Comment

Comment by Craig Shevlin on March 18, 2015 at 8:49am

Has anyone gone to 100% LED's?

I know they can be expensive; but I want to go to less voltage and have them fed off solar panels and battery system.

Craig

Comment by JoAnne Bell on March 17, 2015 at 12:11pm

Hi!

If you'd like a comprehensive comparison of artifical lighting, I recommend 5 You Tube videos, created by Sylvia Bernstein, comparing: Induction, LEDs, HIDS and flourescents. You can check them out here. They'll help you choose the best lights for you.

I've found that there's not one light or one system that's right for everyone. It depends on your grow space, growing goals, and budget (both upfront and overtime). You really have to educate yourself and choose what's right for your situation. These videos will help you do that. The 5th one is my favorite because it compares the real costs of each light from the day you purchase it through 8 years of ownership. Sylvia takes into account the cost of the fixture, bulb replacement and yearly electric bills.

I hope it helps!

Comment by Craig Shevlin on February 23, 2015 at 12:03pm

With the price of electricity these days, does it make sense to pay a higher price for LED's?  And do LED''s provide the light that is good for growing vegetables?

Comment by john mark on March 13, 2014 at 3:12pm

hi everybody, has anyone looked into induction lighting? inda-grow lighting website and youtube videos look real nice. any feedback on this.

thanks

mark

Comment by TCLynx on November 11, 2013 at 5:11pm

so far most of the hydroponic growers I know who have researched LED lighting extensively are still saying that the LED lighting is not quite there yet.  Most people getting good results with LED are still also using some form of HID lighting for at least a portion of the day.

Remember that most LED and florescent lighting has to be placed very close to the leaves of the plants to provide enough plant available radiation to be effective and by having light fixtures that basically totally cover the planting footprint at a few inches away from the leaves, it means it isn't really an appropriate type of lighting for use in a greenhouse where I expect you are trying to harvest as much natural lighting as you can.

Comment by Tom OBrien on October 25, 2013 at 9:31pm

@Rob - When I was looking into lighting options eight months ago, I didn't see any LED fixtures that were in my price range. I really like the idea of using LEDs, but "cost effective" was not a phrase I would associate with LED grow lights. That may be changing as the prices of LED lights come down. It looks like price for home LED light bulbs has dropped quite a bit. I don't know if the same is true for grow lights. 

Comment by Rob Greenlee on October 25, 2013 at 1:27pm

What are the best and most cost effective LED AP growing light fixtures?  I don't see much discussion about it and most of the lights in the market are really expensive and have no way of knowing if they actually are worth the money. Any folks here with LED growing experience in AP greenhouses? Thanks!

Comment by TCLynx on June 8, 2013 at 6:41pm

Different lighting for different purposes is definitely something that indoor growers look at.  And I tell you the same variety of lettuce grown under different lighting or temperature or nutrient conditions will definitely look very different.  There are so many variables.

But definitely if you want nice dark red lettuces or purple basil you need a certain amount of UV light.  I notice stuff out under the sun is very different from the stuff under the different greenhouse plastics.

Comment by Jon Parr on June 2, 2013 at 11:27pm

Cool. When you go, ask to see the lettuce in natural light, or incandescent. You may be surprised.

Comment by Jon Parr on June 2, 2013 at 7:54pm

Randall, if it's convenient for you, I'd like to hear the specific data and progress of that test. I presume you are reporting the apparent color of the lettuce with LED and HPS lights on, or did you get to compare them under natural light? Artificial grow lights are, well, artificial. Thanks

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