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Old April 3, 2019   #19
bjbebs
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: illinois
Posts: 281
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After decades of using T12 4 tube fixtures, I'm changing it up a bit. I purchased several T8 4 tube fixtures and a case of 32 watt bulbs at an electrical house auction for $50. These will replace the T12's.
Then I started playing around with screw in LED's. I found that the removing the diffuser allowed much more light with greater penetration. I opened these up by drilling a few holes and snipping the plastic with a small pair of wirecutters. They could then be gripped and popped off.
I also use a 150 watt HPS fixture to start peppers and plants that need extra heat.

The following shows energy consumtion and light output. These #'s are easy for me to understand so that I can compare costs.

(5) T8's using 20, 32 watt bulbs
640 watts used. >$50

(6) 60 watt LED's
48 watts used.
> (12) LED's consuming 144 watts and providing close to 1000 W
(6) 100 watt LED's (1) 10 pack of 60W $10 (1) 10 pack of 100W $20 =$30
96 watts used (10) cheap plastic lampholders-$10

(1) 150 watt HPS
150 watts used > Have owned for many years, no idea of price paid.

Just some ideas to mull over. I have $50 in the LED's and a couple hours in wiring, mounting and removing the diffusers. The light is brighter than all but high intensity lighting at virtually no cost.

I start seeds in a chilly basement and lights are spread out in the mechanical room and laundry room. Daytime temps struggle to reach 70 and nights around 60.
Attached Images

I posted this several weeks ago. After using and comparing the LED's to the T8's for a couple months, I can say both work very well. The T8's throw off much more heat and plants do best if grow 3-5 inches from the lights. Plants can be grown several inches under the LED's without any stretch at all.

From a cost standpoint, the LED's give a much bigger bang for your buck. Any configuration can be used in mounting these with as little or as much wattage as you choose.

There are pictures in the Lights For Seed Starting thread posted in early February.

All plants are now in a greenhouse that gets heated for a few hours each night. Lows won't drop below freezing, hopefully. By the end of the month they will be in the open air getting ready for transplant.
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