Since the advent of the LED growth lamp, the relationship between LED and HPS and the question of which "better" has always existed. Since then, LED grow lights must have been far away, but can they compete with HPS grow lights for wattage? And where do other types of HID grow lights come from?
If you check the forums or related news blogs, you will continue to find that growers are discussing HPS or LED lighting as the best choice. Interestingly, if you checked 4 or 5 years ago, HPS will be the clear winner of this debate. However, in recent years, LED plant growth lamp technology has made considerable progress, and today's debate is not clear. Nowadays, LED grow lights have been considered by many to be the best way to successfully achieve the best return and get the best return.
In recent years, the price of LED grow lights has also fallen sharply, making the argument for LED grow lights even stronger. Those who have used HPS lights for many years may refuse to switch to LED growth lights, especially due to higher upfront costs. However, LED planting lights are generally cheaper in the long run due to their lower power consumption and no regular maintenance. The intensity of the HPS growth bulb will decrease significantly over time, so you need to replace the HPS bulb regularly to ensure that the growth light is fully utilized. LED grow lights do not lose intensity like HPS grow lights and are usually as bright at the end of their life cycle, with a typical life span of 50,000 to 100,000 hours.
HPS grow lights with LED
When choosing between LED growth lamps and HID lamps, one of the deciding factors is that the cost of LEDs is usually much higher than the equivalent HID system.
For many people, this is the only important factor, and this is the main reason why HID lighting continues to be so popular. In other words, some select companies are now making good lamps at low cost.
Below is a list of the best LED grow lights under $100.
However, the initial cost of lamps is not the only cost to be considered. You need to consider the total cost. Until recently, LEDs have become very popular, even if they are much more expensive than HID.
There is a reason for this.
The energy produced by LED grow lights is much less than the energy used by HPS or MH lights. In the long run, this greatly reduces operating costs and makes them more affordable.
In addition, the lifespan of LED diodes is much longer than HID bulbs, so you don't have to replace the bulbs once a year, saving even more. There are far fewer problems, and these bulbs contain mercury, which is not good for environmental disposal.
Finally, you need to consider the heat output of any lighting solution.
HID lamps emit a lot of heat and need to be dealt with. The refrigerator is not cheap and cannot run.
Since LED lights are much colder than HPS lights or MH lights, more operating costs can be saved. If you use LED grow lights, you may actually need to heat your garden in winter if you live in an area with a cold climate.
Advantages of LED plant lights
LED grow lights emit less heat than HPS
According to the manufacturers of LED grow lights, their lights emit 90% less heat than HPS lights. This is one of the biggest selling points of LED lights. Anyone who grows indoors at certain times of the year in certain parts of the country knows that heat can be a big problem for the garden. If you are an indoor grower in Alaska, heating may not be a problem, but I know my garage will be very hot from late spring to summer. In midsummer, there is no garden in my garage because it is too hot, too bright or too bright. This is an important reason why I give a lot of consideration to LED lights. You can give me longer time and reduce communication needs,
LED underground lights consume less energy than HPS
Another big selling point of LED lights is low power consumption. Obviously, the opposite is that more LED lights are needed to match the performance of HPS lights. I think the devil lies in the mathematical details. As LED lights get stronger per watt over time, this part of the debate increasingly turns to LED lights. Some LED companies will swear that their lamps can reach 1000 watts of HPS performance with greatly reduced output power, but it is still difficult to say whether this is true. After all, they are selling things.
However, I think that the total power of LED power "X" can total 1000 watts of HPS power and the argument that "X" is less than 1000 can be derived from the light energy consumption itself and from the fact that the air conditioner does not need to operate very difficult (if any) , Which makes the LED situation more powerful.
Higher output of LED grow lights
Because LED lights can provide a spectrum that exactly matches plants, higher yields can ultimately be achieved. This is especially true for lamps with additional UV and IR lamps with these blooming LEDs on them.
Plants can accurately obtain the required light, and have programmable and customizable light, which can be accurately obtained when needed, so it can provide you with higher quality fruits and buds.
LED lights are more suitable for the environment
All the previous discussion points are based on quantifiable mathematics. The specific mathematical operation depends on the specific AC power requirements and the time that the LED light can work normally before it fails. In either case, the LED argument is that if HPS crops are compared with LED crops, the energy consumption of LED crops and the replacement cost of lights are lower, and the energy consumption of LED crops is even less. The cost is higher than the time to produce HPS. These savings also take into account that the installation cost of LED lights is often higher than HPS initially.
One thing that really caused controversy is that LED lights are better for the environment than HPS lights because of energy savings. Growing hemp indoors has a huge carbon footprint, and reducing this footprint is priceless. Whether this is a concern for a particular grower depends on the grower, but I definitely don’t want to spend more energy than I need to grow hemp. I would rather grow cannabis outdoors, and hope that one day, but this is one of the biggest selling points of my personal use of LED lights.
Disadvantages of LED grow lights
The initial cost of LED planting lights is relatively high, but due to low operating costs, it can save costs in the long term.
LED grow lights have not yet been standardized among various manufacturers, which makes it difficult to compare purchases. Nevertheless, the LED growth lamp industry has come a long way, and design practices have become more and more consistent.
LED grow lights produce very little heat, which is an advantage for many people. However, those who grow LEDs in colder places indoors may need to supplement the extra heat generated by HID lights (such as HPS or MH).
in conclusion
Both LED planting lights and HPS planting lights can achieve high yields, and both have advantages. If the initial cost is not a problem, the answer to a better response will depend on other key factors that help you grow, such as: B. Your planned planting method and environmental conditions and the size of the planting area.
In short, there are many factors that determine whether LED growth lamps are better than HPS lamps. The debate may continue for many years. The mathematics provided by the LED growers proved that they were correct, while the mathematics provided by the HPS producers showed that they were correct, and both parties claimed that the other was calculating the numbers incorrectly. Because the types of cannabis and environmental factors vary around the world, it is difficult to determine.
