REVIEW: Sun System 150W HPS System

[SunCoastHydro]

This is my first “review” so please be kind. My background is in mechanical engineering, not in literature, so I am more number oriented.

I ran some tests on the Sunlight Supply 150W HPS Lighting System. This complete lighting system is compact; yet very potent (putting out a rated 16,000 lumens with the included 150W HPS bulb).

For being a magnetic ballasted system it is not too loud. While running in my office it does have a slightly audible hum (which is typical with magnetic ballasts). When I leave the room the ballast is not audible in the hallway outside my office.

Of course being technically minded I needed to run energy consumption tests on the light; I must say I was quiet surprised.

Outlet Voltage: 122.5V
Instant On Amperage: 4.31A
After Running 60min: 3.33A

This results in an initial start-up watt consumption of 528W. After letting the light warm up and stabilize for 60 minutes the light was consuming a consistent 408W. This means the light is consuming 408W to produce 150W of lighting (a power factor of 37%).

The light was positioned 18” above a container of Hydroton and left to sit for 60 minutes. The temperature at the surface of the container was 86F, while the office temperature was a consistent 76F. This little light is perfect for a small garden, smaller than 2’x2’.

We sell the Sun System 150W HPS System through our website, CLICK HERE TO BUY.

 

[paddy420]

Sweet little light it might be just what I need for my veg room.

 

[SunCoastHydro]

Sweet little light it might be just what I need for my veg room.

It is a nice little light. I was extremely bright while using it in my office.

I have several more review coming up:
-Lumatek Ballast
-Yield Master Reflector
-Sun Blaze T5 Lighting

 

[TorturedSoul]

Outlet Voltage: 122.5V
Instant On Amperage: 4.31A
After Running 60min: 3.33A

This results in an initial start-up watt consumption of 528W. After letting the light warm up and stabilize for 60 minutes the light was consuming a consistent 408W. This means the light is consuming 408W to produce 150W of lighting (a power factor of 37%).

So a magnetic 150 watt HPS ballast "consumes" 258 watts in addition to the 150 watts it is sending to the (light/stabilized) bulb?(?!?!) I knew there was a loss, but I had no idea it would be that much (2.72x output wattage of the bulb). I had seen the amperage ratings on them but had assumed that it was due to initial startup draw and that when running it would only be consuming somewhere in the neighborhood of 180-205 watts (total). Wow. I shudder to think what a 1000 watt fixture with magnetic ballast consumes. The 1kW must be a bit more effecient, otherwise it would draw somewhere in the neighborhood of 22.6 amps on a 120V circuit (blowing a 15 or 20 amp breaker).

-Lumatek Ballast

Good. If at all possible can you grab a radio scanner or even better a nearfield receiver and check, say, 25mHz-2.2gHz to see what frequencies it broadcasts interference on and how bad (roughly how far you have to move the receiver from the ballast - with no walls or other shielding material between the two - for it to go away?

It would be MUCH appreciated!

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Wow, that does seem like it's drawing a lot of amps... my 600 only draws 5 (I think?).

 

[SunCoastHydro]

Wow, that does seem like it's drawing a lot of amps... my 600 only draws 5 (I think?).

I think this is a combination between being a magnetic ballast and being a cheaper generic GE bulb.

It does draw "a lot" of amps (relatively), but it is still a great little light for small spaces.

 

[SunCoastHydro]

So a magnetic 150 watt HPS ballast "consumes" 258 watts in addition to the 150 watts it is sending to the (light/stabilized) bulb?(?!?!) I knew there was a loss, but I had no idea it would be that much (2.72x output wattage of the bulb). I had seen the amperage ratings on them but had assumed that it was due to initial startup draw and that when running it would only be consuming somewhere in the neighborhood of 180-205 watts (total). Wow. I shudder to think what a 1000 watt fixture with magnetic ballast consumes. The 1kW must be a bit more effecient, otherwise it would draw somewhere in the neighborhood of 22.6 amps on a 120V circuit (blowing a 15 or 20 amp breaker).



Good. If at all possible can you grab a radio scanner or even better a nearfield receiver and check, say, 25mHz-2.2gHz to see what frequencies it broadcasts interference on and how bad (roughly how far you have to move the receiver from the ballast - with no walls or other shielding material between the two - for it to go away?

