Which bar lights emit the least heat?

[Frank Nitty]

Practically-speaking, a lot of us probably use ~700W units. Someone might have multiple, but 680-720W might be a good measurement to compare. With enough feedback, we'd either see measurable differences or conclude it's hype. Newbies -- I consider myself still in this category -- may not be the best indicator. Assuming knowledgeable vets "give it a grow," posting bud pics with PAR range and efficacy benchmark, we'll have to see it to believe it.

Right now, the strongest argument for Fluence 66" Ray (the most affordable of the Rays, possibly any of their products) is that it's light, durable, and the additional 1.5' could be a scalable advantage. You'd have to assume that buying a less expensive light would mean you'd have to buy additional units to cover the same space as longer Fluence lights and/or you'd have to buy supplemental lighting to match Fluence's spectrum. Those seem like the biggest factors. I also like individual bars and ballasts, but that's almost completely a preference thing.

Thank you for putting this in layman's terms!!! So would you say that the best efficiency comes from lights that touch each corner of a tent??? Does that question make sense???

 

[Apostatize]

Thank you for putting this in layman's terms!!! So would you say that the best efficiency comes from lights that touch each corner of a tent??? Does that question make sense???

Awesome, thanks! Makes sense, think you're suggesting even distribution. From what I've read on RIU, bar lights are the way to go. Even those units -- already combined bars -- show a weak spot somewhere at the perimeter. A brochure may also state that the company assumes you're getting 85% bounce back from a reflective surface. Perhaps some people overcome the perimeter issue with a second unit/additional bar or some other tweak. Maybe they use 800W and change environmental factor to keep plants cool -- we'll have to see how it plays out. I'm sure experienced growers have informed opinions about that.

 

[OneHitDone]

Practically-speaking, a lot of us probably use ~700W units. Someone might have multiple, but 680-720W might be a good measurement to compare. With enough feedback, we'd either see measurable differences or conclude it's hype. Newbies -- I consider myself still in this category -- may not be the best indicator. Assuming knowledgeable vets "give it a grow," posting bud pics with PAR range and efficacy benchmark, we'll have to see it to believe it.

Right now, the strongest argument for Fluence 66" Ray (the most affordable of the Rays, possibly any of their products) is that it's light, durable, and the additional 1.5' could be a scalable advantage. You'd have to assume that buying a less expensive light would mean you'd have to buy additional units to cover the same space as longer Fluence lights and/or you'd have to buy supplemental lighting to match Fluence's spectrum. Those seem like the biggest factors. I also like individual bars and ballasts, but that's almost completely a preference thing.

A lot of the selection comes down to ones grow space configuration. I used to grow on 5x5's but have scaled it back to 4x4 to conserve some floor space in my new system.
Also, the advertised SPD's by these light companies are often misleading to make the product look like something special.

Let me illustrate - HLG Scorpion RSpec

HLG Scorpion® Rspec®

HLG Scorpion Rspec is designed for grows with low ceiling heights or vertical racks. HLG Scorpion Rspec uses 6x Rspec 288 Quantum Boards for an even light spread at just 12" from the canopy. QB 288 uses Samsung's latest LM301H and Deep Red LED 660nm. Commercial Indoor Horticulture LED grow light

horticulturelightinggroup.com

Advertised SPD



Third party realistic SPD



Always check the third party test data when available

 

[Samwell Seed Well]

A lot of the selection comes down to ones grow space configuration. I used to grow on 5x5's but have scaled it back to 4x4 to conserve some floor space in my new system.
Also, the advertised SPD's by these light companies are often misleading to make the product look like something special.

Let me illustrate - HLG Scorpion RSpec

HLG Scorpion® Rspec®

HLG Scorpion Rspec is designed for grows with low ceiling heights or vertical racks. HLG Scorpion Rspec uses 6x Rspec 288 Quantum Boards for an even light spread at just 12" from the canopy. QB 288 uses Samsung's latest LM301H and Deep Red LED 660nm. Commercial Indoor Horticulture LED grow light

horticulturelightinggroup.com

Advertised SPD
View attachment 5066347


Third party realistic SPD

View attachment 5066348

Always check the third party test data when available

Nice

California light works had some good ones too.

