indoor LEC LED or HPS in 4x4 tent

MNXR250R

MNXR250R

I have a new 4x4 tent coming this week and am thinking about a new fixture for it.  Currently I have a bunch of T5 6500K fixtures and recently bought a new VIPARSPECTRA 700 LED.  The 700 LED is in a 2.5x2.5 tent with 4 peppers small plants.
 
For the next light I am thinking about trying a Ceramic Metal Halide.  I stopped in a small grow shop when I was traveling through Nashville this week and talked to the owner about the CMH.  Seems that it has a good light spectrum and should cover a 4x4 area (315W).
 
During the winter months I do not have any problems with heat in my grow room.  I can pull the cold in from outside easily.  It's the summer growing that gets tough without turning the A/C on all day long. Heat is one of my main concerns.
 
I know that HPS had a long history of being the defacto standard in grow tech.  LED is coming into the mainstream as well.  I'm not sure if the LEC is an upcoming tech, or is it a here today-gone tomorrow tech ?
 
Would like to know what you think about the CMH fixtures. 
 
Jeff
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LED is cooler, can be more efficient, and spectrum/wavelengths ppfd is more customizable so many manufacturers / retailers are going led.
LEC/CMH have gotten more popular over the past few years but they are kind of in between hps and led... so lots of people just skip them.
If lec was marketed and got popular 15 years ago before leds were popular they would have a lot more market share vs HPS.
 
Anyway investing in more led is probably what i would do. COB LED is the new cool thing to do. lots of people DIY them or you can buy a manufactured one.
the technology is like bleeding edge brand new stuff though. not sure if thats ok with you.
also led is more expensive upfront. so up to you will pony up $$$ for no maintenance / less energy usage / less heat.
 
this guy (@ignite) was a long time member here and grows peppers.
he has info on his website i'm sure you could get into a fun email convo with him / buy a setup
 
or diy threads here and here to get you started
 
I use a 30+ year old 400mh fixture and reflector. 6500k bulb in a 4X3 area..Works quite well, though my 1000 in a 6 x 5 area is like the sun it's self..I never used leds but still think you achieve the best spectrums with the MH unless you buy a really high end LED..I may be wrong I'm an old fart and don't change too easy. 
 
My best growth is where Metal Hallide and High Pressure Sodium cross paths.  Next is on the Metal Halide side.  The side that is mostly HPS lags behind greatly.  From the cannabis forums, I understand they are mainly used for flowering not growth.  My stuff goes outside before I am concerned about flowering.  So even though I am old school, I am going to have to say if you can figure out LEDS you will be better off because you will have the right spectrum. 

Thing is, its figuring them out that is difficult.  Every manufacturer has different claims about how their product is best..
 
I am very new to this community but spend a god deal of time in another pepper community. In that community there are several growers that swear by the CMH and have used them through entire growth cycles on 400W set-ups in 4 x 4 tents. The results they have posted are phenomenal.  I personally have been using HPS for the last 10 years and recently invested in LED fixtures.  In the past 12 months of use I have noted several pro's and con's.
 
Con's are like Drew stated, it is hard to get the right fixture unless you educate yourself as to what specific wavelengths your plants require and then match that to the spec's of a light. This can be worked around by spending some real $  and getting a fixture with tunable outputs allowing you to adjust the combo or red, blue and white.  I have not gone that route. I have cheaper 300W fixtures from Amazon.
 
Pro's are reduced electricity, short, bushy plants and the fixtures have smaller footprints than HPS/MH/CMH fixtures.   I would post some current results but I am still figuring this forum out. I have 2, 3 foot tall peppers plants ( personal habanero cross and a BBG7 x 7 Pot Red) that I am harvesting pods off of.  The results inside of a 4 x 4 tent have been outstanding with a 300W LED and an added 4500K 300W CFL.
 
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