X3 LED lighting for greenhouses
 

Hi everybody,

I am planning some major changes to my greenhouse set-up next year (layout, and refresh of glazing, etc.). The lack of light in the winter has been a cause of trouble for me in two ways: a) I can't get some of my fav plants to flower as I don't get enough sun in the winter, b) the dark and dull weather can cause health problems. My issue is probably worse than that for most, as my garden is overshadowed by buildings which means that I have NO direct sunlight from the 1st week of November to about mid February.

With LED lights becoming a really good (and economic) option for grow lights, I am seriously considering maybe some X3 LED interlighting and/or headlights. They are also interesting, as the LEDs just emit light at frequencies, which the plants actually need for photosynthesis.

I was wondering, whether anybody has any experience with these. I looked at a number of options, but don't seem to be able to find a good solution for hobbyists: there are a lot of solutions in hydroponics shops, but all the solutions there have no IP rating (and appear to have open fans), which is not something I want to risk. Or, there are solutions for commercial growers, but it is unclear how expensive and whether it is possible at all to get these in a small set-up.

Has anybody investigated artifical LED lights for their set-up? Experiences are welcome

Lars

I am using 200 watts (input power) of LEDs as supplemental lighting in my greenhouse but I build my own and even building your own, expect to spend at least $2.00 / watt (input power).

Firstrays has some LED lights you can use, I've bought some from eBay pretty inexpensively and they're working really well too.

I use a lot of LEDs in a (sort of) commercial scale indoor greenhouse. Well, hobby business scale... There are several good commercial options for your situation, you might want to start by checking into the many various flavors of 90W UFO style lights. Since you are supplementing natural light, don't get bogged down in the quad, penta, hexa- god knows how many different 'bands'. You will be fine with a simple red and blue, don't worry about all those other colors.

They work. Some are more durable than others. I have not yet built my own systems. It seems like every week there is a new product to play with and while I keep meaning to build some LED systems, I get easily distracted by new toys...

I sell some, but I won't clutter up the forum with that. PM me if you want more info.

Water resistance is one reason that I built my own. Mine are passively cooled and for on/off I use an Insteon power line signal controlled switch inside a watertight electrical box that is mounted on the fixture.
Buy INSTEON-Compatible Home Automation Products at Smarthome
The power supplies I used are rated at least IP66 so they are mounted exposed.

Another thing about the hobby quality lights is that they don't specify beam spread. I am using lenses with either a 12 degree or 22 degree beam spread so that I can mount the fixtures high above the plants. The commercial hobby quality fixtures look like they would have a very wide beam spread comparable to fluorescent lamp fixtures and thus need to be mounted close above the plants.

Yes, I worry about the water too... Although after running some of mine for over a year in a pretty humid environment, I haven't noticed a problem. I've installed a couple in friends' greenhouses, and so far no complaints after a similar time scale. So at least anecdotally water resistant, but I certainly wouldn't want to use them where I'd be spraying water right on them. How they will hold up after two, three or more years, I don't know. I like the water resistant build, it is a great idea.

Beam angle: I suspect it varies based on the fixture, but I've had pretty good results with plants up to 5 feet beneath my lights. I've bloomed multifloral paphs and foliage (and one oncidium intergeneric that I misplaced) at that height. I haven't tried any farther away, just based on the way I have my benches set up I don't really have the opportunity. And I've used them as close as 2 feet away. Mine do have a pretty wide beam angle, since even at 2 feet it appears that I have coverage out to at least a four square foot area.

I really would like to build some of my own someday, and I probably will. Although not being an electronics genius (I muddle through), it can be a bit intimidating to try and figure out a good design. That has never stopped me with anything else. David, do you have a few favorite reference sites on building lights? Or a write-up of your build?

Rob

Here is a description of the LED modules that I have built. I mount those in various combinations along a metal bar to get the final fixture configuration.

Here are 2 photos of the modules in completed configurations.

Thank you for the tips: I am not sure I will be able to do a self build. I found a setup that looks promising. Don't want to post a link and vendor, but it comes up when searching for "5000 lm ip67 led grow lights" on google. Not sure whether I will be able to get this in the UK though. 4-6 of these in the greenhouse should do, I guess.

Hello, in Europe we have a good company that makes special leds for growing plants, has several models some of them specific to plant walls, orchids, bonsai trees, etc..

Here are the web: http://floraled.fr/

Here you have the online store. Eclairage horticole Grow LED - FloraLED - Système d'éclairage GROW LED

Not for you if the aesthetic aspect is important, as this company has several product lines, one of which is a special spectrum lights to see the green leaves, this spectrum was put all the foci where "VISUA" in their specifications and the "GreenVisuaLED".

You can contact them and you can advise.

I have a single light bulb connected as a mini greenhouse, for over a year and I have all kinds of orchids bloomed from Phalaenopsis, Phragmipedium, Masdevallia etc.

I hope you will help.

A greeting.

You should post the link. If it is what I found through that search:
IP67 high lumens 5000Lm waterproof led grow light,View waterproof led grow light,TL Product Details from Twilight Group Co., Limited on Alibaba.com

Then I am skeptical. For example, they claim it is IP67 yet then they say:
"Caution:
1)Indoor used only
2)Don't use in dripping water or drippi ng irrigation place to avoid light damage."

