Our tent is in a spare room with limited heat. in the past this wasn’t an issue since our old light was an HID. It kept the tent cooking and the room comfortable.
But since I’m converting to LED I’m wondering how much heat a driver throws.
Thanks
2 Likes
Certainly not as much heat as an HID will throw. You’ll have to try it and find out, as LEDs are more efficient than MH or HPS and they generate less heat.
Others can share their anecdotal experience, but actual temperate deltas are dependent on your specific grow space and airflow. It’s therefore difficult to be more specific.
5 Likes
My grow tent is always hot, over 85f with a hps 600wt with my house air a/c running the cost is over $150 extra on my bill. I want to try led’s but can’t get info on the best choice in low heat output.* My note is a question, not really a reply.
1 Like
i use 2 mars hydro ts 3000 lights and they run warm but not hot.
depending on the size of your tent they may keep it warm.
lights on in 1 hour so i’ll check with a temp gun and get back to you.
High efficacy LEDs will output minimum heat relative to other options. A light built with Samsung LM301h diodes (HLG) are the most efficient LEDs currently on the market, but lights built with LM301b model diodes (Mars Hydro and Spider Farmer) do just fine as well.
Lights built with detachable drivers will enable you to mount the driver outside your grow space, which also offers heat mitigation.
2 Likes
I decided to drop the LED idea, and stay with and expand on whet I know, HID.
A lot of the low priced LEDs looked attractive, and they promised great results. But lots of guys warned me to be careful. Samsung diodes promised may not be Samsung diodes received. Wattage may be lower that advertised. Warranties may be dubious.
So I bought a high end 1000w ballast and upped my HID light to 1000w as well. I’ve grown great buds using HID for years, so increasing to 1000w should only improve growth. The new ballast is dimmable. So I can run the wattage down when I’m in germination and veg, and crank it up in flower. Just have to live with the electric bill.
1 Like
use what you are comfortable with and happy grows.
just for reference i checked and all 4 drivers on 2 lights and read 101 f for temp.
i still need a heater in an outdoor insulated shed to keep 78f ,26c on vancouver island in winter though.
7c , 45 f here now, brrrr
1 Like
Auto can go 5/3 easy. Vegging photo can do the same. A passive oil radiator is nice BUT raising lights and turning wide open produces good even heat in cannabis range. The schedule keeps the tent from cooling totally. Lower exhaust speed. You should be gucci then. I run that light schedule in winter auto runs. Also can just stop exhaust and provide good air movement enclosed.
1 Like
Just a little about dimming HID’s…
2 Likes
Quick question? Autoflowers, yes or no. Are they worth growing?
1 Like
I’m going to find out. A friend of mine grows some magnificent ones. He stopped growing photos because growing autos gives him the flexibility to grow and try several strains a year.
Based on his recommendation I bought some cool strains, and planning on getting started in about 2 weeks.
Not sure if im complicating this thread or helping 
but…
Ive been running magnetic hid for flowering and t5 for vegg for years with great results…
After year’s of hearing about elec ballist’s i looked into them , junk and tons of issues…
Heard about all the new led a few years back , junk…
So i ran magnetic from the get go , with 600 watt magnetic ballist’s in xxxl vented hoods and had some ridiculous results, they were ment for 1000 watt bulbs and ballist’s , but i used an adapter for my 600 watt bulbs…
I finally said im gonna drop some green on some new tech…
Looked at alot of different led tech…
Decided to go with hlg… super expensive 
But…
Its totally different than running hid gear for sure…
I picked up 3 …
It cost about 1600 bucks when it was all said and done…
Well so far ive only swapped out 2 tables…
Each table is 2 1/2 x 4 foot but together it makes one big table that is 5’ x 4’ with 2 hlg lights and it is completely different than running the hid gear…
Its really kinda hard to explain the difference… but…
Ill try a little…
So i went from 600 watt magnetic hid ballist with a 4500 Kelvin bulb in a xxxl 8 inch vented hood…
To
350 watt diablo LEDs …
Led are completely different than hid…
Totally different animal…
With my HIDs i had heat issues if plant’s were up against the glass of the hood sometimes… thats about it…
I scrogg with double tear tables at about 8 inches apart and about 20 inches from light source and i was getting major light bleaching from about 16 inches…
LED and HID are not even close to comparable…
HID is like a camp fire and the light and heat from it…
LED is like a high output flashlight with a crazy focused beem of light and not necessarily heat , unless your about 10 inches from the beem…
But the beem and minimal heat is focused on a small area and the HID is trying to heat and illuminate the whole area…
Hopefully i confused you just a little more on this topic… 
Bottom line…
Get the best new LED tech and figure out how to use it…
Its focused energy vs scattered energy is the best way to explain it…
You can do the same thing with photos. Just grow them from the start under 12/12 lighting. They will flower when they are ready and that will be in the same range as autos. There are growers here that grow all their plants under 12/12.
3 Likes
I’ll answer this with my thought. If u want faster harvest not as firm of buds and slightly less potent bud yes they r a blast to grow and still look amazing. But. But if u r growing and selling buds to profit from my answer is no they don’t put out close to what a photo type plant does. Quantity quality and everything on an auto is less than a photo type will give u. If u plant to extract the buds for the most part then def no as autos give off a super super depressing yield off of a press or open blasting with butane. I get 3 to 4x the amount of return from a photo pressing the same amounts of weight. So in ways yes they r fun to grow and beautiful to look at they smoke great as a flower type smoke but extractable NO
2 Likes
Dont sell. Hobbiest. Just smoke, for myself. When this pound runs out ill quickly grow some more. Its perfect for what i need it for. Great point though. If i were joining the industry, photos would be the way to go. 
1 Like
You obviously did some good research on LEDs, and made a great choice. I am a big fan of the HLG Diablo. The amount of LED chips on that board is insane. The high amount of LEDs on the board allows them to run at about 60% of its rated current capacity. The combination of so many LEDs and a reduced current results in a cooler LED, than most others. If that Diablo board was ramped up to 100%, (I mean the board’s capacity not the driver’s or the light’s capacity), you would feel the heat at about 18 to 24 inches from the light.
1 Like
I had one harvest years ago with auto flowers. My yield was small. Then I was told my problem was, I popped the seeds in a solo cup, then transplanted them into 5 gal containers. Was this a no no? Transplanting autoflowers.
1 Like
It is better to go into the final home right away with auto seeds as the roots have all the room to spread and the plañt to grow with the roots. In solo cups once the roots get so much 5he plant builds up for the roots. If only so much room for roots to start the plant will only get so big transplants r not necessarily bad but need to be done with caution and preferably at the right time. I can pretty much get 9 oz from a 7 gallon pot on autos here if I keep up with them and not neglect them otherwise I range 3 to 5 oz per pla t. Photos I can pull a lb easy if I train a bit and fill my areas. I just let them grow tho any more light defols maybe lollipop it otherwise they grow the way they grow. Lol
1 Like
@malone.craig , my first 2 grows went directly in 5gl. cloth, my current one is 2 plants started in solo cups, following @Cap_Ron advice. A had a huge difference in the growth between the two styles!!! These were autos. Check out @Cap_Ron grow journal. He grows some amazing auto’s! @Mark0427 , that’s interesting about quality, I never heard that. I understand the quantity difference. Next grow will be photos, I’ll make note of the difference. Thanks!
2 Likes