Growing Under White LED, Anyone Else Doing This?

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alongtimegrower

Member
Has anyone been using White LED flood lamps, high bays, retro-fit LED for fluorescent etc for growing, vegetative, or flowering?

I've been using 5000K lamps and horticultural lamps that do white and deep red.

I did all of vegetative with 5000K lamps only.

This is day 11 of flowering.
The first pic is day one of flowering others here day 11.
Day1 Flowering_White_LED.jpgDay11Flowering underLED.jpgMoreDay11.jpg
 
R

RainerRocks

Active Member
What's the wattage and the price of them there LED flood lights ?

No I haven't but I intend on using (diy) all white led's (cw..nw..ww) with some red in the future.
 
Cococola36

Cococola36

Well-Known Member
Glad someone else is trying it, as of right now I have only traditional led lights, but might order an apollo led with a custom spectrum of just 3000k and 7000k white leds, cool grow!
 
Chronikool

Chronikool

Well-Known Member
Hey Alongtime. Yeah i have been tinkering with these. What are the red LED's you have in there? spectrum?
 
A

alongtimegrower

Member
RainerRocks,

I got the highest lumen 5000K PAR38 at Home Depot for about $50 per bulb.
It uses 19.5 watts outputs 1300 Lumen. My best guess is 8 - 13 mmol/s in PAR value.
There are many different bulbs out there. Like the old days highest lumen possible in human standards.
I also did some research, but there isn't much out there, why I'm asking.
 
A

alongtimegrower

Member
Chronikool,

Red LED are Phillips White/Deep Red GreenpowerLED

The best I can determine they are using extra red in the range of 650 - 670nm along with white.
Regular White LEDs have minimum levels or red in this range.
 
Bumping Spheda

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
If those Philips GreenPower E27's weren't so darn expensive I think I'd be all over them. They look great, though, and the plants seem to just absolutely love life, look at them reaching for the light. Big thumbs up.
 
stardustsailor

stardustsailor

Well-Known Member
I'm totally against growing with white leds ....

Blue and red is the best combo out there ....

....

:-P ..

Just kiddin'.....
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
You seem to have quite a bit of stretch

Here's a few pics of my BrandX seeds. I decided to give all white a go after lots of studying. I started with 5000K, but for the last month, only 3000K, which is said to have sufficient blue to do the job. If not, I can replace 1-2 6.5w 300K with 6.5w 5000K. Easy peazy

Plants are ~ 12", with lots of secondary branching well below the canopy. So much for leds can't penetrate.

2 RP globe type (Philips 17w/1100 lumen + Utilitech 22w/1650 lumen) + 2 Utilitech/Feit 3000K; @ 6.5w/ 450 lumens= 51w total

Pics taken yesterday

IMG_1362.jpgIMG_1363.jpgIMG_1364.jpg
 
A

alongtimegrower

Member
PetFlora, Thanks...

I also have a far red bulb which I have over used (12 hr per day) which caused the stretch, I've switch to only end of day treatments. This is my 1st grow under LED so I'm learn lots of new things replacing two 70 HPS.
Quite a lot of science to this...
I'm glad to see others using and studying white LED for growing.

Thanks
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
Also, contrary to opinion, 660 is not the be all end all to max buds. 630-650 provides >90% of the spectrums needed. If building a DIY panel MAYBE have < 10% 660 on a separate o/o switch, but I doubt it will be missed

I do have a ufo 90 presumably with some 660 diodes at the ready just in case, but my grow is about determining where fact and fiction diverge

I use one 54w 660 HOT5 in my other tent (HOT5), but only during late flower, and only because I own it. The T5 version has a very short useful life and is quite expensive
 
A

alongtimegrower

Member
PF, your completely right about the 660nm (Far Red), I got the bulb really to experiment with.
My best understanding is it is best to use the far red for a very short period at end of day, hort industry use only a few mmol/sq m/day and only for a few days to weeks of the total flowering or production time of plant.
As I noted this is really new and learning experience, a lot of research time too.
 
A

alongtimegrower

Member
I appreciate to comments, pointers and links.
I should explain....
I use to run in the same 2 X 2 space with two 70 HPS...
A couple years ago a salesman demo'ed a 10,000 Lumen 2 X 2 Lamp, outlit a room full fluorescent... I realized one could grow under this...
Its only been in the last year high lumen bulbs at a reasonable price have become available everywhere. They are still expensive and I needed to know how many.
I did a lot reading and looking, started seed under 4 watt PAR16, basic blue, red, 5000K, 4000k.
I tried 2 5000K 1300 lumen and one week later 2 more for a total four one for each sq. ft.

More research...
Read about growth chambers and how much light...
So I am trying to provide as much white as possible with red addition for a full spectrum lighting at a mol/day rate the equivalent of about 15 mol/sq m/day. ACTUAL RATE in 2 X 2 Chamber ~ 6 mol/day, best guess...
Purchased the philips greenpower w/dr to add with the 5000K lamps...

This is way beyond my Wildest expectations...

I may need to lessen number the red lamps and get extra white... don't know... why I am out asking and looking...

Thanks for the comments
 
Bumping Spheda

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Yea, you're Philips have a definite Red hue to them. You've got 660nm's in there (DR, or Deep Red). If they were just White and Far Red you'd hardly see the difference between it and plain White most likely. It's hard to have "too much" Red I think. You can have too much Blue and bleach your plants, too much Green/IR and get shade avoidance symptoms, but UV-b/Yellow/Orange/Red/Deep Red? I don't think I've ever heard of those causing problems.
 
S

SnotBoogie

Well-Known Member
IIRC bleaching is caused by oversaturating specific chlorophyll with energy (think someone here told me that) so in theory at least it should be possible with most wavelengths.
 
Sir.Ganga

Sir.Ganga

New Member
I was under the assumption(from what little reading I have done)that using only white LED's is too narrow of a bandwidth for their needs. I am just starting to play with led's myself. Definetly a different game when you can dial in color spectrum.


White led's are not the same spectrum as T-5's, high output flouro's, eventhough they look white they represent a fuller spectrum.

Please correct me if this is wrong as I need info also?
 
A

alongtimegrower

Member
White LEDs provide a full spectrum of light from ~420 to ~700 nm. Dependent upon bulb/lamp color temperature determines how much in each spectrum band.
LED grow lights (Like UFOs and others) provide only bands of light in the continuous spectrum considered to be beneficial for plant growth.

I built a small spectroscope to look at light from various light sources.
Fluorescents have bands of light caused by the excited mercury.
White LEDs have a nice looking smooth rainbow spectrum.

IMO, White LEDS have done a better job than any fluorescent and seem comparable to MH in PAR.
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
I am rethinking my total 'white' position, at least with bulbs designed for indoor home lighting. It seems they intentionally minimize the true red spectrum as it would be too soft. This is no doubt why my girls pics look pale green, though they are not pale.

Sigh, I will investigate expensive PAR bulbs, but fortunately, my 3 yo ufo is mostly red, though what nms are covered, I haven't a clue
 
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