Do you mind saying where and how much you paid for your lighting? I'm interested in anything that works. Thanks for sharing the info.

Tim

If it works for you, that is all it counts. Never mind what others say.

How many seedling are you/have been growing unde 240w power ?
My 48" -T8 with 2 x 32w (=64w) can accommodate 20 small pots of about 4-5" diameter.
Like Tim, I am also interested in something that works and is COST EFFECTIVE.

I spent $270 for the light and you could grow probably 6 plants to maturity. Honestly I would never pay this much for an LED ever again just because I could do just as much on a cheaper budget but I have gotten amazing results. I would recommend using this with hydropinics!

Another pic

Another

Yah, seems LED's work good for grow lights. However, they are mostly still cost prohibitive up front. I expect that in the coming years, we will be able to buy they much cheaper. The electricity cost per lumen should be much lower than most other forms of lighting.
Bruce

LEDS work great AND ARE cost effective IF you make your own.
I see most of the internet info as being B.S. in general.
Sales crap or stuff that pertains to other plants(POT) not peppers.
Peppers grow from seed for me to maturity IF given light from 5000k - 6500k with fluoros.
Other plants NEED specific light needs,like orchids and pot.
Peppers DON'T need the stuff vendors say you need to grow plants.

I have great success with Blue in 44onm to 480nm and red from 625nm - 675nm.

Actually,IF you want to make your own,LEDs are pretty cheap,so are drivers etc.

I've been seeing a LOT of growers using high watt,6500k led spots with great success.

I personally have been using red and blue 1 watt Leds for several years.
They are equal to Fluoros but put out the wavelengths plants like= more better...Last a lot longer than Fluoros too.
I have a grow area that has a heat problem-no ventilation.
LEDS are cooler than T 8's I replaced my t12's with.
T 8's suck.
Lower Lumens and a crap selection of K.
I need 5000k-6500k at at least 3000lm. for my shelves.

I flood my grow shelves with tons more USABLE light using my LEDS.

I gave away a plant that filled a Scion that I called my kitchen plant.
It was grown under LEDS mostly.
The window has a film on it.
Plants WILL not grow on the shelf without help...

Kitchen plant.

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[URL=http://s403.photobucket.com/user/smoemaster_2007/media/2012%20pics/IM004937.jpg.html][IMG]http://i403.photobucket.com/albums/pp111/smoemaster_2007/2012%20pics/IM004937.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

A combination of 1 watt stars and 1 wat or less LEDs are what I use.

I go by what works for my grow.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pRZO1nNwAQFBbcbpYRDaS6R29V1JXaAsA0SsRI0hGM8/edit.

I am starting to experiment with solar energy storage for use at night. I have a deep cell battery and the other gear ready to set up as soon as the temperatures start to moderate -we're still mostly below freezing up here.

So, do I gather that LEDs are just as good as any other lighting? This might work well for me since I am trying to find devices that run on low wattage.

I'm no expert on making L.E.D. Lights but they are very cost efficient and they do not produce as much heat as other so yes they are awesome but for the right price

i'm testing a DIY led setup atm. Looking for lower watts, better PAR, less heat than the t5's i have. Here's a pic. I'm not quite ready to post specs / build thread until i'm sure that the light actuall works lol. But it costs me ~25 dollars to make one for 2x2x2 area.

Compare your electric bill to LED vrs. florescent , from what I understand LEDs save enough to pay for themselves in energy savings in a year. I could be wrong but that's what I understand .Would love some feedback on this.

OK LED fans, more info needed.. Fill in the blanks...

From my experience the 3 watt per chip true grow lights give the best results. I ran a 96 x 3 watt LED light a 96 x 5 watt LED light a 400 watt HID and a 250 watt CFL each had their own grow table a 2x4 ft area with a mix of different pepper types. The LED's were the best over all both were reflector type and switchable grow or flower.

3 watt LED no problems fast growth good light penetration and able to keep light close to plants (no stretching)

5 watt LED Chinense type plants no problems others would burn or distort (to bright will cause sunburn) had to raise lights some plants would then stretch for the light

400 watt HID uses the same power as 800 watts LED heat is a problem have to add more fans, results not as good as LED's plants respond to the LED better

250 watt CFL uses more electricity than a 500 watt LED plant response weaker color, slower growth and development.

The power used by LED's is around 58 volts so watt's used should be around 50 - 60 % of watts produced. The color is what is used by plants not us so when you leave the area everything is green for awhile. Operating temperatures are 73-76 degrees so heat is not a issue

All Led's are not the same you need to check the power draw before you buy as all are not what they are represented as.

