Well i already have the 300w led from amazon. I seem to like it so far but i always have supplemental light with cfls. I keep it 12 inches away and no stretching. i want to try the ufos there are some about 270w that seems like alot for such a small thing but need to wait till the15th to order me some new gear.
I have a 3x2x5 grow tent even if i had leds all around the walls it still wouldnt penetrate to the inside right? So no matter what im guna need cfls or hps for more weight in my buds?
Another noob question.. would a 300w led use the same amount of energy as a 300w mh (i know they dont exist well i dont think they do)
And they say a 300w led is like having a 600w mh?? How is that possible.. perfect spectrum?
Until someone more knowledgeable than I chimes in I can explain to you what I have learned so far.
First of all, LED light panels use a fraction of the watts that HPS/MH are rated for. When you see a 400/600/1000 watt HPS/MH that is exactly what they draw from your wall socket as well as what they are putting out. LED's use much less because of the efficiency of the small, solid-state light emitting diodes that they are. When you see a 300 watt LED panel it is speaking of the output wattage not the consumed wattage it is drawing to run it. It takes much less power to run an LED than any other lighting type that I know of. If you check the rating on your LED panel or the box or documentation it came with you will see and input and an output wattage. The input wattage is what it uses to run it and the output is what it pushes out to the surrounding area.
That being said, although LED's use much less power to run them and can have a much better PAR spectrum depending on the wavelengths of the diodes used, they lack in light intensity. HPS and MH have so much intensity, albeit in not the greatest of PAR spectrum, it seems they force the plants to grow extremely well. Sadly, most of the power they consume then put out is wasted because of the low PAR so all that intensity is used to hit a few peak wavelengths and drive photosynthesis. One advantage of LED panels is that they put out very little heat so they do not have to be cooled by large fans and ducting and you can put them very close to the plant tops which allows what intensity they have to reach more of the plants' leaves.
As for LED manufacturers claiming HPS/MH equivalents, I am sure a lot of they is industry hype but to be fair there may be some high output LED panels out there that are extremely good at what they do and are pushing ever closer to the ability of HPS/MH to grow great plants. The problem is there is so much hype and just flat out lies when it comes to LED panels from crooked dealers that it is very, very hard to tell what is true and what is not. That is why I would discourage the purchase of 'cheap' LED panels from sources out there because it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.
Basically you get what you pay for and that is unfortunate indeed.
On another note, I have recently discovered light rails. You hang the panel from it and it slowly moves the panel back and forth over your grow. This can have amazing results because instead of the light being stationary and missing undergrowth, the light moves and is able to shine on more leaves and help grow bushier, more healthy plants, IMHO. That could very well be the answer to your dilemma.
I hope that helps Jack.
