Chachie09's Indoor

chachie09 · Feb 11, 2015

I will do my best to explain in the best way possible, although i do not have an exact answer for you as it would take many-a-scientific device. The way that light works, your 400W HPS for example, that 400W is broken up. X% to heat and Y% to light. HPS run pretty hot, which means quite a bit of that energy is going to heat, Id bet about 40ish%. Now is where things start to make a little sense, that other 60% goes to light, however, HPS is full spectrum. So that 60% is going to ALL wavelengths, with only X% of that 60% going to usable light for the plant. With LED, your ratio of power for heat to light output is much higher. You'd be looking at 20ish% to heat and 80ish% to light. LED's are manufactured to have only the wavelengths that the plant uses, no wasted light. That being said, you're looking at 80% of the total output of the light going to usable wavelengths. So overall, you're getting much more usable light/watt from an LED.

Example of my space, 5sqft, I had 525W, 100 of which were LED and the remainder was CFL. I upgraded to ~350W of LED and saw explosive growth almost overnight, and pods setting from flower within a week.

All of that being said, youd want to look at about 800(min)-1600W total for a 4x4 space. Remember to look at actual watts, and multiple panels is a good way to go for coverage vs one big one.

Roguejim · Feb 11, 2015

chachie09 said:
I will do my best to explain in the best way possible, although i do not have an exact answer for you as it would take many-a-scientific device. The way that light works, your 400W HPS for example, that 400W is broken up. X% to heat and Y% to light. HPS run pretty hot, which means quite a bit of that energy is going to heat, Id bet about 40ish%. Now is where things start to make a little sense, that other 60% goes to light, however, HPS is full spectrum. So that 60% is going to ALL wavelengths, with only X% of that 60% going to usable light for the plant. With LED, your ratio of power for heat to light output is much higher. You'd be looking at 20ish% to heat and 80ish% to light. LED's are manufactured to have only the wavelengths that the plant uses, no wasted light. That being said, you're looking at 80% of the total output of the light going to usable wavelengths. So overall, you're getting much more usable light/watt from an LED.

Example of my space, 5sqft, I had 525W, 100 of which were LED and the remainder was CFL. I upgraded to ~350W of LED and saw explosive growth almost overnight, and pods setting from flower within a week.

All of that being said, youd want to look at about 800(min)-1600W total for a 4x4 space. Remember to look at actual watts, and multiple panels is a good way to go for coverage vs one big one.

Thanks. I think I understand. Having said that, if I went with 800-1,600watts of LED, wouldn't my energy bill be 2-4 times more? I mean, watts are watts, right?

chachie09 · Feb 12, 2015

Roguejim said:
Thanks. I think I understand. Having said that, if I went with 800-1,600watts of LED, wouldn't my energy bill be 2-4 times more? I mean, watts are watts, right?

Well heres the problem, 4x4 is a tough space coverage wise. Id say you could probably run a couple 300's per tent/space and get about the same light output that you are getting but it will all be usable light. So yes, in a perfect world, you'd want to run 800-1600 total watts per space, BUT in a world where electricity is not that cheap, 2 300's would be about equivalent to what you have now, they are going to run about 170-180 each at the wall. You could probably get away with a little less, but i wouldn't.

Roguejim · Feb 12, 2015

chachie09 said:
Well heres the problem, 4x4 is a tough space coverage wise. Id say you could probably run a couple 300's per tent/space and get about the same light output that you are getting but it will all be usable light. So yes, in a perfect world, you'd want to run 800-1600 total watts per space, BUT in a world where electricity is not that cheap, 2 300's would be about equivalent to what you have now, they are going to run about 170-180 each at the wall. You could probably get away with a little less, but i wouldn't.

Thanks again! Last questions here.

Why is a 4x4 space tough to cover? What type/shape of space would a couple 300's be better suited for?

So, if I ran 2-300watt LEDS (600watts, total), I'm really only drawing ~350watts, and all the light is usable, right?

chachie09 · Feb 12, 2015

Looking back at that, it really is no different than any other space, just center the lights in the space. My brain thinks rectangular because that is the space ive always dealt with. Did you see the mount i made for my LED's? Im working on making it a bit more configurable, but something like it may be the ticket for you.

Correct, well, id say 80-90%. Led's put off heat, but hardly any. Switching to LED over what i had dropped my temps like 20-25*.

And you and i both know, there is never "one last question" hahaha!

PaulG · Feb 12, 2015

Your pruning and shaping is working out just great.

The plants are going to be awesome when they hilt maturity!

chachie09 · Feb 12, 2015

PaulG said:
Your pruning and shaping is working out just great.

The plants are going to be awesome when they hilt maturity!

What constitutes "maturity"?

PaulG · Feb 12, 2015

Plant out, flowering, and producing lots of pods! I'm mostly
thinking of plants like the Scorpion - It's going to be very cool!

And BIG

chachie09 · Feb 12, 2015

Scorp is already flowering/podding...HARD! :dance:

But yes, i am thinking of Using these 4 instead of replanting from seed for the garden (I was going to replant to have these strains, but would rather see how big i can get them. lol) and just upgrading them to 15gal smart pots...They are going to be beastly!

PaulG · Feb 13, 2015

Awright, can't wait to see those babies outside in big pots!

chachie09 · Mar 12, 2015

Well it happened! I was a VERY VERY lucky gent for my bday, and ended up with an entire tent setup!! 4x2x5 tent, 6" vortex s-line fan, and all the thermometers/hangers/etc that i needed. All set up now, will have more pics up tonight, but here she is!!!