Can you tell me what the difference is between these LED lighting systems?

Hi everybody,

I am considering an LED lighting system for my basement grow I have going right now. I don't mind the high start-up costs of LEDs because I know they will pay for themselves over time. I currently have a 90W UFO and I am quite happy with my results thus far but want to upgrade for my next grow.

I have seen a few grows on this site using this lighting system: http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=9
(Sunshine Systems 300W GrowPanel Pro). Based on the results I have seen on this site this light can "get it done." However, it is a lot more expensive than this light:

http://htgsupply.com/Product-300-Watt-High-Powered-Tri-Band-LED-Grow-Light.asp
(Unbranded 300W LED from HTGSupply)

Now, like I said, I have no problem with the high start up costs for LED, but what is the reason for the Growpanel being $350 more expensive than the light that looks like essentially the exact same tech from htgsupply? I could basically order 3 of these things from HTG for the same price as 2 from Sunshine. Can anyone explain what the benefit is of the Growpanel over the cheaper LED set?

Thanks!!

now, i didn't read all th info on the htg version, but on the pricier version, it tells you at what rang nm the bulbs run in, and on the htg version, i didn't see any of that information anywhere.. maybe i missed it as i just perused the article real quick, but if not, than i would imagine that is what the big difference is between the two..
also, i don't know much about led's, but i've read that there is one or two bulb manufatcturer's out there that are known to be better bulb manufacturer;s, and therefore any products that use the better name brand bulbs are going to be more pricey than their fake chinese counterparts, not that i'm saying that they htg is a cheap chinese knock off as i don't know enough about the product to say that, i'm only suggesting that this maybe the case..

oh yah, i think that the name brand i'm talking about maybe crelle or something along those lines if memory serves me right..

the item description from HTG says this:

(QUOTE FROM HTG)
Light spectrums are measured in nanometers or “nm”. Chlorophyll production is made up of two parts, A and B. Maximum chlorophyll A production occurs at 662nm (for red) and 430nm (for blue), while maximum chlorophyll B production occurs at 642nm (for red) and 453nm (for blue). These are the peak points at which chlorophyll production is maximized, even just a few nm above or below these points will significantly reduce production. Our PHD recommended that we find these exact spectrums to maximize plant growth.

[..some unimportant stuff...]

Our RED Spectrum LEDs are rated at 660 Nanometers peak (650-670 nominal), our BLUE Spectrum LEDs are rated at 450 Nanometers peak (440-460 nominal) and our Wide Spectrum LEDs fill in the entire spectrum providing any wavelengths not covered by the RED and BLUE LEDs but needed for proper plant growth!
END QUOTE

So it looks like the major difference is the red from HTG is 650-670 while the red from Sunshine is 610-660? And I'm not even sure about the "wide spectrum" and where that comes into play.

Don't believe half the crap that first light claims.

There is no way in hell a 300w LED can cover 25 or 50 square feet when its only good for 10 square feet or less\

I wouldn't buy either of them as there are higher quality brands out there for the same amount of money

Jdizzle, if you had up to six grand and wanted to cover to rooms, each 11 by 11, which lights would you purchase? got a link?

Ray Lewis said:

Jdizzle, if you had up to six grand and wanted to cover to rooms, each 11 by 11, which lights would you purchase? got a link?

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Like I said, I'd go with a bunch of 240w Spectras from www.growledhydro.com and throw them on light movers. Or get a shit load of kessils and throw them on light movers

thanks jdizzle, i read some of your posts in the led unite thread and you have sold me on the Spectra. I am trying one now and plan to add another based on results.

asty said:

thanks jdizzle, i read some of your posts in the led unite thread and you have sold me on the Spectra. I am trying one now and plan to add another based on results.

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Trying one now? How are you doing that? You should see how many 240w units you could get in a bulk order from Mike at www.growledhydro.com I think you could save money getting light movers, or you could just get more lights and not worry about it.

I ordered a single 120 (or 180 power draw?) from the site you mention. I thought the step up might result in some wasted lighting area. The area i am workign with is pretty weird. I got about an 8' x 2' area on each side. right side is T5's for vegging. middle is for moving around. seems silly but its the only way because the ceiling is very low so i need a path in the middle to tend to everything. I thought multiple of the smallest unit would be the most logical thing to do because I wouldn't want to be wasting light on the area im walking/crawling through.

I will contact him about increasing my order though and possibly negotiating a lower price per unit.

asty said:

I ordered a single 120 (or 180 power draw?) from the site you mention. I thought the step up might result in some wasted lighting area. The area i am workign with is pretty weird. I got about an 8' x 2' area on each side. right side is T5's for vegging. middle is for moving around. seems silly but its the only way because the ceiling is very low so i need a path in the middle to tend to everything. I thought multiple of the smallest unit would be the most logical thing to do because I wouldn't want to be wasting light on the area im walking/crawling through.

I will contact him about increasing my order though and possibly negotiating a lower price per unit.

