KAAAHBS are light years ahead of HPS technology wise. I see HPS unfairly grouped as one entity, and that's not fair to companies like Sunmaster, Hortilux, Hydro Farm, etc.....you know, the guys who make GOOD high pressure sodium rigs. Anyway, the products at the high end of the spectrum HPS wise are good. They make KILLER weed (and also cost about $550 for a top of the line 600w). A whole different league than the $149 Amazon no name specials with TWO bulbs and all the goodies in one box. Oh boy. Those suck. We put a Kill-a-Watt on one of those when I recommended my buddy get HPS a few years back. The "600w" was pulling almost 900 from the wall, but less bright than my old Sunmaster 430w Sun Agro HPS in a Hydrofarm air cooled hood. Also LOTS and LOTS of HEAT. LOTS. Even the best HPS lights are like adding a heater right above your plants. Sometimes it's what u need....but I would say just add a heater if u need heat. Let the lights be LIGHT sources, not uncontrollable heat sources. This has made indoor gardening with KAAAHBS all about stealth, and REALLY opens up the possibilities for where you could start a garden. Performance wise, the KAAHBS will be a multi point light source vs single...you also aren't limited in hanging the completely level like most HPS lights. Also with COBs, u get peace of mind knowing shit will last. Good bulbs from the top 4 makers are $100+ each. They don't last very long. KAAAHBS last for the better part of a decade. As do the Meanie drivers. The growth rate of autos under KAAAAHBS is ridiculous. I'm sure that these LEDs don't care what's under them, but I've never seen such explosive growth with HPS doing photos....and I've been doing that for most of 20 years. That's the reason my buddy got HPS. I told him to, because that's what I knew. I still have a soft spot for HID lighting, as that was the old school bar to tell who was serious about it. It is a fairly big investment (even more so then, because all these no name brands didn't exist), so it's pretty fair in telling who is for real and who is playing get rich quick with grandpa's shop lights...lol. (Elk). One last thing about these fakkin KAAAHBS....is that building them is akin to building the newest Intel Core series CPUs. Very high tech, made in a clean room, and as tooling technology increases and nanometer processes shrink, COBs will continue to get better and better. You will then have all the hardware....just might want some new LEDs....that's the beauty of these things in a nutshell....the ultimate in modular light setups.
Here is some stuff I would get:
- MODULED MEGA 134100-B Mechatronix Heatsink 133mm
- Citizen CLU048 1818 3500K @ 90CRI latest generation (fits above)
- Mean Well HLG-320h-C1050B for 50v COB like Citizen 1812/1818
OR
HLG-320h-C1400B for 36v COB like CXB3590/Citizen 1212
1.050a x 50v = 52.5w
1.400a x 36v = 50.4w
Either one of those 320 drivers can run 6....or you can grab a pair of the 240 drivers, and run 3 off each. The bonus with that is that you won't have all your eggs in one basket, should something go wrong. Plants won't be in the dark for a week. Also, you can run 4 on each 240, so you have the ability to add 2 more KAAHBS anytime. Sorry to fill up a page.....I love me some KAAAHBS
There called KAAHBS Joe
