September 27, 2022
Grow lights are a useful option for gardeners who don’t have the space or climate to grow plants in natural sunlight.
Whether you don’t have a yard or it doesn’t receive much sunlight, you can use one or more grow lights to grow plants indoors. The light from a grow light replaces or supplements sunlight to help your plants stay healthy. To help you select a light, we researched the best grow lights. Keep reading!
Different plants have different needs for light at different growth stages. There are some indicators of a good LED grow light fixture:
1. Uniformity of illumination
Illumination uniformity means the percentage of minimum to average illuminance on a particular surface. Higher uniformity of light distribution will allow better illuminance and a more comfortable visual experience.
Different types of plants require different uniformity of light. There are two indicators you can refer to find a qualified lamp. They are the uniformity between plants and regional uniformity. You’ll need to achieve 95% or even more than 98% of these indicators.
In addition, the uniformity of the spectral distribution is also a vital point that you cannot ignore. These indicators have a pivotal position on optical design and plant lighting design.
2. The rationality of light quality combination
Light is the leading environmental factor for plant growth and development. That is why light quality is one of the vital conditions influencing plant photosynthesis.
Light quality can also be viewed as the wavelength of light. It controls photosynthesis as an energy source, where different light qualities trigger different photoreceptors.
Indoor plants will get impacted in several ways by light quality combinations. For instance, their photosynthetic characteristics, stress resistance, and senescence.
3. Reliability of heat dissipation
LED grow light with better heat dissipation will allow the temperature to rise slower. It is also crucial to find those lights with proper cooling systems.
Even with excellent heat dissipation LED grow light, botanists should also be cautious using it. You must ensure appropriate distancing between LED grow lights and your indoor plants. Otherwise, overheating could burn your indoor plants.
4. Waterproof, dustproof, and corrosion resistant
Durability is another crucial factor in making quality LED grow light. Lights made from quality materials with high industry standards could work for about 10 years. They can ensure corrosion and allow you to save hassles and operation costs.
You should also consider buying from LED grow light manufacturers who ensure quality and warranty. A good LED grow light should be waterproof, dustproof, and weather-resistant. It ensures that it does not spoil despite frequent plant watering and ever-changing weather. These LED grow lights will also work over a long time with easy maintenance.
5. Suitability of power
An excellent LED grow light should also be made with suitable power. It should be with low power consumption and low heat generation, yet powerful enough. You’ll also need to ensure that it works with safe low-voltage to prevent fire hazards.
Besides, you should also consider the PAR values and Photosynthesis Photon Flux Density. They measure the amount of light from the LED grow lights received by your indoor plants.
6. Visual Comfortability
It is also crucial to consider the visual comfortability of a LED grow light. A good LED grow light should eliminate glare during the daily maintenance of your indoor garden. You’ll experience lesser visual fatigue and sublime visual effects with these LED grow lights.
ECO Farm DBL5000 Full Spectrum LED Grow Light 480W
Features:
With 1296 pcs SAMSUNG LM281B diodes, ECO Farm Led grow lights draw 480 watts achieving an impressive PPE of 2.5 umol/J, coverage for 4'x4′ of high-yielding full-cycle growth. with a smaller footprint for better crop quality, more cost-effective. 4x4ft for personal grow, 3x3ft for commercial grow. Built-in removable bars interval & disability enable the exact dynamic PPFD control over each of plant growing stages. Easy dimming & daisy chain max up to 15 lights, IP65 Waterproof, master light easily controlled, making it a high-performance commercial grow light for enormous yields. Also perfectly suit full-cycle hydroponic, soil, grow tent/room growing.
Slim 500S Dimmable LED Grow Lights 3500k
Features:
The Slim 500S Dimmable LED Grow Light is a top of the line LED Fixture that is sure to amaze. This all aluminum fixture is lightweight, sleek, and built to provide maximum passive cooling capabilities for the Optic Double Row LED Strips. It is powered by a “Best in Class” Meanwell Dimmable Driver, giving you many years of reliability and top of the line efficiency. Samsung’s horticulture specific LM301H white LEDs are in the class of “Most Efficient” from Samsung and they go through a special lens treatment to stand up to high humidity environments.
