CobKits
Well-Known Member
but seriously if you have an extremely limited budget and need to get up and growing HPS is still unbeatable for the time being
over time HPS will cost you more to operate in regard to electrical use, bulb maintenance, and cooling capacity (if needed)
depending on the LED light you select that payback time can be as little as 2 years or as great as 5 or more
LED is continuously getting more efficient and cheaper year over year so that payback time shortens every year
we have a lot of data of people with LED systems that are substantially more efficient than HPS maintaining yields and reducing power use by a very measurable 30-40%
we have less data on people running LEDs at HPS efficiency. for example you could run 4 vero C or citizen CLU-058-1825 chips at 250W on active coolers for about $450 if you DIY. this should still beat HPS on a PAR/W basis but is in the realm of HPS cost
the floor of cost for LED seems to be the drivers (if you want good ones). its real hard to get under $0.25/Watt in singles or $0.20/watt in quantity.
if you are trying to replace 1000W hps and go cheap on the chips you'll end up spending more on drivers (and heat solutions in some cases)
if you go the opposite direction and opt for super efficient LEDs you can replace an HPS with as little as 500-600W and you cut your driver cost nearly in half and put the money into chips instead
obviously there is a sweet spot in between that is different for everybodys situation
over time HPS will cost you more to operate in regard to electrical use, bulb maintenance, and cooling capacity (if needed)
depending on the LED light you select that payback time can be as little as 2 years or as great as 5 or more
LED is continuously getting more efficient and cheaper year over year so that payback time shortens every year
we have a lot of data of people with LED systems that are substantially more efficient than HPS maintaining yields and reducing power use by a very measurable 30-40%
we have less data on people running LEDs at HPS efficiency. for example you could run 4 vero C or citizen CLU-058-1825 chips at 250W on active coolers for about $450 if you DIY. this should still beat HPS on a PAR/W basis but is in the realm of HPS cost
the floor of cost for LED seems to be the drivers (if you want good ones). its real hard to get under $0.25/Watt in singles or $0.20/watt in quantity.
if you are trying to replace 1000W hps and go cheap on the chips you'll end up spending more on drivers (and heat solutions in some cases)
if you go the opposite direction and opt for super efficient LEDs you can replace an HPS with as little as 500-600W and you cut your driver cost nearly in half and put the money into chips instead
obviously there is a sweet spot in between that is different for everybodys situation
