LED Lights - Page 3 - Orchid Board

Ocelaris · #21 09-09-2009, 10:59 PM

How much did that solar panel/battery setup put you back? I'd love to power some night lights with a real solar cell... instead of those dinky ones they have on the lights themselves, never quite enough power from that.

maldorer · #22 09-09-2009, 11:03 PM

The 75W polycrystal panel set me back about $200 on ebay. Battery $60 bucks. Lights are cheap and getting cheaper. You can get 225 leds for $25 now. I can shoot some photos tomorrow and post if you'd like to see the setup.

Ocelaris · #23 09-09-2009, 11:16 PM

I would definetly like to see that. It just makes me wonder the solar panel cost vs. how long it would take me to pay that back if I had AC powered lights... at .24 cents /kw hour, everything electric here in New York City is ridiculous.

Or at least what the return would be, how long it would take. Do you have a trickle charger or whatever that is attached to the 12v battery? what amperage is it? yeah, I'm very interested, please share

maldorer · #24 09-10-2009, 03:51 PM

maldorer · #25 09-10-2009, 03:55 PM

maldorer · #26 09-10-2009, 03:56 PM

Can't seem to get a photo to reply. Posted in my gallery. Can you see them there?

Ocelaris · #27 09-10-2009, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maldorer

Can't seem to get a photo to reply. Posted in my gallery. Can you see them there?

Yeah, looks great! Thanks for sharing, I spent all evening going over possible solar panel setups, but It's still pretty pricey! Let us know how the lights work.

plantguy · #28 09-11-2009, 02:48 PM

The LED thread started back in 2007. Technology has advanced since then. I would like to know the latest opinions on the subject of growing with LED's. I have a large climate controlled Wardian case and specialize in miniature orchids (most under 2").

Ocelaris you have been the most vocal. Your January 2008 post shows that the LED's of that time missed the crucial spectrums for photosynthesis. Many of the newer systems now use 660nm red which hits the chlorophyll a peak right on (662nm). Although harder to find, some are combining that with a 450nm blue which hits the chlorophyll b peak at 453nm. Many of the newer systems now have light outputs in those spectral ranges easily rivaling HPS & MH systems.

keto · #29 10-10-2009, 11:00 AM

After a lot of research and consideration, I acquired two 90 W dual band LED fixtures (460nm, 660nm wide angle LED:s) a week ago. So far so good, but I guess it's kind of early to tell. I've also got some chile plants that I cut down and brought in from the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago under the lights. New growth can already be seen on them. The lights run for 10 hours per day.

I'll post some long term experiences here later on as we see how the plants hold up to the Finnish winter season. At least the electricity bill is going to be reasonable in comparison to the 600 W HID I've previously used

maldorer · #30 10-10-2009, 02:32 PM

Can you post a link to the type of lights you're using? Thanks.

As for an update, I'm currently about 325 red and blue leds (~8:1) at about 30Watts and hour. I run them all night, 10-12 hours and on cloudy days. I have a decent amount of new growth on my jasmine and some new stalks on one orchid.