August 15, 2020
Starting an indoor grow operation can be overwhelming for beginners since there is a lot to consider to make sure your plants grow healthy. One of the significant aspects of any indoor growing system is the lighting, and most people can assuredly say that LED lights are the way to go. The question that immediately arises is: what size of grow light do I need?
There are various brands and types of LED grow lights available on the market and choosing the right one isn’t the easiest task. Most first-time indoor growers don’t have any knowledge about the requirements of their indoor garden in terms of space and size.You’d like to get a LED grow light system of adequate size to accommodate your garden for efficient growth. So, what size of grow light do you really need?
Well, the size of your grow light mainly depends on three big factors.
The Size Of Your Grow Space
When growing cannabis, a good rule of thumb is to use a minimum of 50 watts of light per square foot of grow space. We want to flood our plants with light ( food ) so that they have lots of energy to produce big potent buds.
Therefore, we need to calculate the square footage ( length x width ) of our grow space. We’ll then multiply this number by 50w to give us the rough wattage of light we require.
The type of plant you’re growing
Before getting any sort of grow light, it is very important for growers to consider the nature and species of the plant they’re growing. You should know that LED grow lights of all sizes are able to accommodate typical seedlings so they reach complete maturity.
With that being said, some plants require larger LED grow lights that provide more power, energy and surface area. You can find LED lights with sizes that specifically assist different types of crops according to their needs.
Type of Lighting
If you are unsure which type of lighting you need, go with fluorescent lights if you only have one (or maybe two) plants and LED or CMH lights otherwise. I recommend LED over CMH, because they’re easier to use, they cost less to operate, the generate less heat and they last longer.
You’ve probably heard about PAR. In simple terms, It’s the part of the light spectrum that your plants use for photosynthesis. So It’s a pretty big deal. The higher the PAR output of your light, the more edible light your plants receive. Take a look at the table below for the optimal ranges of PAR for each stage of your plans life:
Stage | Optimal PAR Output |
Seedling | 200-400 (μmol/m2/s) |
Veg | 400-600 (μmol/m2/s) |
Flowering | 600-900 (μmol/m2/s) |
If you’re still unsure which LED grow light to go for, here are some recommendations for you: 500W LED grow light, 600W LED grow light, 240W quantum board LED.