April 25, 2022
Until scientists invent handy little mini suns that we can keep in our homes, our plants will need to rely on artificial light. Fortunately, these light sources have come a long way in terms of efficiency and efficacy.
LED technology has improved everything from TVs to smartphones, but it can also help your plants. Whether you’re looking to nurture indoor plants, nurture some seedlings that will eventually make their way into your garden, or just please an outdoor plant that needs to be indoors for a while, these LED arrays can spark the photons your plants crave.
However, you can’t just light up your precious plants with an LED flashlight. You need to choose the right wattage, color and size for your indoor garden to thrive. It can be tricky, but these options provide the perfect lighting no matter what your flora looks like.
First, LEDs are directional. A standard light bulb emits light — and heat — in all directions. This is further the wastage of valuable energy. The fact an LED is directional makes it ideal as a grow light as it can be pointed to the plant and direct all the light where it is needed at the right time with no energy wasted.
Next, LEDs can be tuned across the light spectrum. This requires some explanation, so we’ll do our best! The light spectrum runs from Ultra Violet (UV) through to Infra-Red (IR), in between is light that we are familiar with.
An LED can emit light at any point across the spectrum, and the grow lights from the maker we mentioned above can be tuned to any point on the spectrum.
Why is this important? Shining a bright light on a plant may or may not help it grow. This is because to get the energy it needs from a light source — the sun in nature — it needs to absorb that energy.
The sun’s light is at the UV end of the spectrum. When you consider that different species of plants need different light levels, you begin to see why being able to tune grow lights to a specific point on the light spectrum is important.
Plants will respond and grow best when they are subject to the right type of light for the right length of time, and this can be finely tuned when using LED light. You may see this referred to as PAR or Photosynthetic Active Radiation.
This is what plants absorb from the sun, and when replicated at the right level via LED grow lights, they get the same level of PAR they would in the natural world.
Generally, the higher the PAR rating of the LED, the more effective and energy-efficient it will be when used to enhance the growth rate.
Using these also means your plants will not be subjected to higher than usual heat during their early growth, which can cause problems when you use standard light forms.
ECO Farm ECO Z Lite 1000W LED Grow Light
Features:
These ECO Farm LED grow lights ensure concentrated and even lighting and reduce light waste. This plant light brings a 30% increase in output, consumes a total of 1000W, 2800 LEDs, and replaces the traditional 2000W plant light. Achieve higher yields while saving energy costs! Grow lights are easy to assemble yourself in minutes. You can install as many LED strips as you want. Plug and play, effectively save your installation cost and time. The aluminum backplate enables excellent heat dissipation. Pure aluminum light bars better dissipate heat and stay cool, essential for heat dissipation while ensuring long lamp life. No fan, no noise. The cost-effective grow light is designed for home/commercial growers, long-term use of the fan will make noise, but the LED light panel uses aluminum to cool it instead of using a fan, giving you a fanless and quiet growing experience.
Spider Farmer SE1000W Dimmable Full Spectrum CO2 LED Grow Light
Features:
Spider Farmer LED Grow Lights feature a uniquely designed extension of 10 to provide more even and complete canopy coverage, especially in exterior growing areas. With 3710 SAMSUNG LM301B diodes, the SE1000W Led Grow Light consumes 1000 watts at 2955 umol/s, achieving an impressive PPE of 2.9 umol/J, covering a high yield full cycle growth of 4'x4'. The dimmer knob is ideal for growers to adjust light intensity for different growth stages. The SE1000W grow light comes with a detachable driver and long power cord to reduce ambient heat in the grow space and extend its lifespan. The LED diodes are coated with water repellent, so there is no need to worry about wet environment.
Lumens
Lumens are a unit of measurement for the total amount of light being emitted from an led grow light. High lumen light penetrates the plant canopy better and bounces more photons off the grow tent walls to get to the lower reaches.
Wattage
Wattage is the measure of electricity that will be drawn by an led light system to function at full power; in most cases, it’s measured over time and not as instantaneous usage. You want highly effective light fittings that give you the highest lumen output for watts in.
Light Spectrum
Different plant growth phases require different light spectrums. For example, blue light is ideal for the vegetative phase because it encourages plant growth and chlorophyll production. The Red/far-red spectrum promotes flowering and increases your plants’ output during harvest time. Not all lights allow you to control the spectrum, but our S-series led grow lights, come with 3 channel dimmers that allow you to control the UV/IR Cool White and Warm White outputs which means you’ll only need one light through the entire grow.
Heat Output
Lights that are not so efficient, like HPS lights take in a lot of watts and put out a lower ratio of lumens as the rest of the energy is lost as heat. If you have a cool grow space, then a high heat lamp like an HPS fitting is ok. If you want to prevent heat stress, then LED grow lights are the way to go.
Light Use
The type of light you choose depends on what you’ll use it for. If you’re heavy into cloning, a low power 100W LED Grow light will do. If you want more flowers, use a bloom enhancer or a light that’s heavier on the red spectrum.
Grow Space Moisture Content
If you’re growing in a high moisture area because you’re keeping VPD in mind, then LED grow lights are safer than HPS alternatives as there are fewer exposed elements and fewer points of failure. HPS lights can short in high moisture environments.
To choose the perfect grow light for your indoor plants, you will find it very useful whether you are a plant lover or a professional.
If you need advice on setting up grow lights in your home, or if you have more questions for me, don’t hesitate.
I hope you have all the information you need to set up an efficient grow light system for your houseplants and enjoy them no matter how much natural light you have in your home.
October 20, 2023