LED vs HPS Running Cost
The comparison every LED panel makes on its own box. Here it is done properly, with the caveat those boxes leave out.
By Scooter M. — An enthusiast who's genuinely into this. I read the manuals, compile the published specs, and do the math. No lab coat.
Published · How we pick
Photographs on this site are licensed stock and are illustrative of the fixture type. We do not own the units we write about.
How this page is funded: the buy links here are Amazon Associates links, and we earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. We have not been paid to feature anything on this page, we accept no free product, and commission plays no part in the ranking. Full disclosure.
We have not tested these units. Everything below comes from the manufacturer’s own published specifications, or from arithmetic we have shown our working for. Where a figure is not published, we say so instead of estimating one. Read the method.
Quick picks
Efficacy is photons out per joule in. Where a manufacturer publishes it we quote theirs; where they publish photon output and wattage but not efficacy, we divide and label it as ours; where they publish neither, the cell says so rather than guessing. Tap a row for the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Efficacy | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mars Hydro TS 1000 The most photons of anything on this list, and one of only three fixtures here that publishes both PPF and efficacy so the claim can be checked against itself. | The HPS-replacement class | 2.3 umol/J | |
| 2 |  ViparSpectra P1000 Genuinely useful hardware — dimmer, daisy chain to 20 units, no fan — wrapped in a product page that publishes no photon data at all. | Sold on the comparison | Not published | |
| 3 |  AC Infinity IONBOARD S22 The highest published efficacy of any fixture here at 2.7 umol/J, on Samsung LM301H diodes, with dimming in real 20% steps rather than a vague knob. | Efficiency instead | 2.7 umol/J |
The reasoning
High pressure sodium lamps are the technology LED panels are usually marketed against, and it is a comparison the LED brands raise themselves: ViparSpectra describes the P1000 as comparable to a 250 W HPS while drawing 100 W. That is their claim, quoted as they state it, and it is worth examining rather than repeating.
The wattage claim, priced out
HPS at 250 W (ignoring ballast losses, which would add to it): 250 × 14 h ÷ 1000 = 3.5 kWh a day. Over 150 days = 525 kWh = $96.29.
LED at 100 W: 100 × 14 ÷ 1000 = 1.4 kWh a day. Over 150 days = 210 kWh = $38.51.
Saving: about $58 a season, if the equivalence claim holds.
The caveat those boxes leave out
“Comparable to a 250 W HPS” is not a measured equivalence. ViparSpectra publishes no PPF, no PPFD and no efficacy for the P1000, so there is no photon figure on either side of that comparison to check it with. We are reporting a marketing claim, and we are labeling it as one.
Where a brand does publish photon output, the comparison becomes checkable in principle — but only against an HPS figure, which most home growers do not have either. Our honest position: the direction of the claim is almost certainly right, because modern LED efficacy is high and HPS is an older technology, but the specific ratio is not something we can verify from published consumer data.
Neither side of a '100 W LED equals 250 W HPS' claim comes with a published photon output on the consumer product pages we consulted. We report the claim; we cannot check it.
Heat is the bigger practical difference
An HPS lamp radiates a great deal of heat, which is why HPS setups typically involve ducting, extraction fans and careful distance management. In a home that heat has three consequences: it changes the temperature of the room, it dries growing medium fast, and the extraction equipment used to manage it is itself an electrical load nobody counts in the lamp comparison.
LED panels are cooler at the same delivered light, but not cool — essentially all the electricity a fixture consumes becomes heat somewhere. A 100 W LED is a 100 W heat source in a room, just distributed differently and radiated far less directly at the plants. That is covered in do LED grow lights get hot.
| Factor | HPS | LED panel |
|---|---|---|
| Typical draw for a small space | 250 W and up, plus ballast | 100 to 150 W |
| Radiant heat at the plant | High; distance management matters | Much lower |
| Extra equipment | Often ducting and extraction | Usually none |
| Consumables | Bulbs degrade and are replaced | None in normal use |
| Dimming | Limited on older ballasts | Standard on most panels we cover |
| Suitability for a house | Poor — heat, noise, size | Good; several are living-room fixtures |
Who this comparison is actually for
Almost nobody reading this site is choosing between LED and HPS. HPS is commercial and enthusiast equipment; it is loud, hot and physically large, and it is the wrong tool for a shelf in a spare room. The comparison matters mainly because LED marketing keeps invoking it, and because it inflates people’s expectations of what a home fixture should draw.
If you are starting from scratch for a home setup, the relevant question is not LED versus HPS. It is which LED, sized against your actual area — see what size grow light do I need.
