I'm running 12, 126W units, in a room that measures 8' x 9.5'. Without A/C, and with zero ventilation, my room operates between 82-86 degrees. I'm sure as winter hits, that it won't be as warm, but to me, adding a heater will be much more efficient than relying on A/C with those HID's.
The lights I'm using can be taken from start to finish with your plants. There is no need to switch bulbs, switch spectrum, etc... My veg garden is still HID (haven't had the money to switch it yet), but my friend is using 100% LED right now in her garden, and I'll be there very soon. 
Nah, I know nothing about growing and I am the nicest person on the planet. That's two strikes!
I don't quite understand the 3x318w vs 1000w. Isn't the advantage of going to LED less wattage used? Saving 46w isn't going to be a great selling point.
The test I really want to see is something like the 126w LED vs 400w HPS or even 2x318w LED vs 1000w HPS.
Now if ED's comes back and says that his 3x318w LED grow produced twice as much as the 1000w HPS grow, that would be a selling point.
If Ed doubles his yield under the LED lights I'll be placing my order the next day. Heck, I'll be asking if you need a business partner.
I'm into both. I want top quality, and as much of it as I can get. Size isn't as important to me, as total yield and bud density. The plants growing under LED appear to produce higher resin/thc than plants previously grown under HID. High Times reported similar results with one of their tests, and I've heard of other growers having similar results as well. The plants get only the light they need, and high amounts of it, so they certainly don't lack in quality. I've never felt plants so dense either, as what we're currently growing under LED. My friend's buds felt like ROCKS tonight when I saw them. I picked up a dried AK bud that she grew under 3800W of HID, and squeezed it, and it's nowhere close to how dense the current AK is. When you squeeze it, there's no give, no "fluffy" or "light" feeling at all, just solid plant material.
o wow thats pretty impressive with leds ur convincing me more and more to use leds plus i love how they use less energy
o wow thats pretty impressive with leds ur convincing me more and more to use leds plus i love how they use less energy
The physics advantage lies with LED lights, eventually because of computing and technological advances, LED will be the most efficient producer of lumens, and with time, should be able to achieve similar results as HIDs with enough watts.
The physics advantage lies with LED lights, eventually because of computing and technological advances, LED will be the most efficient producer of lumens, and with time, should be able to achieve similar results as HIDs with enough watts.
The one thing that really pisses me off is that if we had an open legal market in the US the grow lighting technology would see an absolute boom in R&D dollars, which could have major implications in the next 50 years as we deal with potential food shortages around the world. NASA would also likely put R&D dollars into the technology for future space applications. Can you imagine the effect that high efficiency grow lights would have on a space station, Moon/Martian colony that has extremely limited energy resources?
LEDs will also only get cheaper, more efficient and more specifically targeted to the exact temperature that the plant requires (can you imagine an entire ceiling sized LED light panel for under $1,000. In ten years you'd probably be able to paint the walls and ceilings with LEDs for an affordable amount of money. They're going to keep improving (think about computer chips) as we get better at making them (HIDs are about as developed as they can get).
That being said, use whatever makes you happy. It's not a competition
The amount of money I spent on them, is private as I receive wholesale pricing, but the retail on my 12 lights is $4800.00 Wanna know something cool though? My electric bill was roughly $220 extra per month over regular bills (4,000W HID + fans + A/C), and now it's about $60 per month over regular usage (1512W LED). I'm saving $160 per month on electric, which comes out to $1920 saved this year. Sure the initial cost is higher, but I save 2k on electric per year!
Not to mention that I won't have to battle with heat stress anymore, so I'll have far more consistent yields.Hey LED girl, kudos for sticking in here and showing your stuff. However, I have to dissagree with you on the lgm bar issue. As I mentioned before, I used them in conjunction with two 600w hids on my first grow ever and did really well. Especially when you consider that:
