Originally published at: https://homegrowncannabisco.com/grow-your-own-with-kyle-kushman/growing-indoors/hps-vs-led-which-one-is-better/
The attraction with indoor cannabis cultivation is understandable. Storms, heat-waves, cold snaps and pests do not (in theory, at least) affect the indoor grower, nor do little details like season and climate. For as long as we can remember, HPS and HID lamps have been the only way to guarantee BIG yields, but LEDs have…
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I’ve used MH & HPS for years.
Pretty old school.
My philosophy is “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it “
I’ve yet to try LED’s
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As a new cannabis grower and new to indoor growing I have decided on LED. The primary reason is energy use, being on solar, but still grid tied, I try to limit my energy use so I dont use the grid as much.
I seriously looked at T5, for several reasons, but mainly as I have several t5ho fixtures already from when I was keeping reef tanks. Again though the efficiency of LED is what pushed my decision.
As the new waves of technology are being used I went with led simple I wanted less wattage pulled from wall less heat exchanging needed to deal with the led setups the led unit itself is the biggest investment the others follow and once dialed in I feel as they are the future of the movement
I chose LED myself for my next run. I still have some metal halide and hps laying around but I wanted to try something new and after doing a lot of research on par/ppf/ppfd and the spectrum cannabis needs for growth I settled on trying a 1500w full spectrum led grow light for a 4x4 tent. For a bit I got hung up on the wattage rule but after more investigation I learned that with the advances in led tech, chips, and lenses the wattage rule is outdated as leds can now create more intense light at lower power consumption. The 1500w led light I purchased only consumes 250 watts total with both veg and bloom switches on but the ppfd value at 24 inches right at the canopy is still well over 700. (It varies slightly depending on where the meter is placed but 700 is the average)
I’d strongly suggest in investing in an led grow light. They’re only getting better and better.
I also am old school i love the yields i get from the hps/mh and i keep my heat around 75to 80 with good exhaust fans
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I have also opted for led’s I use 2- 1200 W set up and they seem to do very well. Coming from a state where it was illegal to grow any marijuana it was hard to use the HPS and metal halide because of power consumption and the power company monitoring personal use and turning people into the authorities for excessive use on the grid. And having kids in the house being afraid of the excessive heat and starting fires. And now a lot of commercial setups are going led so I do believe they are the wave of the future and the old ways will go to the sideline for led’s.
Just the thread I was looking for. I need a new light for seedlings and second stage for all my plants. I want to try a different brand for testing purposes. I have one Bloomspect blurple (can’t stand the color), but it does a great job with seedlings. I have a MARS Hydro TS1000, TS3000, and SP3000. I’ve heard Spider Farmer was a good one?
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@kmac If you’re looking for a light I have a 1500 W series Iplantop brand light that I have it has never been plugged in or used I would get rid of. message me if you’re intrested.
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I have just sent a message to a friend of mine who may be interested. I’m not a huge fan of that type of light. If she’s still looking, I’ll message you. Will that work? Actually, there are a couple who may be. I’ll let you know. I appreciate it!
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Perfect thank you for the help.
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You’re welcome. How come you never used it? I’m just curious.
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I was going to use it and try some cloning or just to start the vege. Quicker so I didn’t have to wait for the harvest to use my other lite but I just don’t really have the space to do it yet so I was just gonna wait until I move to a bigger house or once my son moves out I would take his bedroom or something in that line and then I would have the Room.
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Copy that. I catch up with you once I hear back. 
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Roger that… I can ship it anywhere I sell a lot of stuff online so I have shipments going out every day
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