 100W, meaning they are a bit more efficient than previously thought.

[cjk]

thanks for your quick reply. i grow in a homebox xs so the light noise doesn't sound like it'll be a problem if it isn't for you. i know heat is an issue but i'd like to still use my vortex 4" inline to combat smell. i have it on a speed controller as low as it can go. do you think this will be too much ventilation even if my room stays at 75 pretty consistently? its crazy having to think that there will be too MUCH ventilation after growing with hids.

here's what i don't understand though ... when i used to grow with a 150w hps i monitored temps at the colas. i always remained at 75 - 78 degrees with good results. will leds be as efficient at the same temps if i can maintain only 75 - 78. i don't see why not because i'm debunking the myth that the hids are supplying the colas with more heat than thought because i'm taking the temps exactly where the colas are. it seems both lights should perform the same given the same temps correct??

[LEDGirl]

Originally Posted by cjk

thanks for your quick reply. i grow in a homebox xs so the light noise doesn't sound like it'll be a problem if it isn't for you. i know heat is an issue but i'd like to still use my vortex 4" inline to combat smell. i have it on a speed controller as low as it can go. do you think this will be too much ventilation even if my room stays at 75 pretty consistently? its crazy having to think that there will be too MUCH ventilation after growing with hids.

It may be too much ventilation, I'm not sure. For smell you could always use something like Ona, or some other product that more or less "absorbs" it if you decide not to use your fan. If you do use it, you may need to put it on a cycle timer where it comes on for 10-20 minutes once every other hour? 75 is still too low for optimal growth rates, not that it won't allow for good growth, but 85 degrees allows for more.

Originally Posted by cjk

here's what i don't understand though ... when i used to grow with a 150w hps i monitored temps at the colas. i always remained at 75 - 78 degrees with good results. will leds be as efficient at the same temps if i can maintain only 75 - 78. i don't see why not because i'm debunking the myth that the hids are supplying the colas with more heat than thought because i'm taking the temps exactly where the colas are. it seems both lights should perform the same given the same temps correct??

If you take a pan and put it outside under the sun, then take a surface temperature measurement, you'll likely get an ambient readout. If you come back in 10 minutes, the pan may be so hot that it burns your hand and measure 50 degrees or more warmer than your previous reading. This is the effect of radiant heat, which is very difficult to measure unless your measuring device has been sitting under the heat source for a decent length of time. So LED light and HID light is not the same thing, even if you did a readout at leaf level. It's still advised that you keep your room at 80-85 degrees. This is based on science, so if you want the most out of your plants you'll do your best to maintain it. If you're not that concerned about it, then feel free to use LED's at 75 degrees although you'll experience slower growth rates.

[cjk]

got it. thx for the help. i'll probably wait it out though for all of the new threads to show some results. by then, maaybe the cost will be more reasonable. also, since i'm thinking i won't have enough heat, what about the 345 watt in my 2x2x4, then i could maybe run my ventilation??

[LEDGirl]

Originally Posted by cjk

got it. thx for the help. i'll probably wait it out though for all of the new threads to show some results. by then, maaybe the cost will be more reasonable. also, since i'm thinking i won't have enough heat, what about the 345 watt in my 2x2x4, then i could maybe run my ventilation??

The 345W would certainly supply enough heat within a 2'x2'x4' grow area. The 345W contains the most LED's per square foot of any of our LED grow lights. If your outside room temp is 75 degrees, it would likely be 85-88 inside without ventilation.

[SupraSPL]

I've noticed a significant difference between measuring temperature with the red mercury bulb in direct HID light versus measuring with the mercury shielded with a small piece of mylar. The mylar shielded measurement will give you a reading closer to the actual ambient temp.

I'm not sure how this applies to the infrared digital thermometers that have become very common. I just buy a bunch of the mercury ones for $1 each at Walmart and calibrate them all. Seems like I never have enough thermometers!

[JuniorBalls]

I'm just a little confused! - I've always assumed (and been told) that the plants love fresh air - and as they use up CO2, the air needs to be replaced to keep the levels at an acceptable level.

I wont be using CO2, so would it be advisable to have some moderate form of ventilation?



Cheers!

[LEDGirl]

Originally Posted by JuniorBalls

I'm just a little confused! - I've always assumed (and been told) that the plants love fresh air - and as they use up CO2, the air needs to be replaced to keep the levels at an acceptable level.

I wont be using CO2, so would it be advisable to have some moderate form of ventilation?



Cheers!

Most certainly, if you are not using CO2 then you will want something to bring fresh air through your growing area every so often. You probably won't want to run a continual fan though, since it is important to keep the temps up. Either way, if temps increase so does transpiration, meaning more CO2 gets used. The equation involves several factors, all which affect the others, meaning you need to have a happy balance of all of them if you really want your plants to explode.

[JuniorBalls]

Originally Posted by LEDGirl

Most certainly, if you are not using CO2 then you will want something to bring fresh air through your growing area every so often. You probably won't want to run a continual fan though, since it is important to keep the temps up. Either way, if temps increase so does transpiration, meaning more CO2 gets used. The equation involves several factors, all which affect the others, meaning you need to have a happy balance of all of them if you really want your plants to explode.

Thanks for that!

I've actually sent a web-based enquiry (via your web-site), so I look forward to hearing from you!