It would be MUCH appreciated!

I will see what I can do about a scanner. At the very least I will run a radio next to it to see if it interferes with any of the "weaker" stations around here.

 

[420zooroot]

Good info.

 

[Stealthy1]

Hey Suncoast I just bought this light from your ebay listing this helped me decide to buy. Hope it ships soon ;p

I had a question though do you think this can support 6 plants in a roughly 3'x4' space.

Also depending on how things go with this grow i might upgrade to a 400w do you know what the actually wattage a 400w will take to run?


Thanks, Chris

 

[TorturedSoul]

Hey Suncoast I just bought this light from your ebay listing this helped me decide to buy. Hope it ships soon ;p

I had a question though do you think this can support 6 plants in a roughly 3'x4' space.

Also depending on how things go with this grow i might upgrade to a 400w

...Sunlight Supply 150W HPS Lighting System. This complete lighting system is compact; yet very potent (putting out a rated 16,000 lumens with the included 150W HPS bulb).

This little light is perfect for a small garden, smaller than 2'x2'.

Hi Chris,

I'm afraid that this light is not large enough for a garden of that size. The 2'x2' garden he alluded to in his review is 4 square feet while the one that you mentioned is 12 square feet - three times as large.

With that square footage you would be within the range if you added a 400- or 430-watt HPS to the 150's output. But you might then have issues with the shape of the space that you mentioned because you would be trying to use two unequal-sized rectangles to illuminate one larger one.

Some options that might work better for you:

• You could shrink your space by a factor of three or four. This would be a very good option if you are just starting to explore the world of indoor grows because generally speaking, the smaller the grow, the easier things are to take care of - and you might notice things that you could possibly miss if you were dealing with a larger setup. It would also be cheaper because you would be able to get by with much less light (like the one that you've already purchased), a smaller hydroponics system - MUCH cheaper if you buy one, somewhat cheaper and easier to build if you take advantage of some of the excellent help available here -or less soil to purchase, mix, and CARRY in and out if you decide to go with soil.
• You could change the shape of the space that you are thinking about so it would match the light footprint cast by this light plus a 400-watt one and then purchase one of those to go along with it.
• You could return the light that you have purchased and order one of the 400-watt ones from Suncoast Hydroponics, and then shrink your GR space to an area of eight square feet or slightly larger.
• You could return your light and purchase a 600-watt one from him and go with an area of the size that you envisioned or slightly larger.

Whichever option you choose to go with, I would like to commend you on giving your business to one of this site's sponsors since they support this site for us. And I would suggest that you wait on actually constructing your GR until you have settled on a lighting setup so that you can turn it on and observe the shape of the light's footprint at its operating height. That way you will be sure to be able to match them up. Think of a lamp that casts a rectangular light into a rectangular room - if the proportions of the one do not match the other you will find that parts of your walls will be illuminated more than parts of the floor on the other axis. (I hope that made sense lol.)

 

[Stealthy1]

Thanks the reasons I went for this one was the heat issues of larger lights and the power consumption. I seriously considered LEDs but they are more than twice the price and Im not entirely convinced on current models for this application (admitting that hurts because I loves me leds)

Yes Im still planning the grow and have yet to build the GR for this reason so design is flexible.

Could I supplement the HPS with CFLs and get a decent grow for about a 2x3 this is more of a crash course in (not sure what term is for growing stuff?) or would it be a waste of time and seed?

1 question have is that 2x2 in reference to the plots or to the actual span of the plant/s themselves?

I had planned on a small hydro setup as I have just about everything for it laying around.
Ive designed and built 2 koi ponds 2000gal+ and the associated plumbing so that should be cake but growing is fairly new to me

Thanks for the input.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Could I supplement the HPS with CFLs and get a decent grow for about a 2x3 this is more of a crash course in (not sure what term is for growing stuff?) or would it be a waste of time and seed?

If you did... I would try to add about 14,000 lumens worth of them (spaced close to the plants, with some kind of reflectors (homemade pop-can ones are cheap)). But it is certainly doable. You might well be able to do a significant portion of your vegging with only the CFLs (especially if you get mostly 6500K ones) and of course when the plants were just seedlings you wouldn't need many at all and could add them as the plants grew.

