LED vs T5 ?

[Plant Heathen]

What would be bett 2 14w T5 or 45w of LED?

 

[bluemax]

Speaking generally, 28 watts of T5 florescent light will not equal 45 watts of LED light. BUT - that assumes approximately the same spectrum, the same light distribution and similar efficiency of the light-producing units. At least the last of these is likely, though not certain. 'Sorry there is no simple answer without the specifics and an analysis of those.

 

[Plant Heathen]

Speaking generally, 28 watts of T5 florescent light will not equal 45 watts of LED light. BUT - that assumes approximately the same spectrum, the same light distribution and similar efficiency of the light-producing units. At least the last of these is likely, though not certain. 'Sorry there is no simple answer without the specifics and an analysis of those.

The best I got is the T5 HO are 65K and the LED is red and blue. I would post links but I think that is a no no.

 

[nimbulan]

The LEDs will produce significantly more light and won't need yearly bulb replacements but you may not like looking at the pink/purple light all the time.

 

[Plant Heathen]

I dont minde the red and blue. I just won't the best for my plants.

 

[NemJones]

The best I got is the T5 HO are 65K and the LED is red and blue. I would post links but I think that is a no no.

Sigh.

6500K is the spectrum of light which the bulb is running.
LED and t5 are both either red or blue. You pick the spectrum.
Red for color, Blue for growth. An equal balance is desired of both from plants.
6500K is white- Blue light.
3000K Is Red spectrum.


LED will last longer, and be much more expensive.
T5H0 you will need to replace the bulb at least once a year. 10$ each a bulb in my town.
(Even if it comes on, doesnt mean its still running at max efficiency.)


I dont have any experience with LED. However, the experience that I do have is buying a 400 Dollar rig
for my salt water corals, only to have it not be enough light and become a waste of space. Others report success with
LED, However I simply do not like them one bit.

ps- links are fine.

PSS - it will be Extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible to grow Nepenthes
with just 2 t5h0 bulbs. You might get away with beginner species, but the picker ones are much
more hungry. The same for dews. The more light you dump on them, the happier, larger, and more colorful
your plants will be.


http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/1000/00/00d22a3d-4f42-4bd6-afc1-34d00843a1ae_1000.jpg

I own 4 of these. ^ Generally about 50$ at home depot. (2-Light 14-Watt White Fluorescent Grow Light) (one foot bulb)
I use them STRICTLY for overwintering plants. I tried growing my nepenthes with them,
but they do simply do not get the job done. They will keep your plants alive, but they wont flourish,
or color up. They eventually stall out, get weak and wither away. (And you practically have to have this light directly on top of the plants for it to actually do anything.)


Sunlight Supply, Inc. Sun Blaze T5 HO 24 - 2 ft 4 Lamp 960295 : HydroGalaxy.com

And this is one of the 2 monsters in my Lighting army that keeps my Vivarium chambers alive and growing.
Ive kept them in 90+ humidity for basically years on end, and are very sturdy workhorses. IMO
The bare minimum for growing ANY plant species. yearly maintenance is 40$, just the bulbs.
They ALSO include reflectors behind the bulbs, making them at least 35% more efficient.
The home depot ones do not have reflectors of any kind.

(IF you think about it, the second light is twice the length of the first one, with 2 more bulbs and REFs. In my book, that makes them 1/4th as cheap as the alternative, and much more of an economical choice.
In my book, You should bite the bullet and buy the expensive lighting fixtures right off the bat instead of the cheap ones, because it really sucks when you have to go back and spend even more money on lighting,
after discovering you wasted money on something that barely works.

 

[Plant Heathen]

Sigh.

6500K is the spectrum of light which the bulb is running.
LED and t5 are both either red or blue. You pick the spectrum.
Red for color, Blue for growth. An equal balance is desired of both from plants.
6500K is white- Blue light.
3000K Is Red spectrum.


LED will last longer, and be much more expensive.
T5H0 you will need to replace the bulb at least once a year. 10$ each a bulb in my town.
(Even if it comes on, doesnt mean its still running at max efficiency.)


I dont have any experience with LED. However, the experience that I do have is buying a 400 Dollar rig
for my salt water corals, only to have it not be enough light and become a waste of space. Others report success with
LED, However I simply do not like them one bit.

ps- links are fine.

PSS - it will be Extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible to grow Nepenthes
with just 2 t5h0 bulbs. You might get away with beginner species, but the picker ones are much
more hungry. The same for dews. The more light you dump on them, the happier, larger, and more colorful
your plants will be.


http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/1000/00/00d22a3d-4f42-4bd6-afc1-34d00843a1ae_1000.jpg

I own 4 of these. ^ Generally about 50$ at home depot. (2-Light 14-Watt White Fluorescent Grow Light) (one foot bulb)
I use them STRICTLY for overwintering plants. I tried growing my nepenthes with them,
but they do simply do not get the job done. They will keep your plants alive, but they wont flourish,
or color up. They eventually stall out, get weak and wither away. (And you practically have to have this light directly on top of the plants for it to actually do anything.)


Sunlight Supply, Inc. Sun Blaze T5 HO 24 - 2 ft 4 Lamp 960295 : HydroGalaxy.com

And this is one of the 2 monsters in my Lighting army that keeps my Vivarium chambers alive and growing.
Ive kept them in 90+ humidity for basically years on end, and are very sturdy workhorses. IMO
The bare minimum for growing ANY plant species. yearly maintenance is 40$, just the bulbs.
They ALSO include reflectors behind the bulbs, making them at least 35% more efficient.
The home depot ones do not have reflectors of any kind.

(IF you think about it, the second light is twice the length of the first one, with 2 more bulbs and REFs. In my book, that makes them 1/4th as cheap as the alternative, and much more of an economical choice.
In my book, You should bite the bullet and buy the expensive lighting fixtures right off the bat instead of the cheap ones, because it really sucks when you have to go back and spend even more money on lighting,
after discovering you wasted money on something that barely works.

The HomeDepot is the T5 I was looking at so that is junk.thanks for letting me know that. This is the LED I was lookin at. I was going to het two of them. They have good reviews.

Amazon.com : UP UPKJ Grow Lights, 45W Panel LED Plant Lights, Full Spectrum High Efficient Hydroponic Plant Bulbs For Indoor Plants Greenhouse Gardening : Patio, Lawn & Garden


Just let me know what you think please.

 

[nimbulan]

The main problem with LED fixtures is that there's so many on the market and it's very difficult to figure out which ones are good and how efficient they are. With fluorescents, all fixtures of the same type (T5, T8, etc) are pretty much the same so you know what you're getting.

I personally will only be using LEDs from now on, though I stick with white LEDs because the red/blue ones would drive me crazy and there's no benefit to using them vs regular white LEDs. Fluorescent bulbs fading and failing is a big pain and LEDs can be far more efficient.

 

[tommyr]

I'm trying out a few incandescent looking type LED "bulbs" on a few Sundews and so far so good. I HATE those pink purple LEDS.

 

[Grey Moss]

I accidentally bought those T8 led replacements instead of regular bulbs and they seem to be just as effective as the florescent were. It seems like you could use those for the same performance on your plants with more energy efficiency.

 

[Plant Heathen]

I went with a 90W equipment flud light LED. It's only 5000k but it seems to being doing well.