Lighting Cob build question

what I do find funny is the cob guys, me included go nuts over a few %. Outweighing cost vs efficiency while 70% of the forum grows with mhydro or viperspectra and don't have a clue what efficiency even means. Not picking on anyone just an observation. They all work, some just cost more to buy while others cost more to run. We are the Prius owners who have 300hp turbo charged engines. Not the prettiest but super fast with great mpg. Others are driving scooters with flat tires. :rofl:

Rofl bro thats an awesome analogy hahaha :crying::crying::crying:
 
thats the mad thing i realised when i was looking at MARS lights...they are supposed to be super efficient but i think realistically they are down at the 30-40% (if your lucky) range...so they might have a power draw of 150W but realistically only 60-70W is actually going to producing light...so massively under any HID light etc...

also a couple of percent makes all the difference...i just did a rough cost calc for a 200W light...doesnt sound like a massive saving but it would add up...

200W light at 55% efficiency would be around 110W of light...so running 20/4 for a year it uses 1460kWhr/annum...
Only 183.5W is needed at 65% efficiency to match the 110W of light...so at 20/4 it uses 1339.5kWhr/annum...

on 14p a kWhr here it saves £16.86 pounds a year...which isnt a lot but thats just changing from 55-60% efficiency...so going from 40 to 65%'ish would be a big saving!

just did the calc...going from 40-65% you would save a wopping £108.10 per year to output the same electrical energy into light...so both lights putting 110W into actual light production...at 40% you would need 275W where as at 65% you need 169.2W....i know this isnt that exact as some lights will produce more photons per W etc...but from an LED point of view its interesting!
 
20% from the mars!!! Same as kind, black dog, apollo, viper spectra. All of them.

I snagged this from another forum
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This is the reason I spend so much damn time in this section. Look at the autocob for example, 55w- 5w for the driver @50% efficient = 25 par watts

Mars 300 is 135w - 10 w for drivers and fans 125w @20% efficient equals 25 par watts.

Price is 80 on the mars and 150 on the autocob. You save 80watts and have 80watts less heat which equals 320btu

I have the sphere test against a mars 300 and 30w cob and the cob beat it. So that says these mars numbers are even lower then expected. 22.5% is on the kind which has better drivers and optics.
 
those numbers are so ridiculous! makes me so so happy i went DIY cobbin than bought one of them...i cant remember where i read about COB's first but someone was saying they would love to see how people growing with MARS lights would do with a straight swap to a COB setup...i bet the results would be insane!
 
those numbers are so ridiculous! makes me so so happy i went DIY cobbin than bought one of them...i cant remember where i read about COB's first but someone was saying they would love to see how people growing with MARS lights would do with a straight swap to a COB setup...i bet the results would be insane!
Exactly. I have said that a few times. If you can grow a couple oz plant under 25 par watts with a horrible spectrum imagine them with a cob light. I run a lot of cobs but 1/2 lb autos are becoming standard in my room.

All we can do is spread the word. Cobs are the answer.
 
your scaring me with this talk now....i thought 3 seedlings were going to die so germinated another 3 just incase...im not impatient person but i wish I had just waited...all 5 sprung up and look like they will end up being fairly healthy....so i now have another 3 germinating...and with your talk its as if the COB's are gonna make a big difference to how large they get...now im thinking how i will get 8 plants in a 0.8x0.8 tent if they end up big...on the old HPS setup i would have been able to fit them in as they stayed pretty small...think im gonna have to do some more solo cups to bonsai them!

if i pulled 1/2lb out of my entire tent i would be happy :p ive only managed 4.2oz from 4 plants under a 250W so far...im hoping this will change now though....i know its a bit of a thread hijack but do you know what kinda PPFD your achieving through your setup?
 
I can get these numbers for you. I also have a lot of spaces I grow in too. Autocobs I'm keeping an even 400-450 umoles. With autos and increased light it seems plenty high. The 1/2 lb auto side is much higher but double the wattage. That's the bread and butter and not necessarily for the regular home growers
 
just be interesting to know...mines only calculated out at 750 and the 250W HPS would be around 600-650 i believe so it doesnt seem that much more but wondering its worth increasing to around 1000...
 
just be interesting to know...mines only calculated out at 750 and the 250W HPS would be around 600-650 i believe so it doesnt seem that much more but wondering its worth increasing to around 1000...
Everything is tested differently, space, reflectivity, sphere vs a tent and one of the most important is the meter. Not all meters pick up light the same. For instance red and blue usually read much higher than white and green. Unless you use a certain model. It's a whole different world. I have a less expensive par meter and do notice my 45w red led bar reads just about double a single cob. That's not really fair to people looking for numbers.

At the canopy anything over 700 seems excessive. Around 800-900 even with co2 I had sever light stress. We are always learning though
 
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