November 30, 2022
Growing plants indoors differs from traditional outdoor gardening. It requires different techniques and tools. The most important aspect here is to create a naturally moist environment with the right light, temperature and water to mimic the plants’ natural habitat. An integral part of organizing successful indoor gardening is creating optimal lighting conditions. However, without large windows and sunlight, it would be quite challenging to achieve proper lighting.
To overcome this problem, you should buy the best lights for your seedlings. Unfortunately, artificial light isn’t quite the same. They serve different functions and have specific advantages or disadvantages. If you want to choose the right type of lighting, you need to consider every aspect of the growing process. Read on for expert tips on how to choose the best lighting for your indoor garden to make an informed decision.
LED Grow Lights Produce Less Heat
LED grow lights at a similar power level to HID grow lights produce significantly less heat. This means you won’t spend as much energy on cooling with an air conditioner. It also makes them a bit better for growing in small concealed spaces.
LED Grow Lights Use Less Air Conditioning
When energy usage is a major concern for your grow operations, LED grow lights will really stand out. Because they require less cooling, they can cut your energy greatly compared to the demands of conventional HID grow lights.
This makes them a pretty favorable option for very long-term operations in the right conditions.
Running your air conditioning less saves you money and is a win for the environment!
LEDs are Less Maintenance
Expect HID bulbs to typically last around 10,000 hours for MH and 18,000 hours for HPS. A top-quality set of LEDs can last as long as 50,000 to 100,000 hours. This means they require less maintenance. And you won’t have to worry about changing bulbs over top of your active grows nearly as frequently.
Another maintenance-saving feature of LED grow lights is they do not have reflectors that need cleaning and replacing. Both cleaning them and replacing them add additional costs.
With LEDs, there are no ballasts to replace. In many HID setups, the ballast is required to be replaced every 3–4 years. Depending on the fixture it can take lots of time to open them up make the swap and put them back together. In a commercial grow with tons of lights, this can get expensive.
ECO Farm YS SERIES 700W LED Grow Light
Features:
This ECO Farm LED grow light provides high energy efficiency at 2.7umol/J.The best solution to get more and better quality fruits. The light intensity can be changed by dimmer knob according to the different growth stages of plants. If in a grow tent, over 90% of reflected light can be absorbed by plants. Adequate and sun-like light can prevent the growth of plants from spindly and moulding. The best lighting solution for indoor hydroponics and soil cultivation. The actual power is 700w. Increasing the heat dissipation area by utilized a special surface treatment of the aluminum heat sink. Saving up to 50% energy and 30% cooler than than other grow lamp. Low energy consuming fast heat dissipation. No fan. IP65 Waterproof and mute. This dimmable LED grow light so that you can adjust the brightness without frequently changing the position of the light. 1–23 hour timer for hassle-free light cycling control.
Features:
Kind LED grow light uses top-of-the-line Osram and Phillips diodes to produce targeted full-spectrum light as well as UV and IR to enhance your plants during flowering. The KIND X750 uses the full spectrum white LED diodes used by top LED companies. Kind’s Targeted Full Spectrum is designed for plants to maximize harvest weight and plant quality. Our spectrum is the result of hundreds of thousands of hours of field testing in the Northern California medicinal plant industry. With 750 watts of power and a 4' x 4' footprint, the X750 is powerful enough for commercial growers while still being compact enough for single planting.
Lumen
Lights are traditionally measured in watts, which is a measure of how much power or energy a grow light will consume — no direct brightness measurement is used. However, in LEDs, brightness is measured in lumens, and this is mentioned on each lamp.
Since lumens are a relatively new measurement technology, many companies provide their watt-equivalent measurements so you can get a better idea of how they compare to traditional grow lights. For example, a 60-watt grow light is equivalent to 900 lumens to an LED grow light, while a 100-watt grow light is equivalent to 1,600 lumens.
Color Temperature
Color temperature is another important measurement that can give you an idea of the type of color an LED light emits. It is measured in Kelvin, and the cooler the temperature, the warmer the light.
Most companies label cool tones as daylight because the human brain perceives cool tones to be close to natural light. For residential applications, the ideal color temperature range is 2,000 Kelvin to 6,500 Kelvin. These shades will keep your home cozy while providing plenty of light for you to work in peace. You can also choose warm colors for your living room or bedroom and install cool grow lights in your workplace or study.
Fixture Type
Fixture type is an important consideration because it directly affects the lifespan of LED lights. LEDs can last for decades, but only if they can dissipate the heat they generate. For this, you’ll need to purchase grow lights that fit the fixtures in your home.
If you have enclosed light fixtures, you’ll want to make sure the LED lights you buy are designed for them; not only are such grow lights designed to withstand higher temperatures, but they also dissipate heat more efficiently.
Additional Features
Some LED lights may have special functions, which may not be necessary, but may be helpful depending on your needs. For example, some LED lights are dimmable, which is useful because they allow you to change the light tone according to your mood and occasion.
Also, some companies are making grow lights that are equipped with wifi and bluetooth. This means you can use voice control to dim the lights or turn them on or off at your convenience. Some LEDs are even equipped with motion sensors, which can be used as a security system, as they can alert you to intruders.
Indoor gardens are growing in popularity, especially in densely populated urban areas. Many people want to grow their own food but don’t have the space to grow it outdoors. Growing indoors is the only solution.
Using grow lights not only allows them to be grown indoors, but also allows any type of plant to be grown year-round regardless of weather conditions. LED grow lights allow them to do these jobs more efficiently without the heat issues of traditional lighting.
October 20, 2023