March 03, 2022
Every plants grower wants to produce the highest quality product possible. With light being a crucial factor in plant cultivation, part of optimizing the process involves using the ideal grow lights. Choosing the right lights can be tricky as there are multiple types to choose from, each with their pros and cons. What’s more, rapid advancements in research and technology means it can be tough to stay on top of the most up-to-date information.
Armed with the right knowledge, however, any grower can be well-equipped to make a solid decision based on your unique situation. Factors to consider include cost, power consumption, heat output, and light spectrum. And the choice will be different depending on the types of plants you’re growing and the space you’re working with.
In this article, we’ll help ensure you choose the right lighting setup that fits your needs and budget. We explain the different types of lights available, reveal key factors to consider, and discuss recent advancements in the field, so you can make the right decisions.
We’ve mentioned the future of LED grow lights before, but because of the technology behind them, we feel like they still don’t have enough credibility. Many experienced growers have complained about the prospect of LEDs for indoor gardening, as they believe the product is not as powerful as HID grow lights. This may have been the case 5 years ago, but since then many growers and manufacturers have taken action and used LED grow lights to their advantage, boosting diode and chip technology to get more power out of each diode , more powerful light. In the field of indoor gardening, LED grow light systems have become popular and become the first choice of more hobbyists and commercial gardeners. We list 3 main reasons why LEDs are making a big impact:
1. For those who use plant lights, energy saving is one of the most important things. LED grow lights are preferred as they consume less electricity than HPS lights. According to market research, LED lights consume 90% less electricity than HPS grow lights. Since LED grow lights improve the energy efficiency of your indoor garden, you’ll have less amperage and less load on your circuit breaker in your home.
2. Compared with HPS lamps, LED lamps have longer bulb life. Over time, HPS bulbs can become dimmer and lose efficiency. Even the actual operating costs of an HPS bulb over its lifetime can increase with use. On the other hand, LED bulbs provide more power at the end of their useful life.
3. In the case of HPS lights, they emit more heat than LED lights, which usually provide you with an integrated heat sink. The heat dissipated by HPS lamps requires ventilation, which may incur additional costs. Whereas in the case of LED lights, which release less than half the amount of heat as their counterparts, HPS.LED lights require less electricity to operate than HPS lights. This can help you cut most of your indoor gardening expenses. The comparison between LED and HPS lamps clearly shows that LED bulbs are winners in many ways. It can save you a lot of operating expenses thanks to the built-in radiator. It also promises to be more energy efficient than HPS bulbs. Since they don’t lose efficiency quickly, they’ll just help you increase your savings over time.
ECO Farm TOP Series 650W Full Spectrum Commercial LED grow lights
Features:
This ECO Farm LED Grow Light adopts 1908 PCS Samsung LM301B high efficiency diode, saves more energy and achieves maximum yield, maximum yield can be obtained at 2.5g/W (power consumption), 2.7μmol/J can increase yield by 50% and other LED grow lights, providing higher brightness and less energy consumption. It is the perfect grow light for all types of houseplants and all growth stages. This grow light can be used throughout the growth stage and is a good grow light for growth and flowering, speeding up flowering time and increasing yields. Shorten the growing cycle, allowing you to achieve higher yields in less time. Featuring state-of-the-art equipment and technology, this grow light provides tremendous light output, giving you one of the brightest, highest-yielding full-spectrum lights that work flawlessly in soil and hydraulic growth.
SpecGrade LED Linea Series 600 640W LED Grow Light
Features:
SpecGrade Grow lights are designed for professional cultivators to provide exceptional photobiology and engineering. Whether your intention is to use this grow light as a supplemental light source or as a single light source, this grow light will provide your crops with unparalleled uniformity and virtually no shading. Proprietary bi-folded aluminum heatsinks are designed to ensure the LEDs operate at the lowest operating temperature, thus ensuring the longest lifespan. The fine-tuned A-1 “Whole Lifecycle Spectrum” has been proven in universities and in a variety of growing environments to improve trichomes and taste, while reducing operating costs and shortening growing cycles.
There’s a lot that goes into the decision-making process when choosing which type of light a grower should use, including the cost, quality, intensity, and desired spectrum.
Here we’ll go over the main factors to consider when choosing grow lights:
Cost and efficiency
Facility layout
Light spectrum
Let’s look at each of these in detail:
1. Cost and efficiency
In general, the cost to purchase HIDs is lower than for LEDs, but prices on LEDs are decreasing. Plus, many companies offer rebates, helping to offset the upfront costs. But when calculating capital expenditure, you also must consider the net running costs of lights, including how much power they consume and how much heat they give off.
2. Facility layout
Another key consideration is the space that plants cultivators are working with. With vertical farming increasing in popularity, growers are now able to produce high yields within a limited footprint. Plants are grown in tiers, which means a multi-level lighting system is required to supply all plants with the right amount of light.
HPS lamps are usually unsuitable in this scenario, as they tend to be large and give off a lot of heat. On the other hand, LEDs have a slim profile, fit easily into racking systems, and don’t emit much heat. As such, they can be strategically placed to ensure that all plants have the right amount of light, no matter their position on the racks.
3. Light spectrum
Plants require different levels of light intensity and spectrum composition depending on their cultivar as well as their stage in the growing cycle. Recent advancements in research mean that lighting manufacturers and growers are now equipped with more in-depth knowledge in this area and are tailoring lighting systems accordingly.
As mentioned, LED lights offer more control here, but not all LEDs are made equal. This is definitely an area where you need to do some research and find out what the different lighting manufacturers are able to offer.
We hope you enjoyed our rundown of the best indoor grow lights. You can use the guide above to help you hone in on the ideal grow lights.
Thanks for joining us for our roundup of the top full-spectrum LED grow lights. If you have any remaining comments or questions, feel free to drop them in the section below.
October 20, 2023