Here is a web site, I have used their lights for a year now with great results and quality

Here is a link that might be useful: LED lights

OKgrowin, how large is that area in that picture above? You say the grow area is 2x2x2 but it looks much larger than that. Is it feet or yards you are talking about.

I have been thinking of building some led light fixtures for some time now and would like to find some good info on the subject. Anyone know of a good source for a DIY web site. Mind you, I know absolutely nothing on the subject of LED lighting.

Here is a link that might be useful: grow pics

I have been thinking of building some led light fixtures for some time now and would like to find some good info on the subject. Anyone know of a good source for a DIY web site. Mind you, I know absolutely nothing on the subject of LED lighting.

Here is a link that might be useful: grow pics

My 4'- T8 Florescent system ( 3 twin tube) , with a total investment of about $70, provides about 16 sq-ft of grow surface. The running cost, when all 3 units are switched on uses 195w/hr ( 3kwhr in a 16 hour shift ). Of course it costs more than window sill but it is much much better. LOL

Seysonn

Someday I will probably go with LED's. But for now, the Floro shop lights are working great. But one of these years, I will be making the switch.
Bruce

I'm currently going with a combination of LED and CFL.

I will post why I went with 1 watt Leds.

I mount mine on 3/8th thick aluminum plate,no cooling fans etc
8in. X 16 in. plate.

I can put 48-50 Leds on each panel.

Most Leds in red that are stars are 35LM., blues are in general 60-80 lumens.
If I used 3 watt LEDS I'd get a LOT more heat per panel (couldn't put them as close apart) and,in general said panel would be a LOT less Lumens,BUT A LOT HOTTER,needing cooling.
I read all this stuff about a 3Watt Led at 25-35LM is better than ANY panel of 1 Watt Leds.
Penetration or whatever.
Through my experiments,a Lm. is a LM.,no matter what wavelength.
How can a panel of 50 LEDS at a way total higher Lm. be crap compared to the same sized panel of 3 watt Leds at a lesser LM (and selection of wavelengths in general)?

ALSO My 1 Watt LEDS are in several Wavelengths that 3 watt ones don't come in.(or didn't a few years ago).

Usable plant wavelengths-
380 - 400 nm Start of visible light spectrum. Process of chlorophyll absorption begins. UV protected plastics ideally block out any light below this range.

400 - 520 nm This range includes violet, blue, and green bands. Peak absorption by chlorophyll occurs, and a strong influence on photosynthesis. (promotes vegetative growth)

520 - 610 nm This range includes the green, yellow, and orange bands and has less absorption by pigments.

610 - 720 nm This is the red band. Large amount of absorption by chlorophyll occurs, and most significant influence on photosynthesis. (promotes flowering and budding) The ratio of red (660nm) to far red (730nm) in sunlight is about 1.2:1

720 - 1000 nm There is little absorption by Chlorophyll here, but Phytochrome uses a nice portion. Flowering and germination is influenced. Near and above the higher end of the band is the Infrared spectrum, which can also be heat and could cause elongation or affect water absorption/transpiration.

Many of these plant pigments have dual wavelength peaks that can be activated with led light combinations:The visible colors of light from shortest to longest wavelength are: violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Ultraviolet radiation has a shorter wavelength than the visible violet light. Infrared radiation has a longer wavelength than visible red light. White light is

Beta-carotene 450nm 480-485nm dual peak
chlorophyll a 430nm 662nm dual peak
chlorophyll b 453nm 642nm dual peak
phycoerythrin 590nm single peak
phycocyanin 625nm single peak
a mixture of the colors of the visible spectrum. Here is a summary of wavelengths (nm). If you are building your own LED Grow Lights it may be of help when selecting LEDs for your project.

200 - 280 nm UVC ultraviolet range which is generally harmful to plants. LEDs in this spectrum are non-existant or very expensive.

280 - 315 nm Includes harmful UVB ultraviolet light which causes plants colors to fade. UV LEDs in this range are now available and coming down in price.

315 - 380 nm Range of UVA ultraviolet light which is neither harmful nor beneficial to most plants.

1 Watt Leds that I use cover more wavelenghts and added up are higher Lumens.
I also use higher Lumen 10mm Leds.A LOT are 100 lm.- 180 lm.
BUT they come in a LOT less wavelengths than stars.(mostly lower reds but the same in the blue specrtum).
I use stars above and 10mm Leds vertically for EARLY branching and Very Tight plants at a young age.

My shelves are 18in. X 48 in.
I used 3 16X16 stars above and 6, 10mm panels vertically around my plants.
A lot of my starts bud up heavily on the shelf.
I get pure seeds for my personal collection from a few of the early starts.