For flowering, I would suggest no more than 7,500 or so of the 30,000 total lumens to be of that color temperature. That would be about half of the CFLs for a balanced spectrum. If you go with a higher percentage of them (as opposed to ones in the fruiting end of the spectrum) you will probably have more compact plants with shorter internodes but slightly less total harvest weight. If you go with a lower percentage, you might have stretchier plants but slightly more yield.

People generally use all vegetative spectrum for vegging and all flower spectrum for flowering but depending on your needs you can make adjustments like that, especially when using mixed light sources. Just remember that the CFLs will not give you the penetration that the HPS will so they will need to be kept as close to the plants as possible - but not, of course, in the way of the HPS.

1 question have is that 2x2 in reference to the plots or to the actual span of the plant/s themselves?

Err... I haven't figured out how to get a light to only shine on the plants lol. Plus, if you size your GR for your light(s) then you get to use the walls as reflectors to help bounce the light that does fall on them towards your plants. Every little bit helps.

 

[SunCoastHydro]

I did not realize this thread had so much activity yesterday, as I did not come to the site.

I will have to agree with TorturedSoul on his input regarding size and planning your room. I really could not have put it any better. Thanks TorturedSoul.

I appreciate the purchase from my eBay store. Please keep in mind that everything on my site (Suncoast Hydroponics, LLC - Suncoast Hydroponics) is somewhat negotiable; so if you see something let me know what you are looking for and a shipping zip code and I can give you my best price possible. Even if you need something you don't see let me know what it is and I might be able to get it for you.

Thanks again to all.

 

[L8tNightSkunk]

Nice products!

 

[420]

great review brother, looking forward to the one coming soon on LED...

 

[mikejames]

Outlet Voltage: 122.5V
Instant On Amperage: 4.31A
After Running 60min: 3.33A

This results in an initial start-up watt consumption of 528W. After letting the light warm up and stabilize for 60 minutes the light was consuming a consistent 408W. This means the light is consuming 408W to produce 150W of lighting (a power factor of 37%).

Hi, I ran this light through a kill-a-watt and it says that it runs at 162w. The VA is around 400, which is around the number you got. It does run at around 3.3 amps like it advertised though.

I'm still not sure how VA or volt amperage works, but I think the light only uses around 162 watts of real power.

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Hi, I ran this light through a kill-a-watt and it says that it runs at 162w. The VA is around 400, which is around the number you got. It does run at around 3.3 amps like it advertised though.

I'm still not sure how VA or volt amperage works, but I think the light only uses around 162 watts of real power.

I think it's 3.3 x 120V = 396 watts - my 600 states only 5.2 amps = 624 watts, so 3.3 looked kinda high for a 150. It would make sense if that was just at start up and it drew 162watts continously... seems like it'd get super hot otherwise with all that power going somewhere besides light.

 

[mikejames]

I think it's 3.3 x 120V = 396 watts - my 600 states only 5.2 amps = 624 watts, so 3.3 looked kinda high for a 150. It would make sense if that was just at start up and it drew 162watts continously... seems like it'd get super hot otherwise with all that power going somewhere besides light.

On the kill-a-watt, the VA meter stands for volt amperage or something like that, which is different from volts * amps I think.

Some guy was asking if this 150w really uses 408 watts. I don't think it does because the 408 watts that suncoast posted was probably VA. I looked it up, I think VA is apparent or relative power and the watts are the real power. The light started a little higher than 162w, but it ended up being like around there.

I ran the kill-a-watt through my T5s, and the VA and watts were very similar, like within 5-10. On the Sun System 150w, however, the meter read 162w and 400 VA. Anyways, I saw the amp ratings on the light and tested it because I can't be using 400w, but it wasn't I think, so the light's even more badass now.

Sorry about the confusion, but if anyone knows what VA stands for on the kill-a-watt meter they can probably explain it better than I can.

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Makes sense to me. Looks like a good light for a small closet grow. I have to say I wish Suncoast would offer a 600 watt 95,000 lumen digital ballast set up for around 250 with shipping... I paid 220 elsewhere, but would certainly be willing to pay 30 more for a sponsor. Just seems like the 600 is the most efficient size.

 

[SunCoastHydro]

I guess I need to get a Kill-a-Watt. I run old school and pull wires out and take amp draws on all my stuff, not typically with a Kill-a-Watt. I will have to pick one up soon.