When it comes to indoor growing, you need to mimic the same plants being grown outside. Plants have evolved to survive outdoors, and they have adapted over time to thrive in their native environments.
This includes replicating the lighting the plant prefers. This is one of the critical factors of a successful indoor garden, so you must understand how lighting impacts growth and development.
Light Intensity
Light intensity can be defined as the amount of energy a light source releases per unit area. The most common measurements for lighting intensity are PAR, PPF, and PPFD.
Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) describes the part of the light spectrum that plants use for photosynthesis, which ranges from 400–700 nanometers.
Photosynthetic Photon Flux (PPF) describes how much visible light is being emitted. This is measured in micromoles per second.
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) describes how much visible light is being emitted given a specific area. This is measured in micromoles per square meter per second.
Keep in mind that the way various plant species respond differently to spectral radiations and intensities also depends on growing conditions. It is imperative that you provide the right environment coupled with the proper light intensity for the crop you are growing.
Wattage
The total wattage of a grow light can sometimes be mistaken as an indicator of how powerful a light will be. Instead, look for the light’s PPF rating to determine how much light it will produce. Knowing a fixture’s wattage is important for calculating energy requirements, however, as it is a measurement of how much electricity the light fixture takes in.
Additionally, you will need to know the wattage for each fixture to size proper sensible load factors to maintain the optimum grow environment. More watts equal more BTUs increasing sensible loads and increasing the amount of HVAC needed to maintain proper temperatures.
Distance
Height and beam angle are a key part of determining how to mount your lights for optimal performance. The goal here is to minimize light loss while maximizing PPFD.
For example, if you were to shine a flashlight at a wall near you, you would see a small, clearly defined circular light. However, if you began to back away from the wall, the light would become less intense and larger as you moved away. If you were to shine multiple flashlights at the wall, you would see the lights overlapping at a certain distance from the wall, in which the overlapping areas would appear brighter than the rest of the illuminated areas.
This represents what occurs on the plant canopy in a grow room. Work with your lighting provider to properly plan your lighting layout to best maximize your lighting intensity.
Color Spectrum
Color plays an essential role in the growth of indoor plants. The spectrum of light that a plant receives directly affects the rate of photosynthesis and the quantity of chlorophyll produced by the plant.
Sunlight contains the complete spectrum of light including all colors of the rainbow: red through yellow to blue and violet. Like plants growing outdoors in the sunlight, indoor plants grow best under full-spectrum bulbs, which produce a balance of cool and warm light that replicates the natural solar spectrum.
The color spectrum is measured in nanometers (nm), which is one-billionth of a meter. The visible color spectrum ranges from roughly 380 nanometers (violet) to 740 nm (red). The wavelengths between these two ends are infrared and ultraviolet, neither of which is visible to humans.
The colors within the visible light spectrum have different effects on plant growth. Blue stimulates plant growth. Green and white light help with canopy penetration and make it easier for the human eye to spot symptoms of disorders and disease. Red is the most efficient energy source and plays the most important role in photosynthesis.
Are you a gardener looking to grow plants in enclosed spaces? Do you live in an area where outdoor plant growth and production is not possible? Too hot or too cold outside to grow plants at home? If you’re the one who thinks about these issues and faces them, you don’t need to worry. Yes, there is no need to worry about these issues as using grow lights can be a great help for growing plants in enclosed areas. According to reviews, billions of users are satisfied with growing houseplants and vegetables with grow lights and best full spectrum LED grow lights.
Plants need light for photosynthesis, growth, development and production. Inappropriate exposure and exposure of plants to sunlight can significantly reduce plant growth and development. Gardeners can easily get more growth and better yields by using grow lights correctly based on plant needs and the type of grow lights.
October 20, 2023