CFL or LED?

[dirtydave980]

Hi, this is the first time that i grow cannabis. I have three plants that are 4 weeks old and i want to put them into flowering stage soon. They are currently sitting under a 200 watt LED grow light. The grow light itself is pretty small and I don't know if it will be able to cover all the plants entirely once the are bigger. I am therefore considering buying a 300 watt CFL light with 2100°K. With a reflector the CFL light will definitely cover all the plants, however, I heard that LED lights produce bigger yields and higher THC contents in the buds.
My goal is to have the biggest yields possible and the highest amount of THC. I know that there are many ways to increase yields but I only want to consider the lights.
In the future I would like to grow more than 3 plants (probably 6-8 plants).

Is it a good idea to switch from my LED to the CFL light?

If yes, when should I switch? right after vegetative stage or a couple of weeks after switching to flowering stage?

Is my LED light powerful enough for my 3 plants? And for 6 plants?

 

[Orlando Scout]

How large is your grow space, you may be able to use both. If your grow area is large enough that is.

 

[Greenlizard]

Is your LED actually 200 Watts from the wall or is that just the claim made by the manufacturer?

 

[dirtydave980]

How large is your grow space, you may be able to use both. If your grow area is large enough that is.

The dimension of my grow tent is: 80cm x 80cm x 160cm

 

[dirtydave980]

Is your LED actually 200 Watts from the wall or is that just the claim made by the manufacturer?

The manufacturer claims it is 200 Watts.

 

[MassMedMan]

If your goal is to have the biggest yield and highest thc% then I'd run both.

The 2100 is more blue then you really want in flower, but the led should balance it out and give you good combined output. 500 watts for three plants basically.... neither the led alone or the CFL alone is great for three plants. Forget about 6.

Use both

Upgrade later...

 

[dirtydave980]

If your goal is to have the biggest yield and highest thc% then I'd run both.

The 2100 is more blue then you really want in flower, but the led should balance it out and give you good combined output. 500 watts for three plants basically....

Thanks for the advice! I think that running both lights would make my electricity bill a bit to high. But I don't know wether I should keep my plants under the LEDs their whole life or put them under the CFL lamp for flowering.

 

[HayStack]

You could easily use both lights on that space. If the LED is rated at 200 watts, it's probably drawing somewhere around 50 watt draw from the wall. That would hardly be enough to raise your electricity bill by much more than 5-10 bucks a month. Maybe even less than that depending on where you are.

What's the make and model of your led?

 

[dirtydave980]

You could easily use both lights on that space. If the LED is rated at 200 watts, it's probably drawing somewhere around 50 watt draw from the wall. That would hardly be enough to raise your electricity bill by much more than 5-10 bucks a month. Maybe even less than that depending on where you are.

What's the make and model of your led?

Hi, thanks for the advice. I live in switzerland and electricity costs about 0.21 USD per kWh including all taxes. I made a mistake: the LED is actually 300 watts.
This is my LED light: Castnoo-Spectrum-Indoor

How many watts do you think my LED light draws feom the wall?

 

[HayStack]

Hi, thanks for the advice. I live in switzerland and electricity costs about 0.21 USD per kWh including all taxes. I made a mistake: the LED is actually 300 watts.
This is my LED light: Castnoo-Spectrum-Indoor

How many watts do you think my LED light draws feom the wall?

That's a decent light. It pulls 100 watts from the wall, so it won't cost much to use. If you combine it with your CFL, you can get a decent grow with some nice tight nugs. You'll need more light to get a great grow. But you'll do alright if you're just growing for personal use.

 

[dakotamoon]

The electricity rates here in Ontario are very high as well. Keep in mind that during Bloom stage, you only need lights on for 12 hours! Here we have high usage rates, during daylight hours .. so I have my lights timed to come on during the "cheap" cycle. I have my lights come on at 7:00 p.m. and off before 7:00 a.m when the premium rates apply.