LED Grow Lights - California LightWorks Full Spectrum LED Lighting

Industry-leading manufacturer of best LED Grow Lights for Indoor, greenhouse, and vertical plants. Next-generation grow lighting made in USA

californialightworks.com

 

[ComputerSaysNo]

Thank you for putting this in layman's terms!!! So would you say that the best efficiency comes from lights that touch each corner of a tent??? Does that question make sense???

The question makes sense, but not the excess of exclamation and question marks

Obviously if the light coverage is optimal, with all the canopy covered but not much extra light, then that is better than having too much. If the light doesn't touch the corners of the tent it's not a problem unless there are plants growing there.

I guess this is something you can overthink, however. The light does not have sharp edges, like a shadow on the moon does.

If some plants towards the rim are not covered perfectly, they'll still receive light, but probably yield less. But the yield won't be zero.

I would rather be conservative with the lighting than going overboard.

 

[Markshomegrown]

A lot of the selection comes down to ones grow space configuration. I used to grow on 5x5's but have scaled it back to 4x4 to conserve some floor space in my new system.
Also, the advertised SPD's by these light companies are often misleading to make the product look like something special.

Let me illustrate - HLG Scorpion RSpec

HLG Scorpion® Rspec®

HLG Scorpion Rspec is designed for grows with low ceiling heights or vertical racks. HLG Scorpion Rspec uses 6x Rspec 288 Quantum Boards for an even light spread at just 12" from the canopy. QB 288 uses Samsung's latest LM301H and Deep Red LED 660nm. Commercial Indoor Horticulture LED grow light

horticulturelightinggroup.com

Advertised SPD
View attachment 5066347


Third party realistic SPD

View attachment 5066348

Always check the third party test data when available

You can build your own LEDs, the right size to give your room the perfect light spread, cost me £50, bulbs cost me £100 should last 2 years(85%), as LEDs bulbs get more effective, I can use more effective bulbs, cheap to buy, cheap to run, I am loving it, my buds look much larger and more healthy under the led vs HPS, Never going to buy a led panel. my led panel will last a good 20 years (bulb holder in your lamps/walls and ceiling last what 30-40 years)

 

[Apostatize]

Nice

California light works had some good ones too.
View attachment 5066351

LED Grow Lights - California LightWorks Full Spectrum LED Lighting

Industry-leading manufacturer of best LED Grow Lights for Indoor, greenhouse, and vertical plants. Next-generation grow lighting made in USA

californialightworks.com

- lighter than some, still 22lbs.
- efficacy, up to 3.5. On another page, it says 2.9. Higher than most either way
- spectrum seems lacking -- but literally just from the PAR range graph -- that's what I've mostly been comparing. A few of us have been kicking around ideas about how to measure the differences in outcome/bud quality attributable to PAR range and efficacy, individually and combined (i.e., how to determine whether the fuller "sole-source" spectrums (particularly far-red) actually improve yield/quality/potency (on top of everything else growers supplement/pump into their plants)).

-

 

[OneHitDone]

You can build your own LEDs, the right size to give your room the perfect light spread, cost me £50, bulbs cost me £100 should last 2 years(85%), as LEDs bulbs get more effective, I can use more effective bulbs, cheap to buy, cheap to run, I am loving it, my buds look much larger and more healthy under the led vs HPS, Never going to buy a led panel. my led panel will last a good 20 years (bulb holder in your lamps/walls and ceiling last what 30-40 years)

Have any pictures of your rig?
Yes, Philips Par led's are awesome. There's am even nicer spectrum than that in a 17W.
Better bigger buds than hps? Not so sold on that

 

[OneHitDone]

Nice

California light works had some good ones too.
View attachment 5066351

LED Grow Lights - California LightWorks Full Spectrum LED Lighting

Industry-leading manufacturer of best LED Grow Lights for Indoor, greenhouse, and vertical plants. Next-generation grow lighting made in USA

californialightworks.com

This Bar light only runs on the "Mega Drive" system though correct?

 

[OneHitDone]

You can build your own LEDs, the right size to give your room the perfect light spread, cost me £50, bulbs cost me £100 should last 2 years(85%), as LEDs bulbs get more effective, I can use more effective bulbs, cheap to buy, cheap to run, I am loving it, my buds look much larger and more healthy under the led vs HPS, Never going to buy a led panel. my led panel will last a good 20 years (bulb holder in your lamps/walls and ceiling last what 30-40 years)

This one is a real beauty

 

[Samwell Seed Well]

This Bar light only runs on the "Mega Drive" system though correct?

