The FOHSE A3i 1500W Is A Game Changer!
It doesn’t happen often anymore in cannabis, but every once in a while, we are introduced to a product that revolutionizes indoor cultivation. Remember the dual ended Gavita’s that popped up in 2010? You couldn’t find a grow without them! 15 years later, we sit on the forefront of another great advancement in cannabis lighting technology. My friends, the FOHSE A3i, is indeed a game changer! In every sense of the word. There is only one light in the market that will have the sort of impact on your business that the A3i can. Here is my experience having installed them in multiple grows as a consultant and now having upgraded my own grow at Level 10, where in addition to being part of the ownership team through my investment group, I work as the Fractional CCO and sit on top of operations.
My Take
As a consultant and Fractional CCO, I often get tasked with designing facilities or heading up the design team. As you can imagine, when designing and building cannabis grows, lighting choice is one of the most important decision that l make and it effects just about every other decision downstream. The amount of fixtures and their wattage are easily the two most important variables when determining electrical load and mechanical needs. In recent years, the explosion of high powered, yet energy efficient LED lights has been favorable to cultivators who benefit from lower power consumption and ultimately lower costs. After all, to get the equivalent PPFD of a 1000W HID, you need only a 660W LED lamp. (LED lights are about 35-42% more efficient than traditional HIDs with regards to direct power consumption)
More recently though, a trend has emerged with some LED manufactures, taking advantage of the fact that most of these retrofitted grows are outfitted with the capacity to pull much more than 660W per light! One current standout contender in this arena is the FOHSE A3i, a state-of-the-art, 1500W LED grow lamp! Known for its exceptional power and efficiency, the A3i is referred to as the “yield buster”, as it has been specifically engineered to produce heavier yields than traditional cannabis lighting systems.
In addition to having installed these in a few grows over the last couple years, last summer, I personally took advantage of a rebate program through my local electric company and was able to upgrade 3 of my 7 rooms to the A3i’s. More about that later…
What Makes the FOHSE A3i Unique?
1. Unparalleled Light Intensity
The A3i is one of the most powerful, if not THE most powerful LED grow light on the market, with a PPE (photosynthetic photon efficacy) of 3.0 µmol/J and a total output exceeding 4000 µmol/s! Once thought to be unnecessary, we now know that cannabis plants not only tolerate, but, thrive under high PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) levels. A relationship that we are finding is less sigmoidal and much more linear than we ever thought! The first harvest that I ran with these lights after replacing a flowering room full of LEC’s, was the heaviest yield that the company had ever seen! In a room that pulled on average 60lbs (including popcorn/ smalls), we pulled 80lbs of grade A flower with only 10lbs of popcorn, so 90lbs total. That’s a 50% increase on the first run! How does this happen? The A3i’s high-intense bulbs penetrate deep into the canopy, ensuring that even lower branches receive ample light. When tested, even mid canopy, my light meter is registering around 750umol/m^2/s (at only 66%, read on…). This broad intensity seems to encourage uniform growth and maximizes bud production across the entire plant. Ultimately, I got less popcorn/ smalls, more grade A flower and ultimately, a higher return from on my harvest. The A3i also claims to have swiveling lights to help evenly distribute the photons. I’m not sure if this means that they are moving very slowly back and forth, but I will say that compared to my room with Thrive 660’s, which fluctuate from 750-950umol/m^2/s, depending on where you take the reading, the A3i’s only fluctuate about 100umol/m^2/s throughout the canopy.
2. Full-Spectrum Light
The A3i delivers a finely tuned, full-spectrum light that closely mimics natural sunlight. An in-room, digital screen allows you to choose between 4 seasonally influenced light spectrums. You can veg in the “spring” spectrum and flower in the “fall”. The lights noticeably change from a blue to red hue as you move through the seasons. Just like natural sunlight.
