ECO Farm MB660 Foldable Grow Light Bar VS Fluence SPYDRx PLUS LED Grow Light
Indoor gardening is now easier than ever. Indoor plants can be grown in various climates and at all times of the year with grow lights. These lights are specifically designed to replace natural sunlight and stimulate photosynthesis. They also provide the right color spectrum so that the plant can thrive. You can grow delicious tomatoes even in winter or beautiful flowers with the right bulb or fixture all year long. Find more about indoor grow lights here —
When to Use Grow Lights for Indoor Plants
You may be desperate to help your plants thrive indoors, but is lighting really your issue? One instance in which grow lights would really help your indoor plants is if winters are harsh where you live. If the hours of daylight are substantially shorter in the winter than the other seasons, grow lights could help replace the hours of light your plants are missing in the colder, darker months.
Another reason to consider using indoor grow lights is when you live in a home with really low artificial light. Are all your windows on the north and south sides of your building? Do you have really small windows? Do you have no light at all? All of these instances would warrant the use of some artificial lighting to give your indoor plants a little help with the process of photosynthesis.
You may have winters in which the light really isn’t that much less than other times of the year. You may have great natural lighting in your home! All of that still may not be enough if you’ve got high-sunlight plants. Some plants just need more light! It’s okay to supplement with grow lights.
ECO Farm MB660 Foldable Grow Light Bar
Features:
ECO Farm LED Grow Light adopts Samsung LM301B LED chip and Osram 660nm chip, 6 passively cooled LED strips, professional SMD design provides uniform and wide canopy coverage, higher light intensity, less light decay. It easily achieves a 30% higher average PPFD with an incredibly high efficiency of 2.7 µmol/J. A total of 2160 LEDs consume only 660W on a 4x4 ft growing area, resulting in a smaller footprint and better crop quality and quantity. The foldable grow light is equipped with 2112 LM301b 3030 white chips + 48 Osram 660nm red chips, which can meet all plant stages from sowing to flowering, accelerate growth and increase crop yield. The dimming knob design can adjust the light intensity in the range of 0–10V according to the growth needs. It is the perfect sunlight grow light for full cycle hydroponics, soil, grow tent/room growing. LED grow lights feature full-spectrum light, similar to sunlight, providing efficient lighting from sowing to harvesting. It is ideal for hobbyists and commercial growers.
Fluence SPYDRx PLUS LED Grow Light
Features:
Fluence grow light is a full cycle top lighting solution for commercial horticultural planting with the ability to grow from vegetative to flowering. For best results, due to higher PPFD levels, we recommend deploying SPYDRx PLUS in environments with CO2 supplementation between 800–1400 ppm during reproductive growth. Solid state engineering coupled with a patent-pending form factor make the SPYDRx series ideal for multi-layer vertical farming applications as well as single-layer applications, including grow chambers, tables and tents with adjacent channels.
What makes the best LED grow light?
The best LED grow lights all have a few things in common — uniform spectrum, light intensity, efficiency, high-quality components, and safety and reliability.
Spectrum
A proper, well constructed LED grow light will have a uniform spectrum. So if you have 4 plants under your light, they all get the same spectrum.
We’ve already touched on the spectrum a bit, but it’s important to reiterate that the best spectrum consists of not just red and blue light, but also infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet (UV).
Full spectrum LEDs allow you to grow from seed to harvest with the same light, as opposed to having to replace bulbs or use different grow lights for veg and flower.
Is the spectrum constructed of single-wavelength ‘mono’ diodes, full-spectrum white diodes, COBs, or combinations of these? Do you prefer one over the other?
Spectrums constructed of targeted single-wavelength diodes are becoming less common since they are not as energetically efficient, have lower PPFD, lack canopy penetration, and plants can appear purple underneath them. This is more common with budget lights.
White light full-spectrums (white diodes or COBs) commonly range from 3000K to 4000K. 3000K is best for flower, 3500K is best for full-cycle, and 4000K is best for veg. Less common.
Enhanced white light spectrums (base of white light enhanced with UV, blue, red, and/or far-red diodes) are a good option since they provide all of the useful wavelengths that plants absorb and utilize. 3500K with added 660nm red is a popular spectrum. Increasingly common and ideal.
Is the spectrum sufficient for your plant’s growth stage?
Increased blue = ideal for veg (4000K white light spectrum)
Increased red = ideal for flower (3000K or 3500K white light spectrum)
Does the fixture offer spectrum tuning between the growth and flower stage? While not entirely necessary, this can help save energy while delivering an ideal spectrum during veg and flower.
Light Intensity
The more light your LED actually gives off, the bigger your yields (for the most part). So, any high end led grow lights need to be incredibly powerful.
What is the PPF of the fixture? Is this a sufficient amount of light considering the wattage draw and efficacy?
~1700–2400 umol/s per 5’x5’+ area
~1300–1700 umol/s per 4’x4′ to 5’x5′ area
~600–1300 umol/s per 3’x3′ to 4’x4′ area
~300–600 umol/s per 2’x2′ to 3’x3′ area
Is there a PAR map available of the fixture? Are the PPFD readings sufficient for your stage of growing? How uniform are the readings across the footprint (spotlight vs even footprint)?
Can you calculate the average PPFD using the PAR chart? Average PPFD = Sum of PPFD readings/number of PPFD readings.
Is the average PPFD sufficient for your plant’s stages of growth? Veg: 300–600 umol/m2/s, Flower: 600–1000 umol/m2/s or more.
Efficiency
In general, LED grow lights are very efficient. But, the best LED grow lights will maximize your efficiency. Most importantly, they operate at a high level, produce higher power, and maintain a low cost to run.
How many watts does the fixture draw from the wall? To determine this, view the fixture specifications. Be aware that the number in the title or name of the light likely doesn’t represent actual wattage. It may be a model number, total LED wattage, or an HPS wattage equivalent.
Consider about 35 watts per square foot of growing space for planning purposes. 30 watts to 44 watts is a common range. More efficient fixtures may use fewer watts per square foot. Higher intensities per square foot are possible with more efficient fixtures and a higher overall wattage draw. Wattage does not equate to light output so do not use the wattage draw to determine how ‘powerful’ a fixture might be.
PAR Efficacy
What is the efficacy of the fixture in umol/j? This is the amount of light the fixture exudes per watt. If it is not reported, you can estimate using this equation: PPF/wattage draw. Does efficacy matter to you? If so, look for fixtures above ~2.4 umol/j (Fixtures are up to 2.8 to 2.9 umol/J in 2020). If not, at least know how much light (PPF or average PPFD) you are getting for the wattage being drawn from the wall by the fixture. Less expensive, budget lights, are typically very inefficient since they use inferior parts. Knowing the cost per photon ($/PPF) can help you decide which is the best light for your budget. Everyone wants the most light for their dollar, but it is not always attainable.
Conclusion
The indoor plant requires a particular atmosphere to grow, especially in the budding and blooming phases. This process needs specific colors of the spectrum, like red and infrared, to nourish the health and development of the plant and its all-component parts.
This is the purpose the LED grow light makers have served. The characteristics of the LED are designed in a way that the LED’s light focuses on the plant rather than spreading pointlessly.
The spreading of light in all directions is a waste of light and energy. Directing light on the focal point is the exact penetration that is ensured by these specially designed LEDs. In this way, the farmer can expect the best yield of the plant.
