I feel like LED's are growing in popularity and are becoming more widely accepted as alternatives to HPS/MH lighting as the technology improves and prices begin to fall, but I'm curious as to why someone would choose a 100w Solarspec for $350 when you could pick up a 700w Apollo LED grow light for the same price. Just from reading on the SolarSpec website, these things seem pretty legit, but as with any new LED tech the prices are going to be a little inflated towards the earlier stages of business.
I'm pretty happy with LEDs. About a year ago I replaced my HID setup with a bunch of cheap Chinese LEDs. With multiple smaller LEDs I can spread out the light to a much larger area. I can adjust the height of lamps individually to better suit the plants they cover. Install is easier and I have less problems with cooling now too -- I no longer need to run A/C in the summer. The quality of my produce (medicinal marijuana) is more consistently good.
For me it's a question of convenience, practicality, and consistent quality; I think it's worth the extra $$ for LEDs.
I was worried the cheap off-brand LEDs would be bad, but my results have been excellent (100% of patients prefer the LED-grown produce). I don't understand why people pay thousands for the large premium systems.
EDIT: it is not linking directly to the 180 watt disc, that is the one I am using.
I have one of these over a surface next to a south facing window. It is actually providing an adequate amount of light but I feel as though it may not be a 100% substitution, somewhere closer to say 70-80% of what they truly need. If you are getting lower-wattage lights, it is not going to provide adequate light that these desert plants crave. Winter-growers especially will want ample light, but it depends on the plant as some desire full-sun and some in habitat grow under the cover of larger plants. They may survive but they will not thrive, but anything is better than nothing.
I also found this one.
Obviously that one would be better but is more expensive and slightly out of my price range. Am I better off to save for that one? I don't have a lot of space and really just want 1-3 plants.
Thanks for helping me figure out my wattage! I'm running on approximately a 2' X 2' area, so I think I will need. Do you think I can make two plants fit in there?
I think I'm gonna go with this LED light
I've tried a few different models. There is a company on amazon called apollo led and ive used several of that type of model which i bought for 1/4 of the price fromthis chinese company
The lights work excellent and i would recommend going with the larger models instead of the smaller models if you are running around 100 square feet just to avoid all the cordage.
Just tell the chinese company you are selling on amazon or ebay and want a sample. Ive only had one problem with my light because i dropped it and they sent replacement parts for cheap. Usually they take paypal payment for sample orders.
How about this one: www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GL100LED-Spectrum-Growing/dp/B00FGG1HDM/
100 bucks, plug and play... I've always grown with CFL but I would go LED if I could.
Cheers