LEDgardener

Im building a small grow box of 16"x16"x24" and I was thinking about getting one of those Full spectrum "1000 watt"(180 watt) leds for around $150 cad when someone showed me this build guide (http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-bu ... bridgelux/#) and said it gave him really good results.

The Bridgelux Gen. 2 comes in at around $200 with less watts than the Blurple lights. Assuming the amazon one isnt DOA what would the benefits be for going with a Diy strip light? If I were to spend $150 or $200 on the custom one would it result in a greater yield for my plants than the Amazon light (assuming it doesnt die)

It's the efficiency; the amount of electricity you will end up using to generate a given output for each light. Electrical costs become one of the primary input costs over time.

I actually dont pay for electricity so thats not an issue, I mean technically its built into the set cost of my rent, but I dont pay more or less depending on the electrical bill.

Not knowing the specs on the amazon light its impossible to know, but I'd still predict you'd get more light with the blux.

tomlongboat wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 10, 2018 8:17 am

I actually dont pay for electricity so thats not an issue, I mean technically its built into the set cost of my rent, but I dont pay more or less depending on the electrical bill.

If your in an illegal zone the electricity bill is a possible public exposure of your operation. If the landlord sees higher electricity use then what they see normally they might give it more interest then a normal person, as it will come up when they are calculating profit. You can check electricity prices and calculate what say 12-24 kilowatts per day end up costing in a month.
360KWH for 12/12 and 540KWH for 18/6 in a month

Thats what 1000w would use. 120w will not create much of a bill.

Ive used a blurple in the past.

And now currently on my 3rd DIY build.

I think it boils down to how much usable light can be used by the plant using the blurple.
Their fairly in-efficient, but they do a job and do it reasonably well.

At around 380w form the wall, there was a limit in how much it produced for me for my style of growing.

Using the 2x2 bridgelux build design and run at 120-150w i was hitting similar weights.

If i was to use 380w of DIY strips, id hit double the weight than if using the blurple.
The blurples, ultimately work, but are not efficient for the energy they use.

There is no choice in my eyes, even not knowing which blurple it is, id go for the DIY build everytime.
Efficient, uniform coverage, easy to replace parts, easy to expand and upgrade.

It is not only about the electricity.

High quality strips like EB2 have longer life span, better spectrum and much better light distribution