day60 &mdash; Gerrit Niezen https://gerritniezen.com/tag:day60 Maker of open-source software and hardware. Sat, 02 May 2026 13:06:31 +0000 https://i.snap.as/aMPXpIot.png day60 &mdash; Gerrit Niezen https://gerritniezen.com/tag:day60 Which LED grow lights to get https://gerritniezen.com/which-led-grow-lights-to-get?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[According to the r/hydro reddit, the best value-for-money LED grow lights are the so-called "quantum boards". These look like a bare PCB with typically Samsung LM301B LEDs, mounted to a metal panel that acts as a heat sink, and with a Meanwell LED driver. They differ from older LED grow light designs that are actively cooled with a fan, being both noisier and bulkier in size. I found a bunch of the quantum boards on AliExpress/Alibaba, but unfortunately it's always hard to know if you're really getting the original Samsung LEDs, and if you can even return them if something goes wrong. A couple of Youtubers that specialise in hydroponics mentioned the brand Spider Farmer, whose panels are the typical quantum-style, but have mounted the driver onto the heat sink. They provide an efficacy rating of 2.7 umol/J, and have an after-sales service. At a 10% markup (£126 versus £115 for similar AliExpress boards) that doesn't sound like too bad a deal. They also have a UK warehouse, which means you don't get surprise customs fees on delivery. £126 sounds like a lot of money for just growing plants, but it's still cheaper than the lights you'll find in a hydroponics shop. After working my way through a mind-numbing amount of conflicting information about grow lights, this does indeed appear to be the best solution at the moment. --- I’m publishing this as part of 100 Days To Offload. You can join in yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com. #100DaysToOffload #day60 #hydroponics iComment on this post/i div id="cusdis_thread"/div]]> According to the r/hydro reddit, the best value-for-money LED grow lights are the so-called “quantum boards”. These look like a bare PCB with typically Samsung LM301B LEDs, mounted to a metal panel that acts as a heat sink, and with a Meanwell LED driver. They differ from older LED grow light designs that are actively cooled with a fan, being both noisier and bulkier in size.

I found a bunch of the quantum boards on AliExpress/Alibaba, but unfortunately it's always hard to know if you're really getting the original Samsung LEDs, and if you can even return them if something goes wrong.

A couple of Youtubers that specialise in hydroponics mentioned the brand Spider Farmer, whose panels are the typical quantum-style, but have mounted the driver onto the heat sink. They provide an efficacy rating of 2.7 umol/J, and have an after-sales service. At a 10% markup (£126 versus £115 for similar AliExpress boards) that doesn't sound like too bad a deal. They also have a UK warehouse, which means you don't get surprise customs fees on delivery.

£126 sounds like a lot of money for just growing plants, but it's still cheaper than the lights you'll find in a hydroponics shop. After working my way through a mind-numbing amount of conflicting information about grow lights, this does indeed appear to be the best solution at the moment.

I’m publishing this as part of 100 Days To Offload. You can join in yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.

#100DaysToOffload #day60 #hydroponics

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]]> https://gerritniezen.com/which-led-grow-lights-to-get Thu, 10 Sep 2020 14:41:42 +0000