I believe so

 

[Hairybuds]

Good gravy, so much written and I’m about to nod off, but what grows

 

[Markshomegrown]

Have any pictures of your rig?
Yes, Philips Par led's are awesome. There's am even nicer spectrum than that in a 17W.
Better bigger buds than hps? Not so sold on that

Here A picture of my LED


As the lights go off, I have put 2 x3ft tube light on(timer) so I can water or take pictures, you can one shining though the led.
I turned these plants over to flower 31 days ago(12/12)

flower these off early 6" high/wide so you could say 18 days true flower(pistils start to grow).
the plants under the HPS don't look 100% buds are a little smaller and some fan leaves have curled.

buds under the LED


under the HPS

 

[OneHitDone]

Here A picture of my LED

View attachment 5066699View attachment 5066700
As the lights go off, I have put 2 x3ft tube light on(timer) so I can water or take pictures, you can one shining though the led.
I turned these plants over to flower 31 days ago(12/12)

flower these off early 6" high/wide so you could say 18 days true flower(pistils start to grow).
the plants under the HPS don't look 100% buds are a little smaller and some fan leaves have curled.

buds under the LED
View attachment 5066707View attachment 5066709View attachment 5066708

under the HPS

View attachment 5066706

What model bulb is it that you are using? You removed diffuser and added a reflector?

 

[Markshomegrown]

What model bulb is it that you are using? You removed diffuser and added a reflector?

you can buy packs of 10 on amazon for £32
I also added 4 4000k 12w led bulbs (same as bulb above, just the 4k version)
I used mylar and cut it into a comb shape, stuck it with double-sided tape, fits like a glove

 

[Markshomegrown]

These bulbs look good for the price led bulb

 

[ComputerSaysNo]

@Markshomegrown I love the idea, so obvious yet so few people are doing it. I've seen one video where a guy made a vertical grow in his basement (not cannabis, mostly leafy greens), and he also used regular LED bulbs from a hardware store.

Also I don't see why the performance from a self-made array of LED bulbs should be much different from a commercial grow light. You even have flexibility of manipulating the spectrum by putting in bulbs of different color temperatures.

Some quick maths (in Euros):

• Standard E27 socket around €2
• LED bulb 11W around €2 (this varies, can be even cheaper); let's say 0.2€/W
• not much else needed in terms of materials

That means per 100W from 11W bulbs one pays €50 tops, and then there is a lot of flexibility for how to configure the array. This is a lot cheaper than regular grow light LED boards (or bars).

I've snatched a 100W Mars Hydro at Amazon for around €75 a while ago, and that already felt like a complete steal to me. This solution here is even cheaper by a margin.

It's possible to have single bulbs cover dark corners, very easy to make a vertical setup etc.

Some downsides that come to mind:

• Dimmable bulbs are a lot more expensive, and then a quantum board is cheaper. Varying light intensity has to be achieved by making parts of the bulb array switchable.
• Possibly the quantum boards have a better spectrum for growing. I would really like some definitive information if this is true. Right now I don't think the difference is that big; it would have to be quite the difference in efficiency for it to matter (say, 20%?)
• DIY required, bulb heads have to be shaved off for maximum efficiency, messing with electric installations can be dangerous.
• More bulky than a quantum board.

Right now I'm glad that I haven't invested a lot in regular LED lights as of late, because this is so much cheaper, I really need to try this.

 

[ComputerSaysNo]

Quite relevant to the above, here is a very informative video of somebody building an array of LED bulbs and doing precise measurements on the efficiency.

It's striking how much it helps to cut the diffusers off the bulbs.

He gets around 1.8 umol/J efficiency; really good in my opinion.

 

[Apostatize]

Small plant, lollipopped. Low yield but happy with bud shape, size, density, frost, taste, appearance, and smoke. A little rough on the grinder.

elev8's Gorilla Cookies from clone:

 

[Apostatize]

I believe so

Saw that, wanted to ask about it. That driver looks huge. and adds to price?