Looking for a similar setup myself as I am having the exact same issues - mostly with my paphs (my Masdies do okay as do my Catts).

After doing some online research it looks like the pot growers (who seem to know their stuff) don't believe in the power of the 90W as a replacement for a 250W HID system (the common claim).

But I guess if you are just looking for something to supplement daylight might not work out so bad - I'd be running mine for about 4-5 hours a day, and I might need two to get proper coverage.

My main worries are that I would be competing with an electric heater for juice - but LED is going to be my best bet of not blowing my circuit. I've had issues in the past of running multiple electronics at the same time and the last thing I want is my whole greenhouse to go cold while I am at work or something when the circuit trips (usually trips at the socket in the greenhouse).

I'd really run another circuit for the heater... That isn't something to mess with. It is well worth the peace of mind. I'd rather be in the dark with the heat on, than everything going at once. If you aren't 100% comfortable running a line yourself, then for the price of a few nice orchids you can get a real electrician to do it. Seriously a good insurance policy, saving a little money up front isn't worth losing an entire collection.

When I built my grow room I put in three separate 20A circuits for lights (all on their own GFCI breakers) and a separate 220V for heating. I wish I had put in two more light circuits.

I think some 90W systems replace a 250W HID. Not all UFOs are created equal. I've bought a few 135W UFOs recently, they seem to be a pretty good investment for just a few dollars more ($10? It wasn't much).

Pricey, but illumitex has IP66 horticultural LED. Illumitex: LED Lighting for Horticulture and Architecture

I'm not sure which model they tested in the link below, but a illumitex model seems to have pretty good efficiency:
http://cpl.usu.edu/files/publication...b__4964212.pdf

After some investigation, and conversations with friends from the local orchid society who dabbled in LEDs (and moved back to fluorescent) I ended up buying a HID system. I now have 2 x 600W dual spectrum lamps with in splash proof fitting.

So far, this has been working fantastically well: normally all my plants would have stopped growing by now. This is due to my plot not getting any direct sunlight for 4 months (shade by surrounding tall buildings), short days (today's sunrise at 7:44am and sunset at 3:54pm) and gloomy winter weather (mostly dull and low cloud cover). If we have a bad summer, Catts often don't mature their previous years growth, Vanda's and other plants stop altogether for 4 months. This has not happened this year.

I do not yet know how much this will cost me though in terms of electricity. In the worst case, it will cost me GBP 30 a month extra based on 6 hours a day (the cost of a nice plant). The lamps generate a lot of heat when they are on and as a result, the heating does not come on at all when the lamps are on. So maybe the impact wont be as bad as I thought.

well, I think I am going for two 240W LED lights for my 10X12 greenhouse - but will only mount them along my two main growing walls (my bigger non orchid plants in there can go dark...)

Its the local greenhouse outlet breaker that is messing me up. I suppose I could add another post in there, but lord that is a hassle... But you are right - much better to go dark than cold. having non flowering healthy plants is much better than cold and dead plants.

My main breaker can handle the load, I think the main deal is just to keep the water away from the outlets / plugs - this is what killed me last year.. I'll do some testing and if my breakers flip after putting on a full load (2 1000W heaters, 2 240W lights) - I'll start looking to install new electrical junk). Worst case, I have to unplug my lights during extreme cold... 2 heaters work with no issues, and I usually only run with 1.

Also interesting is the low efficiency of the Lumigrow LED fixture - about 1/2 that of the Lighting Sciences Group fixture.

Lars, for the seasonal use, I agree that it takes long time before LED become economical.

WeirdGuy, when they usually say that LED fixture is 240W, the actual consumption could be much lower. E.g., Blackstar 240W is only 160W or so. Sometimes, GFCI seems to trip easily when GFCI breaker becomes old. I had to replace a trip-happy GFCI breaker to deal with a moderate microwave oven. But 2000W heater on a 20A circuit is pretty close to the limit. I would guess that you can easily justify for an oil or gas heater, but the electricity might be cheap in Seattle.

David, yes, it was surprising to see such a big difference within LED fixtures. Lumigrow isn't so cheap, but efficiency seems to be very low. I guess that we have to be careful if we want to maximize the efficiency. You use nice, well-made diodes, but I usually play with cheaper Chinese stuff. So the efficiency of my LED stuff is probably pretty low...

It isn't only the diode, it is the quality of the entire design. If you want to minimize cost and don't care about efficiency then don't use an expensive constant current driver that has 95% efficiency; instead use a constant voltage power supply that then requires you to use current limiting resistors in series with your diodes and in addition use a cheap constant voltage power supply that is only 85% efficient. Also don't use heat sinks, LED efficiency decreases rapidly with increasing temperature, but heat sinks cost money

I put up two 240W LED lights about a week ago - one 'vegetative' colors, one 'flowering' - the yellows / reds in the flowering spectrum are odd looking on the plants, but they should be fine. I might rotate the use of the two so they get even spectrum over time.

But I am pretty happy - only paranoid that someone will sneak into my greenhouse and steal them.

The power issues haven't really been a problem, all during 20-30 degree weather with both heaters going full blast all day.