When it comes to growing cannabis, what are the advantages of 630W Raptor LEC-CMH Light Kit compared to traditional Sodium HPS grow lights?
More resin, aroma and flavor.
LEC bulbs produce UV-B rays, like the sun. This contributes to increased development of trichomes and terpenes (aroma and flavor) of the buds. However, UV-B rays are blocked by glass, so use in cooltube cooled reflectors is not advised.
Plants use trichomes and terpenes (aroma and flavor) as protection against UV rays, so the plant generates more resin and terpenes when exposed to UV rays from the LEC lighting kits.
Natural light in the crop.
LEC lighting kits produce a natural spectrum of light that allows you to see your plants with a natural color. Unlike HPS Sodium or HM Metal Halide bulbs, LEC bulbs will not distort the color of your plants which is an advantage for diagnosing problems that can sometimes go unnoticed under artificial colored lights where everything looks orange. Another great advantage for many is that they will be able to take photos of their crop without the typical fringes that forced us to use specific filters for cameras appear.
More useful life.
LEC bulbs last longer and maintain their intensity longer intact compared to Sodium HPS or Metal Halide HM bulbs, with their useful life estimated over a 20.000 p.m. of work.
In any case, you should know that from 8000 h. the LEC bulb begins to drop to 90% effectiveness, so we recommend changing it.
Greater production.
The performance of LEC lighting kits are more productive than Sodium HPS, so a 630W LEC lighting kit outperforms a 1000W Sodium HPS kit.
Without going into too much science, but to give you an idea, the sun has a CRI (color rendering index) of 100, LECs have 80-96 CRI, with 80 considered excellent while Sodium HPS have around 22 CRI and those of Metal Halides MH an average of 65-70 CRI.
This means that using LEC lighting equipment the expected yield is 1,4-1,5 gr/W so a 630 W LEC equipment can produce around 945 gr.
Less heat.
They don't give off as much heat. so the climatic management of the crop is much simpler and cheaper since we will not need such oversized extractions to eliminate the heat, saving on material and reducing noise that generates the extraction in the crop.
A 600W Sodium HPS bulb creates approximately 2045 BTUs of heat per hour, a 315W LEC bulb creates approximately 1010 BTUs of heat per hour, i.e. we will generate half the heat by replacing the 600W Sodium HPS kit by a 315 W LEC lighting kit.
The plants assimilate all the light emitted by the LECs since their color is very similar to natural light, while with the Sodium HPS kits a large amount of the lumens are not used by the plants.
Lower consumption.
By being able to equate the powers by their production, a grower who is using a 1000 W HPS Sodium kit will consume 630 W to get the same production from his plants. To give you an idea, the consumption of a 630 W LEC lighting kit in the 2 months of an average flowering, would cost about €40 per month of increase in your electricity bill and for the growth phase of 1 month it would cost about €57, that is, a complete cycle of 1 month of growth and 2 months of flowering would cost an electricity cost of €137
Details to keep in mind when growing with LEC lighting kits.
- Wear protective glasses: By producing UV rays, it is highly advisable to protect our body and our eyes from this type of light emission, so try to always wear clothing that covers your body and good eye protection glasses. You won't burn or go blind when you get into the grow, but if you spend a lot of time, it will show eventually.
- Add Silicon to your substrate: LEC bulbs make plants grow quickly and Silicon is involved in cell division and overall plant strength. This is why it is advisable to add a Silicon improver to your substrate before starting the crop.
Ratings
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