Lighting Decisions.. why pay more for LED?

[tag60435]

Well since this is such a grown up conversation and nobody is comparing willie sizes I think I'll put my situation up to see what everyone thinks.

I've just bought a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m tent and I'm planning on doing a semi-perpetual grow by using my original .75m x .75m x 1.6m tent to get them to 4 weeks before moving them into the bigger bloom/flower tent where I'll have two GT205 NFT tanks running at different stages. I could use bigger tanks in the new tent but not in the old one so I'll stick with the smaller ones for now. I'm basically investing a bigger tent etc. so that I only have to grow for 6 months a year instead of 12 to remain self sufficient in good smokes.

So that works out that eventually I'll have 3 GT205 tanks running with two plants in each.

The lights I've got atm are all Vipars - A V240 which is perfect for the smaller tent for the first four weeks which costs around £70.
That leaves me with a 400w COB, a V300 panel and a 165w flowering panel which all cost a total of £340.

This is where my conundrum begins, the COB is fine for sitting in the centre of the big tent providing useful light to both sets of plants, the V300 is fine for directly above the 4 to 8 week old plants and the 165w flowering panel I will only be using for sidelighting the oldest 2 plants.

If you've managed to follow all that you'll see that I'm missing a light to put directly over the oldest plants, the obvious solution is to move the predominantly red spectrum COB over the top of them and buy a GN HS1 light for dead centre in the tent. 4 weeks ago I wouldn't have dreamed of spending that much on one light but I've seen that the HS1 can flower too now(thank you TaNg!).

I've got the money saved for one (or 2) HS1's but I'm still inherently cheap. I go for bang for buck in everything but I use expensive intel chips building pc's because they are by far the best on the market and the HS1's are blatantly the led equivalent of intel so I'm left with three acceptable options to me;

1. I bite the bullet and go for 2 HS1's in the big tent and trust in science for a hefty £800+!
Downside for me is the cost and also I might not manage the best yield from 4 plants under just 2 lights. Upside is the very low power consumption and noise levels.

2. I buy another Vipar for £100 and fit expensive but silent PC fans in all my Vipars for another £200.
Downside is that I'll still be drawing 800w of power and even 5 quieter Vipars will be way louder than 2 HS1's. Plus I'm still stuck using older tech which rarely happens to me in anything else. Upside is the cost of £300.

3. Buy one HS1 to replace the V300 and keep on using the stock Vipar COB in conjunction with the GN until I'm confident enough in the GN to get another one and all the extras to make my grow a fully GN one. The down and upside to this option aren't so bad, it's an extra £100 on option 2 but I do save some power and lower noise levels too.

Now I've got to take into account that the Vipars have paid for themselves many times over in that I haven't had to buy any smokes this year, so my first year growing has cost relatively little initially and with the bigger tent I can halve the amount of time I'm growing for the same annual yield still using the Vipars.

If I was just starting out or switching to LED I'd likely buy HS1's but it's hard to see a great need to reinvest when I've got lights that do the job.
Unlike the world of computers, where new software needs more powerful hardware there aren't any new seeds out there that need HS1's to grow so as much as I want the new tech I don't need it unless there is a compelling reason to get it, this is what has stopped me clicking BUY every time I've got tempted!

So what would you all do?

Well done Bilbo, exactly what I was talking about. Option 3 would be my choice were I in the same place as you right now. You have experience with LED growing, you already understand the benefits of spending the extra money for the quality you desire. Intel vs AMD etc... or GN vs Vipar. Option 3 allows you to bridge the gap between the 2 without going all in on GN HS1's all at 1 time. I envy you, you have the time investment behind you that I have just embarked upon. I will probably (as history shows) acquire several different LED units before making the leap to the HS1'S or maybe by then, GN's next generation. But again, I believe option 3 is the most prudent course of action. Spend some money, save some money, get a new toy and GROW ON.

 

[Bilbo]

@Bilbo Yes, I am just the same , latest tech......and a cheap Charlie to boot if I can get away with it.....!

To me option #2 would not be an option. #3 seems the sensible one, but I would likely go for 1 as I'm a bit daft, and a sucker for the novelty, joy of the latest tech. Just entering the grow room and casting a glance at those fandangled lights would be worth a bob or 2 every day.......and the thought of the low power consumption would actually put a bob or 2 into my pocket compared to 3.......and since I am a bit deaf too, the silent synjet's would make it possible to hear my own thinking........and the daisy chain cable would look cool too, one less cable and plug, less mess.......you are tempting me towards that buy button now.....View attachment 420234

But that's just me View attachment 420235


Why do you think that 2 x HS1's would be borderline or so for 4 plants?

I know mate, the control thingy + daisy chain + diffusers + 2 HS1's are like a tech heads wet dream come true!

The only thing that makes me doubt the ability of the HS1 is I haven't seen TaNg finish his grow yet! It's not doubt really just proof

I'm a bit of a mathaphobe so I've never calculated how much it actually costs to run the lights I use....pretty simple when you take a moment.

My electricity costs me 12.00p P/KWH so to run a 100w light will cost 1.2p per hour,knowing this it was easy to calculate the rest,I've basted my calculations on running a light for 20hrs per day so...

A 180w GN MS0006 would cost me £157.65 a year to run.

A 75w GN HS1 which I think matches if not betters the performance of the above will cost me £65.70 a year to run

A difference of £91.95...the MS0006 cost £250 and the HS1 £375 so a difference of £125 so in just over a year I would be saving money.

Am I paying extortionate rates for electricity or did I do the maths wrong?

Nah, the maths is close enough and another bloody reason I'm close to the buy button I use this calculator to get the power usage over a 30 day month for things btw.

Well done Bilbo, exactly what I was talking about. Option 3 would be my choice were I in the same place as you right now. You have experience with LED growing, you already understand the benefits of spending the extra money for the quality you desire. Intel vs AMD etc... or GN vs Vipar. Option 3 allows you to bridge the gap between the 2 without going all in on GN HS1's all at 1 time. I envy you, you have the time investment behind you that I have just embarked upon. I will probably (as history shows) acquire several different LED units before making the leap to the HS1'S or maybe by then, GN's next generation. But again, I believe option 3 is the most prudent course of action. Spend some money, save some money, get a new toy and GROW ON.

I'm basically torn between buying the HS1's or ordering the diesel version of a car instead of the thirstier petrol, about a £1000 more expensive but 20 mpg better! What I save in fuel this year can pay for the extra electric the Vipars would use over another year many times over as far as I can work out.

 

[MisterHarpy]

FYI if you message smokesara the user on 420 magazine forum or to her email info@mars-hydro.com she is I think the owner of mars hydro, she can give you a much better price then her website and sometimes even yoyo hanger for free if you let her know you saw her in the forums, you can also let her know to customize the spectrum of the light you buy. Just in case if you decide to buy a marshydro light because I personally had bought a old model 300 watt led for 87 from they're website and just went back on a week ago to order another one and they were 108!!! So I emailed her and she gave me a discount and yoyo hangers so I'm glad I talked to her instead of just ordering online, I always want some freebies lol.

 

[TokinNuggs]

I've learned my lesson with lower quality/cheaper LED's. I stick with popular brand names more or less - Blackstar and HydroGrow LED for me (I realize there are other good mfr's). They do the job, they provide noticeably better results than the cheaper Chinese Led's I've tried, and to me an extra $100+ is worth it in the long run (I've also noticed Blackstar's quality has improved since 2012 or so when I bought my last one).

In fact LED tech has come a long way in just the last 3 years alone I've noticed, so it's fun to keep up with and see what sort of results people are getting with the latest/greatest.