BigHitGuy420
Member
Had to click on Go advanced
-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons
- Thread starter blynx
- Start date
Had to click on Go advanced
You're comparing a single, 200w bulb (10-12k lumens) standalone to what will be an array of LEDs spread out over your growing area. With five 15w bulbs in the same space, you'd be at 11-12k lumens, six bulbs would be closer to 15k lumens.
In my experience with switching from CFL to LED, I am seeing 2-3x the brightness per watt of energy used. I flower at 20w of LED per sqft whereas with CFL, I flowered at closer to 50w per sqft - and much closer to the bulbs!) The reduced need for wattage to hit the same brightness also makes it easier to maintain low canopy temps and reduce ventilation needs.
If you ran 4-6, 15w LEDs in the same space (60-90w total depending on canopy square footage), I'd bet you'd never want to switch back.
HuffnPufferfish
Member
you dont see any 20+ watt bulb because they require higher legal standards (quality control, safety, etc) so slam a few bulbs in there and done!
personally ive moved away from the bulbs and onto the samsung diodes
where 200 watt gives me around 35000 lumens translated to 55-60k lux at plant level
personally ive moved away from the bulbs and onto the samsung diodes
where 200 watt gives me around 35000 lumens translated to 55-60k lux at plant level
Which Samsung diodes did you go with ? LM561C ? and did you go with reel or strips or some pre-made panel ?
I'm hoping to replace my bulbs with them when budget allows in a few weeks.
So stay away from corn bulbs? It would allow me to do a one for one swap instead of a complete reconstruction.
This question has been answered in this thread. The general consensus is that directional light is better and not to use corn cob bulbs as light is wasted in all directions and your plants are under your light source.
If you're willing to pay $150-200 for a similar wattage (200-250w actual draw, sold as 1000w metal halide replacements) LED corn cob bulb, it should work great. Or you could spend $30-$40 for a complete rebuild with standard E27 style bulbs.
BigHitGuy420
Member
Lighter grow medium is better cuz it allows to drain better which allows more oxygen to the soil which will also dry out faster so u can feed more often
HuffnPufferfish
Member
an older bin/version/whatever you call it, saved me 30% on costs and only have have 160lm per watt instead of 175, whateverrrr
so far im LOVING IT, will post about yield/quality when the time is there
i would NOT use 360 style leds, they just dont work as good, build yourself a 1x1 wooden panel and drill 9 holes in them, put the sockets on top and just screw in 9 bulbs, that would be easiest
feeding depends much on the strain, but i rather have too little than too much
BigHitGuy420
Member
Led's r way better man. And yeah u were trying to compare one single 200w bulb to a smaller screw in led. I'm running roughly 180 watts of led's and putting off roughly 20k-25k lumens. But the way to go r them Samsung diode grow boards. 200 lumens per watt so if u had a 200w light then u get 40k lumens give or take. Be smart and make the switch. U can get boards for decent price. I plan to upgrade when I get the money. Def worth it
an older bin/version/whatever you call it, saved me 30% on costs and only have have 160lm per watt instead of 175, whateverrrr
so far im LOVING IT, will post about yield/quality when the time is there
i would NOT use 360 style leds, they just dont work as good, build yourself a 1x1 wooden panel and drill 9 holes in them, put the sockets on top and just screw in 9 bulbs, that would be easiest
feeding depends much on the strain, but i rather have too little than too much
View Image
You are quite right, half the light from a corn bulb goes in a wrong
direction and need to be reflected to hit the plants.
I ordered some HLG 40s, they use Samsung L561C diodes and they're only hitting 162lpw, even though they're low wattage lights. I doubt you can get to 200lpw unless you're making a lot of really low power lights. But yeah, supposedly I'm getting 24k lumens with the 140~ watts.
HuffnPufferfish
Member
there is no point of getting 200 lm/w or higher, since youll miss out on the intensity and that still matters for flowering, gotta find that balance!
Sorry for the repeat questions. 184 pages is a lot to follow and grab all the info. Thanks for the info.
I did end up going with the corn. High temps here really stressed out my Blueberry so I made the switch to E39 80W 3000K LED. Plant seems to like it. She perked right up. I have a reflector in the roof so I'm not losing all light but I get what you all are saying. I'll rig something up for maybe 9 bulbs next grow. About to start flower and things are already tight in there. 
HuffnPufferfish
Member
trippy light
I was looking at the bulb earlier to see how easily the cover would come off. Gonna google around and see if I can find anything. Although I never thought about the flat idea. That's a damn good idea. That way I would just need to brace the back side. Thanks for the idea Blynx! You motivate many with your ingenuity.
