Lighting New to indoor growing, LED questions.

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Hi all!

I’m new to this forum, and also new to indoor growing!

First of all, I would like to apologies for my bad written English, as it’s my second language.

I used to grow some marijuana plants, outdoor, for the most part of the last 15 years. I’ve been running auto flowers seeds, in a greenhouse, for the last 2 years.

But having to move for the job from the suburb'(with 100 000’^2) to a small cottage in a mega-city, I now have to adapt myself! I did read a lot on growing lamp, and still have a hard time choosing which solution fit my needs best.

First of all, the conditions I need to deal with :

- Electricity rate are rather high where I live.

-I want to keep the electric consumption as low as possible (as to not make my house ‘suspect’, and I already use a lot of electricity, having a pool and 2 electrics cars).

-I would like to use three 3’x3’x7’ grow tent (harvesting one tent per 30 days, approx).

-I would prolly grow with a 4 buckets recirculating deep water culture with top-feed.

-I would grow in a ‘root cellar’ in the basement, 10’X6’X8’, where I’ll place the 3 grow tent.

-I will use a 6’’ fan with carbon filter in each tent, to exhaust heat from the tent to the room. I think I’ll keep a passive air intake, if possible.

- The ‘root cellar’ will be vented (already have 8’’ intake and out).


So, with all those factors in, I chosen to grow with LED grow lights, as I would like to (a) keep the electric bill as low as humanly possible, (b) keep efficiency as high as possible and (c) keep high temperature away from my plants (and maybe, skip the use of an A/C). But, the more I read about LED grow light, the more I get confused. I want to pay for a good product, who will last me a long tome I already forgotten about getting cheap LED from amazon, they seem to have a low efficiency and a high level of defect. I then read about specialized led grow lamp, like ‘California Lightworks’, ‘Black Dog’, etc.


But most of them don't seem to use the latest innovations in LED and seem to have rather high prices, and low documentations on their web-sites (not to mention no peer reviewed examples) .

I then read about Cree COB LED, and realized that the efficiency was real high, the results on grow (at least in journal) seem really good and consumption seem as low as possible. The problem lies in the availability of those lights : Area 51 are always low on stock (or back ordered), same with Northern Grow Light.

So I decided to read about DIY COB grow lamp, and found lot of info (maybe too much!), and some pretty cool website : Cobkits, Timber Grow Lights, MAU5-IV Grow Kit and Rapid LED.

I’m pretty set on giving DIY COB grow light a try. But now, what do I need to cover a 3X3X7 area? As I’m thinking of using Cree CXB3590, is a kit like the MAU5-IV X enough to cover 9’^2 : https://www.cutter.com.au/proddetail.php?prod=cut2994


Thank you for your time, and I hope my bad written English is not too hard to read!


Bak
 
For efficiency Cree cxb's are pretty good. 7th Gen Vero 29's are good, half the price, but like to be driven harder. I'd do 4 driven harder and hung higher (cheaper option), or do 6 and drive them softer and hung closer for a 3x3(most efficient). Make sure you get a dimmable driver for maximum versatility. Be careful, building lamps can be addicting. The kit in your link would do 2 3x3 tents pretty nicely.
 
I can absolutely help you come up with a solution to your needs. Black dog and a lot of the other companies use very cheap LEDs and cheaper Chinese drivers making the lights themselves the same or worse than hps watt for watt. Cobs are the least expensive option when looking for high efficiency. Higher par per watt, lower heat per watt and much less expensive than individual Cree LEDs. For a 3x3 4-5 cobs driven at 50watts would do very well. If energy consumption is that much of a factor you could increase the amount of cobs and drive them 50% softer. There is close to a 10% efficiency gain this way. Do you have any idea on budget? Also being in the USA is a lot cheaper as far as shipping and customs goes.
 
Hi,

Thank you, both of you, for your replies!

When I say that energy consumption is important, I really mean that I don't want to use lights that are too inefficient (to limit heat and energy waste).

Running 5 Cobs, at 50watts (meaning +/-250watts, at wall, witout cooling and losses, right?), in 3 grow tents seem more than good to me!

Most of my friends, who grow indoor, would use 600watts HPS for a 3X3 grow tent. So, +/-250watts, at wall, per tent seem really good to me! I’ll try to read about those 7th Gen Vero 29! Thank’s again!

Bak
 
A simple efficiency number with the vero, Cree and citizen is 50% it is easy to go higher and lower but the standard 50w is typically around 50% efficient. Considering hps is closer to 20% the math is in favor of the cobs. Plus 350 less wall watts to pay for and also cool. Not to shabby :thumbsup:
 
I realize I forgot to answer the question about budget. As for budget, when I first looked at LEDs panels, I did set up a budget of more or less 800USD per tent (800 X 3).

I now realize that a budget of 800USD is short, in term of buying a pre-made grow-light(LED) of good quality, but on the other hand, the same budget seem to offer me an awesome light, on the DIY side.

I did a spread sheet, with price per pieces, and I don't know if I don't get it correctly, but it seems that some pre-made 'kits' are aprox the price of individual pieces. Do you think I should buy a kit and work around it?
 
Amare technologies is a great option. I personally own 5 of their lights. The se-250 is rated for a 3x3. Enhanced white light hitting 93cri is much better than any cob panel around. With 20% off afn member discount you will be below your budget. @iampepe is another grower here who is fairly new to the Amare lights and more than happy with his results so far.
 
I realize I forgot to answer the question about budget. As for budget, when I first looked at LEDs panels, I did set up a budget of more or less 800USD per tent (800 X 3).

I now realize that a budget of 800USD is short, in term of buying a pre-made grow-light(LED) of good quality, but on the other hand, the same budget seem to offer me an awesome light, on the DIY side.

I did a spread sheet, with price per pieces, and I don't know if I don't get it correctly, but it seems that some pre-made 'kits' are aprox the price of individual pieces. Do you think I should buy a kit and work around it?
The se-450 is 1145-20% puts you at 916 per light. If you buy more then 1 he may extend that to 25% which would put you at 858. Best premade option available hands down. If your up to DIY I can certainly help you out with that too. The introduction to citizen cobs has made DIY a very good option as far as value and quality goes. But this is for you to decide
 
Oh 3x3 not 4x4 you would Be way below your budget with the se-250. 596 per light after 20% off afn member sale. 4 cobs and 100watts of supplemental LEDs surrounding the cobs to help in both veg and flower.
 
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