View Poll Results: In your opinion what is the most efficient light source when comparing gram per watt

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  • HPS (specify which one on the thread)

    2 16.67%
  • LED (specify which one on the thread, diy, etc)

    2 16.67%
  • QBs or Cobs

    5 41.67%
  • CFL

    0 0%
  • Metal Halide

    0 0%
  • CMH / LEC (specify which one on the thread)

    3 25.00%
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Thread: 2018 light efficiency ultimate battle

  1. #1

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    Question 2018 light efficiency ultimate battle

    First post in the forum. I’ve been growing for about 16 years mainly outdoor.*

    Started indoor a couple years ago using 1000w’s HPS’s with magnetic ballasts. Later on I switched to 400w Phillips HPS with Lumatek electronic ballasts for efficiency.*

    I’m seeing a lot of discussion and contradictory information on the efficiency of LEDs vs HPS vs CMH and I’m trying to clear the waters. If I’m making the full switch and investing a couple thousand I might be sure of what’s working better. I’ve seen side by side grows on forums and either some are poorly done without any kind of scientific method approach or they are biased. The cannabis industry is looking more and more like the fitness supplement industry with a lot of big brands marketing things with incorrect data.

    In your opinion what is the most efficient light source when comparing gram per watt of dried weight? (Power consumption vs grams of dried weight)

    Other factors and advantages such as heat emission, potency, cost of the equipment, etc are not to be compared. If some lights have better spectrum, etc is also not important. We will focus on gram per watt exclusively on this discussion and keep it focused around this subject.*

    Let me know about your personal opinion, links to properly done side by sides, etc…

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  3. #2

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    Welcome mate hoping Gardo will pop in and say hi as hes the lighting genius here as well as others

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  5. #3

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    Welcome to the forum 1st Its a gr8 place to learn and share & full of cool helpful people .

    I grew outdoors most seasons of my life and have just switched to indoors , I started under a 600w HPS and harvested 21oz from 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 in a 4 month grow at the start of the year ,

    This grow ( summer ) had a few more issues with heat ect so the HPS was a no go ,

    After tons of research and talking on here and around the net i decided LED was the way forward ,

    After even more research and talking on here and around the net i quickly found ALL the led under £600 were never going to match the 600watt hps ,

    In the end i went for a migro 400 , Its expensive @£850 but lasts 8 years @ 18/6 , Its fully dimable down to 10% and gives you the option of using just 1 COB right up to ALL 4,


    Now ive only had this light a few weeks and am currently just into my 1st flower under it ,

    So far i can say is ...

    Its efficient And produces less heat than other lights & out preforms them on PAR
    Its saves me electric due to less power used hps 600w vs 430ish
    creates more usable light than HPS
    Less hotspots than HPS
    Can customize angle and position of each and every cob for more accurate light

    Clearly i cant comment on Grams per watt yet , But according to several different online sources the migro 400 competes with the budmaster and spectrumking but costs £400-£600 less and there is lots of online evidence of 1.5 grams per watt under migro - budmaster - spectrumking


    My temps went from 33+ to 24 the day i swapped the lights over ,


    You cant even compare HPS vs LED For efficiency its unfair on the HPS lol , I read the other day upto 70% of all the power in a HPS is heat

    Thats my 2p worth anyway lol
    Last edited by MrEnigma; 27-08-18 at 06:38 PM.

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  7. #4

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    My experiences with LED have been.... how should I say?.... not very encouraging....
    It's Not What You Know, It's What You Can Prove

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    Farmshop (01-09-18), gardro (27-08-18), Gaz (27-08-18), GEORGE (27-08-18), MrEnigma (27-08-18), Squaggy (27-08-18)

  9. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by M_C View Post
    My experiences with LED have been.... how should I say?.... not very encouraging....
    Thats due to the BS marketing of 80% of the products available in the LED world , In 10 years it will be ALOT more stable .

    At the moment the good LED are mega money I was shocked how many crap products were available when i researched them fully It seems 75% of them are more a gimmick to catch people out than actual real lights

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  11. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gaz View Post
    Welcome mate hoping Gardo will pop in and say hi as hes the lighting genius here as well as others
    Thanks, glad to be here

    waiting on Gardo's opinion

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  13. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by MrEnigma View Post
    Thats due to the BS marketing of 80% of the products available in the LED world , In 10 years it will be ALOT more stable .

    At the moment the good LED are mega money I was shocked how many crap products were available when i researched them fully It seems 75% of them are more a gimmick to catch people out than actual real lights
    You seem to think I didn't do my homework before buying! I can assure you that I did & my HPS still pissed all over it. That said, the LEDs are advancing all the time

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  15. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by MrEnigma View Post
    Welcome to the forum 1st Its a gr8 place to learn and share & full of cool helpful people .

    I grew outdoors most seasons of my life and have just switched to indoors , I started under a 600w HPS and harvested 21oz from 1.2 x 1.2 x 2.0 in a 4 month grow at the start of the year ,

    This grow ( summer ) had a few more issues with heat ect so the HPS was a no go ,

    After tons of research and talking on here and around the net i decided LED was the way forward ,

    After even more research and talking on here and around the net i quickly found ALL the led under £600 were never going to match the 600watt hps ,

    In the end i went for a migro 400 , Its expensive @£850 but lasts 8 years @ 18/6 , Its fully dimable down to 10% and gives you the option of using just 1 COB right up to ALL 4,


    Now ive only had this light a few weeks and am currently just into my 1st flower under it ,

    So far i can say is ...

    Its efficient And produces less heat than other lights & out preforms them on PAR
    Its saves me electric due to less power used hps 600w vs 430ish
    creates more usable light than HPS
    Less hotspots than HPS
    Can customize angle and position of each and every cob for more accurate light

    Clearly i cant comment on Grams per watt yet , But according to several different online sources the migro 400 competes with the budmaster and spectrumking but costs £400-£600 less and there is lots of online evidence of 1.5 grams per watt under migro - budmaster - spectrumking


    My temps went from 33+ to 24 the day i swapped the lights over ,


    You cant even compare HPS vs LED For efficiency its unfair on the HPS lol , I read the other day upto 70% of all the power in a HPS is heat

    Thats my 2p worth anyway lol
    thanks a lot for your input and let us know how much it will yield when your current grow finished. Wish you the best of luck with it.

    I know for a fact that LEDs are more efficient than HPS, what I'm trying to find is how well it translates to plant growth / dry grams. From what I'm reading LEDs produce more per watt that HPS's but there are some people stating otherwise also. I believe that is due to the amount of different units on the market.

    If I see some solid proof I will invest on some cheap unit, a diy unit and an expensive unit and put them to the test

    Also producing less heat if you live in a hot climate area you can also save on cooling which means even better gram per watt ratio but I don't even want to think about that for now. Just comparing the lamps drawn watt's.

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  17. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by MrEnigma View Post
    Thats due to the BS marketing of 80% of the products available in the LED world , In 10 years it will be ALOT more stable .

    At the moment the good LED are mega money I was shocked how many crap products were available when i researched them fully It seems 75% of them are more a gimmick to catch people out than actual real lights
    what´s your opinion on DIY units?

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  19. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by M_C View Post
    You seem to think I didn't do my homework before buying! I can assure you that I did & my HPS still pissed all over it. That said, the LEDs are advancing all the time
    Have you looked into / tested the more expensive units?

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