Professional Marijuana Grower November-December 2017 Issue | Page 10

growers. This is because they emit an intense light
which is capable of penetrating the dense canopies of
cannabis gardens. Double ended HID lighting systems
are also more effi cient at converting electricity into light
and have an increased longevity when compared with
single ended HID lighting systems.
A typical single ended HID lighting system will have lost
20-30% of its original output after 10,000 hours of op-
eration. However, double ended HID systems do not de-
grade the bulbs as quickly. In fact, after 10,000 hours
of operation, a double ended HID system will have lost
only 5-10% of its original output. Double ended HIDs
not only have increased longevity for lamps, but they
also produce more light per watt of energy consumed. It
is not uncommon for a double ended lighting system to
produce 10-30% more light per watt of energy con-
sumed when compared with magnetic core ballasts.
DE lighting systems can become even more effi cient
when they are operated by a square wave ballast.
Typical electronic ballasts operate on a sine wave at
high frequencies (120,000 Hertz or Hz). Although
these ballasts are more effi cient than the old-school
magnetic core ballasts, they are no match for square
wave technology. New square wave ballasts operate at
much lower frequencies (50-100 Hz). This low frequen-
cy operation is easier on the system’s internal electrical
components, which leads to increased longevity for
the entire unit. The low frequency operation also helps
avoid harmonic distortion that could potentially cause
a color shift in the bulb thus changing the light system’s
spectral output. In other words, lighting systems which
operate on square wave technology are more consistent
in spectral output and are much less likely to have any
“shifts” in the spectrum throughout life span of the bulb.
Chips on Board (COB) Light Emitting
Diodes (LED)
Horticultural LEDs are the pinnacle of horticultural light-
ing effi ciency. Their ability to customize spectral output
combined with the fact that they are a solid state device
makes LEDs the most effi cient lighting system available
to marijuana growers. Horticultural LEDs have had their
fair share of upgrades and have come a long way from
the “christmas light” panels and weak track lighting
systems of years ago.
The most recent big breakthrough for horticultural LEDs
came in the form of COB (chips on board) technology.
In a COB LED system, there are multiple light emitting
diodes packed into a single module. The groups of LEDs
in a COB system are easier to integrate into an effective
horticultural light source. In fact, 20-50 individual light
emitting diodes can be replaced by a single COB LED.
Another advantage of COB LEDs is a larger surface
10 • Professional Marijuana Grower
November/December 2017