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Oh yeah if your space is only 2 feet wide then a 240w unit might not get to flex its muscles as much (although their core saturation area is rated at basically 2.5ft x 2.5ft) so you wouldn't be wasting much if at all. If I were you I would just take out everything but the LED lighting and use those. You can run fewer when vegging and then run them all when flowering, or just have some smaller Spectras for the veg area and the largers for the flowering. I think it really depends on how much you are willing to spend because in a bulk order you would get more total units going with the 180w instead of the 240 (only a 33% increase in growing power). You should definitely go into negotiations with Mike, he grows medical marijuana as well so he could best advise you on what # of which units would be best for you. Although I think I can advise well enough, how large is your actual growing area for flowering and how large is your actual veg area?

PS: Since you have a weirdly shaped growing space going with the smallest 180w units might be best so you can waste as little footprint as possible and make use of any weird spaces more easily.

anyone with the Cash to cover a room in LEDS should just cover it in 600w lights. and WIN.

RawBudzski said:

anyone with the Cash to cover a room in LEDS should just cover it in 600w lights. and WIN.

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Or cover it with LEDs which use less electricity, produce less heat, produces light more efficiently (less is wasted as heat compared to HID), last longer (50k hours unlike HID bulbs which get replaced every few grows), and run on less noise (don't require high powered fans to keep cool) but can grow as much and as high of quality pot (unless you try to grow plants more than a few feet tall with LED)

The only reason now to go HID instead of LED is because HID is a shit load cheaper upfront. Each has its pros and cons, LEDs only real cons are upfront cost and penetration (good LED lights with proper lense angles can handle 2-3 foot plants). If you grow SOG/:LST/SCROG HID has no advantage over LED except its cheaper to start with.

Ehh. LED look alot cooler than they preform. I could not imagine some1 using a 15x15 room full of LEDs. would look cool in a pic yes but some 600s or 1000s would win IMHO. Either way grow with LED OR HID youll need some type of Fan/Vent system will you not? if not for your plants sake.

RawBudzski said:

Ehh. LED look alot cooler than they preform. I could not imagine some1 using a 15x15 room full of LEDs. would look cool in a pic yes but some 600s or 1000s would win IMHO. Either way grow with LED OR HID youll need some type of Fan/Vent system will you not? if not for your plants sake.

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Yeah you will want fans for the plants, but most LED lights either produce so little heat they don't have fans (crappy LED lights), or they already have fans built in. LED lights produce WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY less heat than HID of = wattage. This heat factor is the only reason I'm really switching to LED in the first place. I don't want to have to keep the window open all the time or run air conditioning or buy a noisy fan system to keep things cool.

RawBudzski said:

anyone with the Cash to cover a room in LEDS should just cover it in 600w lights. and WIN.

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I knew you people would find your way into my thread. Out!! Just kidding bro...

I am happy with my LED's because they make my life easier. I have an HPS in use right now (old purchase) and have burned my hair on it a few times (see post about low ceiling, awkward space). I also do not feel like venting. Keeping it stealth. It is just a crawlspace auto grow and LEDs make the most sense for this situation.

Yes we have found You. >:O the cult shall arrive any moment !

jdizzle I am getting confused reading your posts regarding the wattage. When you write 180 are you saying in terms of power draw, which means you agree that it may be best to do the 120w light with 180w draw (the difference is the fan or something?), or are you saying to get the 180w with 240w draw. I assume by "smallest" you mean 120/180 but I want to make sure.

"PS: Since you have a weirdly shaped growing space going with the smallest 180w units might be best so you can waste as little footprint as possible and make use of any weird spaces more easily."

asty said:

jdizzle I am getting confused reading your posts regarding the wattage. When you write 180 are you saying in terms of power draw, which means you agree that it may be best to do the 120w light with 180w draw (the difference is the fan or something?), or are you saying to get the 180w with 240w draw. I assume by "smallest" you mean 120/180 but I want to make sure.

"PS: Since you have a weirdly shaped growing space going with the smallest 180w units might be best so you can waste as little footprint as possible and make use of any weird spaces more easily."

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Oops I see how I was being soo confusing. I was still going by the old names and wattages of the older models. But I did mean that the 120 unit which only draws 180watts is probably too small a light unless you are using it for a space that is 2ft x 2ft or less and that if your space is larger than 2 by 2 you should get the 180 unit which runs on 240w.

But I completely forgot those were the specs for the old units (the website is a bit out of date, waiting for some lab tests results to update i think). The new 2011 line are actually the 150w, 240w, and the 395w units and have had their name and wattage confusion taken away. Starting with the 2011 series of Spectra lights their name will be the same as their actual total wattage draw (to eliminate confusion and go with what I think should be the industry standard). The listings on the website have the correct prices though. The 150w is 389.99, the 240w is 599.99, and the 395w is 1,099. And also unlike what parts of the website may say, they are a mix of 3w and 2w lights now (because some wavelengths/spectrums are best/only available in 2w). They raised the prices (but haven't updated the info yet) because the new models have been upgraded quite a bit since the last generation.