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Time to Relight

AlabamaJack

AlabamaJack

I am getting the fever again and am wanting to upgrade my lighting for my "growrage".
 
The germinator is fine the way it is.  
 
The grow box is what I am wanting to update...
 
Currently, I have 18 42 watt CFLs which equals 756 watts (power consumption) that are 6500K color temperature for vegetative growth.
 
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What light/lights (LED) should I replace the CFLs with. 
 
The dimensions of the grow box is 4' square and 6 feet tall inside with the CFLs mounted on 6 light vanity fixtures and the height of the light bars is adjustable.
 
I would also like to upgrade my "slow grow" area from standard 40 watt shop light fixtures.  There are three 8 foot shelves with 6 shoplights (12 40 watt bulbs per shelf)
 
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any/all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
AJ
 
Great to see you getting back in the mix.

LEDs are available in pretty much all spectrums, including grow light types. Look into those. They might have higher lumens and might be able to use bulbs in every other socket.

XO, Ronnie
SL
 
i would get a 315w CMH light for your growbox.
 
can get the cheap wing reflector package. or a higher tech one.
 
at 315 watts it will halve your power consumption. provide better growing spectrum and is easier to manage just 1 fixture.
 
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for your shelf grow system i would advise that led strips are good and cheap but you would need something to mount them to.
if you give up the adjustable height you can just mount then to the shelves directly with zipties
here you can see my setup with the led strips. and can see next vid after that to see plants do grow fine under them.
this solution is a bit more diy as you have to wire the strips a little and mount them yourself.
 
or they have updated standard shoplights to led see homedepot / lowes if you want to use them.
 
I've had good success with the 315W LEC.  Awesome growth on the peppers I have under them !  Stunning growth actually !!  The fixture that I have doesn't have the best canopy penetration though, so I use two fixtures.
 
Then there are the T5 fixtures (HO fluorescents).  The fixtures are great for seedlings and early growth.... Easy to use and doesn't overheat those sensitive little plants :)
 
But to be fair, LED is the future of lighting. It's difficult to cut through the specifications of some lamps though. Look for PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation)  and PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density) ratings. Don't buy an LED based strictly on WATTS.  Just because it's bright doesn't mean a plant will respond to it.
 
Good luck to ya !
 
Jeff
 
 
 
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