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supplementing window peppers with LED?

B

Blizz419

Hi everyone my 1st post here, I have a question about adding some LED light to my pepper plants in my window.  1st off they are in a north facing window its only windows I can use currently unless I want my Macaw to have her way with them. They seem to grow ok but they obviously become like one sided with all leaves growing out in direction of Window & being north facing its not most ideal light conditions so I want to supplement the natural light with LED since they have low power consumption & I've read & heard they can work very well, I also don't want a very expensive set up & could use some advice, I've read peppers do better with more red LED than blue but there doesn't seem to be much info on that & what info I do find tends to be like 4 or 5 years old & im sure LED grow lights have probably changed a bit since then any advice would be appreciated I am currently growing Bhut Jolokia, Carolina Reapers, and Pimenta Trepadeira do Werner

Here are some I was looking at
 
  http://growace.com/14-watt-advance-spectrum-tri-band-led-grow-light-panel.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAr9ymBRDdqYrH6Mj5170BEiQAcRUsi5p4bqjs-Um2AOb9R2DSueSsA8Qm8vUHThbaVusnxWEaAsEp8P8HAQ  
 
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/5505625889571535979?tch=6&client=ms-android-verizon&aqs=qsb-android-ssb...jjjjjjjjjjj1jjjjjjjjj1j2.0&tel=1&entrypoint=android-velvet&hl=en-US&ctzn=America/New_York&oe=utf-8&padt=150&devloc=0&fheit=1&safe=images&redir_esc=&noj=0&biw=360&gcc=us&pbx=1&v=4.1.29.1706998.arm&q=led+grow+lights&bih=615&padb=640&rcid=8095&prds=paur:ClkAsKraXzmYMA0zcEwt3_rU9Ifqfw97xejDRhG0EJ7N3penPI76OYSnniYllMOgSMjSKmuJOcNbytMBc5qt1Ae-OQfQhw5HFdRlUeZbDSscOYDdP3CBe6OguxIZAFPVH73XoDYoTNtfEAqVoHqq8gBHR-uqDA&sa=X&ei=DgvYVJmcB9XesAT8t4DABQ&ved=0CBEQ8wIwAg       
 
http://www.joyfay.com/15w-225pcs-led-plant-lamp-grow-light-blue-red.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAr9ymBRDdqYrH6Mj5170BEiQAcRUsiwLo06MvS-8bOyC76f3FZdedhIEN0ndu_JmLWBGCEyYaAvXO8P8HAQ
 
eh, if i were you id consider a cheaper alternative... an HID or Flouro fixture. 
 
cheap LED lights are hit or miss quality wise... id stick to the well beaten path rather than reap the marginal benefits of low power consumption.
 
one of those 150 watt HPS or metal halide fixtures would work very well...
 
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-SBM150S-150-Watt-Mini-Sunburst/dp/B0055F80H0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423446417&sr=8-1&keywords=hydrofarm+150
 
alternativly a t5 fixture would work, imo they are especially well suited for seedlings.... the mini  HPS or MH fixtures being better at solo cup stage plants... however it will work fine on small seed starts.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-JSV4-4-Foot-Start-System/dp/B0001XLSGQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1423446577&sr=1-5
 
My plants are at about all stages right now my Bhut is 5' & have 3 peppers growing, my Reapers are about 6" tall & my Pimenta Trepadeira do Werner are just starting to push out of the soil, I'd prefer LED if possible ill spend up to about $80 for 1st one but I just don't want to spend 100's on lighting just to supplement the natural sun light they are getting & its not a big operation its just at a double window but LED seems to be a big difference in power consumption but I will try the "well beaten path" if what im thinking isn't as feasible as I figured.

That bottom link is interesting queequeg152 I like the length as it would go across the whole double window but I don't think it will work with those "feet" as they are on window sill thats sitting on foundation & starts fairly high up wall (I'm in a like half basement level apartment) but maybe I could mount it from ceiling. 
 
if you want cheap, 4' t8 shoplight is 20$
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-All-Season-Shop-Light-4-ft-2-Light-Grey-T8-Strip-Fluorescent-1242ZG-RE/202052422
 
or now they have 4' led shoplights for 50$ 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-4-ft-LED-Utility-Shop-Light-73990/205110548
 
a 4' 4 bulb t5 fixture here is only 50$ (doesn't sound like you need this much light)
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-4-Light-Grey-Heavy-Duty-Fluorescent-Shoplight-1284GRD-RE/202968125
 
i like these options for smaller plants but i think if you're trying to grow big all indoor plants its better to just get the HID.
 
Blizz419 said:
 but LED seems to be a big difference in power consumption but I will try the "well beaten path" if what im thinking isn't as feasible as I figured.
Click to expand...
 
Led is much more efficient... to the tune of like 20-40%... however if you do the math, you will find that the cost difference in running the LED unit in terms of electricity consumption, will take years and years of use in its seed starting capacity in order to justify its initial higher cost.
 
say you get an LED unit thats like 90 watts... it will cost at least twice as much as that 150watt HPS perhaps more if you wanted a quality fixture.
 
electricity costs 13 cents a kwh, meaning the cost to run the 150 per hour is about 2 cents an hour.
 
the cost to run the 90 watt unit is, by identical maths, will cost you about 1.2 cents per hour.
 
how many hours will you have to run the LED in order to recoup the additional hardware cost?
 
the answer is many.
 
if you are growing 247 all year round, this return will be shorter, especially when you start to add in things such as added HVAC costs, as is the case with the cannabis folks.
 
however in the case of normal folks, who run lights in colder winter months, such costs are mitigated, as waste heat is not entirely wasted. Yes, gas furnaces heat cheaper, but we are talking about very small BTUH numberes here... probably a few hundred.  the net result will be your furnace running  like 5 seconds less during a typical day lol.

juanitos said:
if you want cheap, 4' t8 shoplight is 20$
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-Lighting-All-Season-Shop-Light-4-ft-2-Light-Grey-T8-Strip-Fluorescent-1242ZG-RE/202052422
Click to expand...
and yea i agree, bang for the buck wise, a cheap T8 shop light with some quality bulbs is still the best bang for ones buck. it will cover 2 seed flats perfectly, but will not effectivly grow anything past small seedlings... if you want to start plants way in advance you will need the HID or t5 or led setups.
 
2 t8's is not enough light though imo. a 4 bulb is a must... cost like 40 or 50 bucks, and at 32 watts per bulb will run at 128 watts more or less.
 
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