Every pick in full
Mars Hydro TS 1000
LED panelThe HPS-replacement class
The most photons of anything on this list, and one of only three fixtures here that publishes both PPF and efficacy so the claim can be checked against itself.
What Mars Hydro publishes
- Power draw
- 150 W +/-5% at 100-277 V AC (source)
- PPF (photon output)
- 343 umol/s (source)
- Efficacy
- 2.3 umol/J (source)
- Stated coverage
- 2.5 x 2.5 ft vegetative, 2.3 x 2.3 ft flowering (source)
- Spectrum
- 660-665 nm, 730-740 nm, 3000 K, 5000 K (source)
- Diodes
- Bridgelux (source)
- Dimming
- Yes, 0-100% dimmer knob (source)
- Dimensions
- 406 x 326 x 50 mm (source)
Our arithmetic
- Average PPFD across its stated 2.5 x 2.5 ft vegetative footprint: about 470 umol/m2/s
2.5 ft x 2.5 ft = 6.25 sq ft = 0.581 m2. 343 umol/s divided by 0.581 m2 = 590 umol/m2/s at perfect uniformity; applying a 0.8 uniformity factor gives about 472 umol/m2/s average. - Electricity used at 14 hours a day for 30 days: 63.0 kWh a month
150 W x 14 h x 30 d / 1000 = 63.0 kWh.
Who should skip it
Skip it if you are lighting a bookshelf. 343 umol/s concentrated into a 2.5 ft square is far more light than a monstera wants, and you pay 150 W to deliver it.
ViparSpectra P1000
LED panelSold on the comparison
Genuinely useful hardware — dimmer, daisy chain to 20 units, no fan — wrapped in a product page that publishes no photon data at all.
What ViparSpectra publishes
- Power draw
- 100 W (described as comparable to a 250 W HPS) (source)
- Stated coverage
- 2.5 x 2.5 ft vegetative at 16 inches, 2 x 2 ft flowering at 10 inches (source)
- Spectrum
- 660 nm red, 3000 K and 5000 K white, 730 nm far red (source)
- Dimming
- Yes, plus daisy chain up to 20 fixtures (source)
What ViparSpectra does not publish
- PPF in umol/s
- Photon efficacy in umol/J
- PPFD at any stated distance
- Fixture dimensions and rated lifespan
Who should skip it
Skip it if you want to compute coverage before you buy. With no published PPF and no published efficacy there is nothing to compute with, and we will not invent a figure to fill the gap.
AC Infinity IONBOARD S22
LED panelEfficiency instead
The highest published efficacy of any fixture here at 2.7 umol/J, on Samsung LM301H diodes, with dimming in real 20% steps rather than a vague knob.
What AC Infinity publishes
- Power draw
- 115 W (source)
- Efficacy
- 2.7 umol/J (source)
- PPFD
- 1098 PPFD (no measurement distance published) (source)
- Stated coverage
- 2 x 2 ft (source)
- Spectrum
- Samsung LM301H, plus 660 nm, 730 nm, 3000 K, 6500 K (source)
- Diodes
- 272 diodes (source)
- Dimming
- Yes, 0-100% in 20% increments (source)
- Dimensions
- 30.0 x 30.0 cm board, 1.1 cm thick (source)
- Rated life
- 50,000 hours (source)
Our arithmetic
- Photon output implied by the published wattage and efficacy: about 311 umol/s
115 W x 2.7 umol/J = 310.5 umol/s. AC Infinity does not print PPF directly, so this is our arithmetic from two figures it does print.
What AC Infinity does not publish
- PPF in umol/s — only efficacy is given, so photon output has to be derived
- The measurement distance for the 1098 PPFD figure, without which the number cannot be compared to anything
Who should skip it
Skip it if you want to place it by the numbers. AC Infinity prints 1098 PPFD with no measurement distance attached, which makes that figure impossible to use or compare.
Questions people actually ask
+Do LED grow lights really replace a 250W HPS?
+How much does an HPS cost to run compared with an LED?
+Is HPS better for flowering plants?
+Should I buy HPS for a home grow?
Sources
- ViparSpectra — P1000 product page — consulted September 2, 2026
- Mars Hydro — TS 1000 published specification table — consulted September 2, 2026
- AC Infinity — IONBOARD S22 published specifications — consulted September 2, 2026
- US Energy Information Administration — Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 (US residential average, June 2026) — consulted September 2, 2026
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Where this sits
This page belongs to Running Cost and Efficiency. Every figure on it is either quoted from a named published source or derived in view — the full method is on our methodology page, and how the site is funded is on the affiliate disclosure.