Lighting led's and watts???

[green76]

hi all

am currently in week 2 of flowering a few bagseeds ive planted n theyre just starting to show preflowers.
ive been lookung at led lights like the ufo...ect...ect and was left wondering...
im currently using 4x20 watt cfls and ive seen 90 watt led grow lights.my grow space is only about 2 feet square (canopy size).would a 90 watt led cover my crop and would it only draw 10 watts more than im already using??? dont want to make a big dent in the leccy bill.

 

[namvet25]

I think it would be cheaper to buy some bigger cfl's.LED lights don't use a lot of power,my 6light MS006 only uses about 180 watts about the same as three 60 watt house lamp lights.

 

[pop22]

hi all

am currently in week 2 of flowering a few bagseeds ive planted n theyre just starting to show preflowers.
ive been lookung at led lights like the ufo...ect...ect and was left wondering...
im currently using 4x20 watt cfls and ive seen 90 watt led grow lights.my grow space is only about 2 feet square (canopy size).would a 90 watt led cover my crop and would it only draw 10 watts more than im already using??? dont want to make a big dent in the leccy bill.

Those 90 watt UFO LEDs use about 65 watts of power for actual use. They're great for small spaces. I'm going to get one to replace my CFLs in my closet space where I'm currently flowering a small plant.

 

[green76]

so 90 watts of leds uses less than 90 watts leccy but is better than 400 watts of cfl????.....now im confused

 

[pop22]

so 90 watts of leds uses less than 90 watts leccy but is better than 400 watts of cfl????.....now im confused

Didn't say it was better than 400 watts of any other light source, however, you can get one of those UFO's in a 180 watt version and they are only about $15 more than a 90 watt! I've seen the 180 watt units on ebay for as low as $79.00 average is $85.00. 180 watt LED will be the equal of 400 watts of CFL, with even less heat. Now an MH/HPS would put out more light energy, but not enough IMO to make up for all the heat they put out. I replaced a 600 Watt MH light with 2 -300 watt LED grow lights. They are probably close in light output, generate 50% less heat, and use 35% less electricity.

 

[thecuch]

I have done some math....all electric cos. charge diff rates - but
300 watts on 18 hrs a day for 1 month is approx $25 where I live - and Im pretty sure I have some of the highest costs per kilo hr in the country

 

[green76]

so would a 90 watt led grow 3 or 4 plants????and would it cover 2 sq feet?????
id love to get the 180 watt version but that uses twice the power i presume???

 

[Trapper]

When you say 90W, do you mean a 135W UFO (90W draw actual)? vs. a 180W UFO (110W draw actual)?

Short answer is no, none of the above numbers is enough to effectively grow 3 or 4 plants...not really. It'll work, it's just not enough to even get to median results.
I'm growing one (relatively) large plant and one very small plant with a 135W (90W actual) and the only saving grace of the grow is the mylar and the tight quarters
allowing for good bounce/reflection.

To answer your power question indirectly....my LED draws less power than my computer. The numbers don't equate to financially doubling the impact on your power bill.

To properly grow 3 or 4 plants, I think somewhere approaching 300W is required. My 2 cents.

Pop's right, if you are considering a 135W UFO (90W actual) then there is absolutely NO reason not to spend the extra to get the 180W UFO (110W actual)...wish I had.
The 135W offerings also usually have fewer spectrums as a "lowest offering" as well.

DO make sure that they have listed actual draw wattage range, some shyster on ebay was selling "180W" UFO's with 1W drivers making the actual draw around 60W
which is not what you're looking for.

You can grow great weed and lots of it with cheap LEDs...you just need to get enough of them. It's probably the most important purchase of a grow set-up.

I would also advise that 24" x 24" isn't nearly enough floor space to grow 3 or 4 plants unless they were dwarf specific genetics.

I'm not trying to be a downer, just that before we know the realities, we all tend to be overly optimistic about what we can get done in a given space with a given
inventory of equipment. Just trying to save you the let down and improve your chances of success right out of the gates.

 

[pop22]

so would a 90 watt led grow 3 or 4 plants????and would it cover 2 sq feet?????
id love to get the 180 watt version but that uses twice the power i presume???

The 180 watt ( 135 watt actual ) would cost you $13 a month or less, I figured high at $0.18/kwh

A single 90 watt UFO would probably work for 1 plant the light coverage would be 2-3 square feet.

 

[rufus01]

The 180 watt ( 135 watt actual ) then I'm a good guy and I give a 40% efficiency so you have 54W real watt, the rest is just heat.
Sun power is around 50w square ft top