The cost of Leds has changed recently.
I got quantity discounts on my ! watt LEDs.
I see 3 watt ones have gone down in price but the Lm. hasn;t changed.
I see some success with high Lm. white LED spotlights.
Lots of people are using 20+ watt spots with great success in cool white.
Peppers aren't light specific like other stuff is that seems to be the source of what people read on the net.
I know people with indoor pepper grows that do great under blue light only.
The whole red for budding isn't for peppers as far as I can see.

I do my LEDS to try and get EVERY wavelength I can that the sun puts out that is plant usable.
3 watt LEDs don't come in as many wavelengths as ! watt ones and 10mm ones combined.

I wish the white LEDS in the LM they have now were available at the price they are now when I first started using Leds.
They basically now are the same as my Fluoros were.
5000 - 6500K and in MUCH higher Lm.
I read in Europe a lot of pot growers are using 12 volt halogen headlights with good success too.
I believe heat is a problem.Also I guess pot needs red lifght for budding...

I think on the cost of running LEDS put out a LOT more lm. than Fluoros that probably are in the same ballpark as far as cost per month.
But if the LEDS you are using in your panel put out more LM.
You can cover either a lot more plants or the same amount with a lot more lumens.
Also you can cover a lot more plant usable wavelengths according to what leds you use.

It's all about if you believe the stuff vendors post or people growing only peppers under LEDS or whatever.
You have to decide for your grow as to what works for you.
I'd say most people should stick to Fluoros for starts in general.
They want a relatively small # of starts for spring planting.
The cost of any more expensive light source would not be cost effective in general.
The people who start a lot of plants either for starts or for harvest changes the game totally.

LEDs are my choice.
I don't think most commercial panels are worth the $.
Make your own.

Hi this is okgrowin. Sorry I'm not used to using garden web. No notifications when someone asks u question like thp or reddit =[

The space is 4x2x2 ft. Uses 2 lights about 36w each (about half t8s).

I have since gone from a square design to a more spread out bar design (like flouros).

I previously used 10w led arrays from eBay which work great. but now am using 3w LEDs. As its cheaper.

My current design for a 4x2x2 shelf uses 2 bars. So ~75w and costs ~50 to make. Takes more work than going and getting some cheap t8s from HD but can pay you back if you use them often.

I'll make a diy that u can learn from soon ...
Here it is under construction.
linkk

Here's the old deprecated design (costs more , less light choice) instructable (learn from it)

"Hi this is okgrowin. Sorry I'm not used to using garden web. No notifications when someone asks u question like thp or reddit =[ "

Actually you can get notified. There's a checkbox just below the text box of your reply or initial post.

Of course then it will appear you're getting emails directly from other members, but it's really just replies to your post. That threw me the first couple times it happened.

When Lee Valley Tools started carrying LED light components I almost went with it but then read people's blogs putting them down.

I still think I will need more lighting and am thinking about going Lee Valley - they run off of 12 volt which would be perfect for my set up.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=70323&cat=1,43349,70322

I am totally ignorant about these lights so would appreciate an opinion.

I use T8 fluoro shop lights. 4 bulbs to cover an 8 sq. ft area (4' long by 2' wide). Each bulb is 32 watts, so 4 bulbs take 128 watts, or 0.128 kW. I run them for 16 hrs per day, so that makes 2.05 kWh per day.

Electricity here averages about 10 cents per kWh, so it costs me about 20 cents per day to power my light set-up. That would be about $73 per year if I ran them every day of the year, but I shut down for the summer so it's less than that.

Seems pretty inexpensive to me, as far as hobbies go.

That explains some of the differences in opinion. Our electric is 10x your cost.
Our province has invested heavily in unreliable wind power and other green energy and the price goes up twice a year when the daylight hours change. It never decreases.
I know, enough whining...

don555:
the leds i'm growng use half that (70w per 4'x2'x2') so they pay for themselves in a couple years (since we don't use them yearround).

Lumens/watt are about the same for LED and fluorescent, ie, the efficiency is similar.

So I've been looking around and noticed a PS (Power Supply) is needed for the LED's. Anybody got a URL that has a formula or chart to figure out what's needed? Or is it as simple as the PS in the link above will power 36 1W LED's or 13 3W LED's?

TIA!

You need to match the current ( MA )
And you add voltage of LEDs.

So 20 200mA 3v LEDs I need
A 60V 200mA driver

I'm using a 300 watt Platinum LED that uses 3 watt LED's and covers 12 wave lengths. It's absolutely incredible. It's possible to grow mature

plants that produce fruit. They are around $350 but are large enough to cover a 4ft x 4 ft area (I built a 4x4x4 ft enclosure with PVC and reflective Mylar). can't be beat ...