High CRI White LED vs CFL

[Manu]

Hey everyone,

I've been trying to find an answer without creating a new post, but most information on LED is regarding the Blue Red type.

I currently grow under E27 CFL 5000k bulbs, not specialized bulbs, just regular Walmart 13W CFL Daylight bulbs. I'm getting great results so far with all plants growing and setting spikes in record times (compared to previous windowsill setup).

I'm setup on shelves, 8 bulbs 1 feet a part. Everything is painted white and shelves are glossy white to help reflect light. Bulbs are 6 to 12 inch from plant canopy, but that is fully adjustable. I attached a pick of the setup to help visualize things.

I want to switch to LED as I don't feel like having to switch CFLs every 6 months to a year for cost and environmental reasons. Electricity consumption is not a factor for me, as we have access to clean and dirt cheap electricity here in Quebec...

I purchased LED made for plants that have a combination of blue and red. I can't stand the light color, as my growing area is also our family living room... Anyway the plants look horrible under that light.

My question is simple, even though I know light is a very complex subject. Some will want to go into technical details which I'm not interested in to be quite honest.

Can I get similar results with white LED lights then what I'm currently getting with my cheap CFL lights?

I'm looking into purchasing high CRI (90+) 5000k 10W or more white LED light, to replace the CFL s.

My other concern is that CFL create heat, which helps increase the temps around the plants without increasing the room temperature too much, which for me, seems to be beneficial especially with cold winter months when the room temp is around 21 all day but plants would prefer a few extra degrees during the day and a slight drop at night, CFL provide me those temp differential economically.. I'm assuming LED won't provide any of that heat, at least nothing compared to the CFLs?

Thanks
Emmanuel