*A quick side note on my thoughts with A3i spectrum…
Prior to taking over operations at Level 10, the previous operator had replaced 4 of the 7 rooms with Thrive 840W LED’s. So once I had my new A3i’s up I was able to do a nice side by side comparison. Both rooms have pretty much the exact same environmental conditions. One with the A3i (at 66%), and the other with the Thrive 840W (at 100%). When I test the PPFD levels at canopy, The A3i’s register a high end of 1150umol/ m^2/ s at canopy level, while the Thrive room tops out at 950. An increase of 21% when going from the Thrive to the A3i. With that said, my yield is 30% more! Which makes me hypothesize that the FOHSE lights, in addition to their unrivaled intensity, lend a more favorable spectrum than their competitors, which is likely contributing to the massive yields as well.
3. Adjustable Light Output
One of the A3i’s most practical features is its dimmability. You can adjust the light intensity to suit the needs of your plants at different growth stages, saving energy while optimizing performance. I personally don’t have the HVAC system in place at the moment to turn up my lights past 66% without overheating the room and therefore I keep the lights at just 66% throughout flowering. The results are still staggering. Even with the lights tuned down by a third, at canopy level my PPFD levels are still ~1150umol/m^2/s (btw… I’ve seen these things hit 1650umol/ft^2/s in rooms with their A3i’s at full capacity). The dimmability of the FIXTURE was what made it practical for me. Ultimately, I was able to get a great fixture that I can grow into as I upgrade the hvac in my rooms, plus, it made an immediate impact. I can’t imaging what the yields will look like at 100%! The increased yield from the lights even at 66% is going to pay for the upcoming hvac upgrade very quickly. This is the beauty of a dimmable light, the fixture caters to the capabilities of your current cultivation, while providing the opportunity to grow internally when the time is right. And remember that the A3i generates 60% more light per BTU than HID. i.e. you can get a lot more light, without drastically increasing the heat in you room or having to upgrade your current hvac system.
What to Expect When Using the FOHSE A3i
1. Setup and Installation
The A3i is designed for professional-grade use, so it’s a bit more involved to set up than entry-level grow lights. And by that I mostly mean, they weigh over 75lbs per fixture! In addition to utilizing the unistrut that we had hanging already, we ended up also bolting them to the concrete ceiling. It took a two man crew, 2 full weeks to hang 50 lights securely. With that said, once installed, the performance makes the effort worthwhile. Ensure you have sufficient ceiling height and a robust hanging system to accommodate the size and weight. I keep my lights at least 5’ from the canopy.
2. Plant Response
From the moment you introduce the A3i, your plants will show noticeable improvement. Expect thicker stems, tight internodal spacing during the vegetative stage and explosive flower growth during the flowering stage. The end results speak for themselves, staggering yields with no apparent loss in quality in terms of aesthetics, fragrance, or cannabinoid content. If anything, we have seen slightly higher potency results and slightly more terps! Calyxs swell larger than with less intense lighting and have a denser, more full appearance.
3. ROI for Commercial Grows
For commercial operations, the A3i’s ability to boost yields translates immediately into higher profits. The increased quality and quantity of your product will easily offset the initial investment. I increased yields by 50% on the very first run. With the rebate program that I took advantage of, even with the cost of installation, the lights paid for themselves in the first harvest with the extra weight. The extra 30 lbs that we produced translated into over $20k more per harvest (per room) and it cost me ~$16k per room, with installation and fixture cost. So actually, I paid for the upgrade and pocketed 4 grand on the very first crop! Hard to beat that ROI. Now, to be fair… assuming that I had paid full price, it would have cost me about $115k per room (with installation), which would have taken 6 harvests to make back, or a little over a year. So to be fair, for most, the ROI period is about 12-14 months. Post that, one can expect a 20-30% increase in yield going forward.
Is the FOHSE A3i Right for You?
The FOHSE A3i is a premium grow light designed for serious commercial cultivators. If you’re running a commercial operation and want to maximize your yields, it’s hard to beat the A3i. While the upfront cost is higher than most, if you can swing it, the increased yields make it a worthwhile investment.
If you would like to know more about my experience with the A3i’s or how to incorporate them into your garden, give me a shout!
-Mike Thompson, Senior Cannabis Consultant and Fractional CCO