June 23, 2022
Growing plants indoors won’t be easy. Without sun exposure, even the sturdiest of plants will struggle to develop and sprout out of the seed.
Luckily, there’s a way to grow plants without necessarily exposing them to sun rays. This alternative is called a grow light. It can be super expensive, though. So you should be careful before buying one.
That’s why we bring the best cheap LED grow light alternatives in this article. We want you to have several options to choose from to grow your plants indoors effectively but cheaply.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about these lights plus a bit more. Take a look and learn!
The types of lights you use for indoor growing have a major impact on yield. But, it’s not just about hanging some high-performance lighting system above the plants. The real test as far as providing the best lighting is regulating the strength of the wavelengths of light while plants evolve through the growth stages. Light is an essential factor as it supports these processes:
Plant biomass: plants create chlorophyll, and utilize light to synthesize nutrients, thus sparring plant growth. Light plays a vital role in producing food energy, and by extension, in promoting plant biomass.
Plant yield: Optimum exposure to light is a vital element in boosting plant yield. When a plant fails to receive adequate light energy, it’s likely to experience a low plant yield.
Whether you’re a novice or veteran grower, you are aware of the fact that light is an indispensable ingredient in cultivation. When cultivating plants within an indoor grow tent, you need to fulfill the lighting needs of your plants, which means you need to invest in suitable grow lights.
Gavita Pro 1700e Gen2 LED Grow Light
Features:
The Gavita LED grow light operates at 645 watts with an output of 1700 µmol s-1 PAR and an impressive efficacy of 2.6 µmol s-1 per watt. The Pro 1700e delivers broad, intense light coverage with its 8 passively cooled LED bars allowing you to use it in low rooms, vertical racks, over benches, or even in tents. This powerful, full-spectrum light source is intended for full-term plant growth from the vegetative stage to the higher-light-requiring bloom and finishing stages. Built with premium Philips drivers, Samsung white LEDs, and Osram deep-red LEDs, this fixture uses only the highest-quality components. The fixture is dimmable to 50% without any loss of efficiency using the Gavita E-Series LED Adapter and Gavita Master Controllers.
ChilLED Growcraft X5–600 Watt DIY Kit
Features:
This ChilLED Grow Light will boost your indoor garden and grow yields to increase profits 30% — 70+% without any added heat, energy costs, or cooling requirements. The X5 600 watt was designed to support all stages of your plant’s growth, emitting a full spectrum of intense light so your garden thrives and produces an abundant harvest. This high-performance fixture provides a large footprint, fits easily in any environment, and its brightness can be adjusted between 5% and 100% to reduce operational costs, making it a perfect replacement for traditional HPS bulbs. The X5’s passive cooled design means no moving part so the system’s heat dissipates slowly while creating minimal noise. The X5 has been designed to support all the growth stages of a plant’s life cycle. The LEDs in this quality grow light emit a full spectrum, giving your indoor plants a welcomed boost.
LED grow lights are an intimate piece of equipment for any cultivator.
Without light, plants won’t grow — let alone produce gorgeous buds covered in resin bursting with THC. Considering the massive amount of importance regarding your LED lighting choice — it’s essential that you choose the best product.
Below, we’ll discuss the primary considerations when buying an LED grow light for your garden.
What is Your Budget?
LED grow lights for indoor gardens cost between $50-$2,000.
Therefore, you need to have a clearly defined budget and purpose. If you’re a beginner that’s learning how to grow plants, it’s best to opt for an LED grow light in the $50 to $300 range.
If you’re a green thumb that requires additional features and power — you’ll want to buy an LED grow light in the range of $500 to $1,500+.
Once you read the reviews listed below, you’ll gain a better understanding of the price of each LED grow light system to make an informed decision.
When searching for an LED grow light, you need to have a clearly defined budget and purpose.
How Many Watts Do You Need to Cover Your Indoor Grow Room?
Overall, cultivators must understand the relationship between watts and square footage.
In other words, you must know how large your grow tent is to determine the number of watts needed from a LED grow light to provide ample coverage for your plants’ crop.
Below, we’ve listed a table to give you a better understanding of the relationship between grow tent size and watts needed for complete canopy coverage.
Watts Needed for Complete Canopy Coverage
Grow Tent/Room Size Minimum Watts Needed Recommended Watts Needed
1’x1’ 25 35
2’x2’ 100 140
2’x4’ 200 280
3’x3’ 225 315
4’x4’ 400 560
4’x8’ 800 1,120
5’x5’ 625 875
5’x10’ 1,250 1,750
10’x10’ 2,500 3,500
Whether you grow one plant or many — you should always refer to this chart to determine how many watts you need from an LED grow light to produce a heavy plants’ harvest.
As you can see from this article, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get the best cheap led grow lights for your plants.
So don’t hesitate and pick the best LED grow light from our list of reviews. For such a low price, you can’t go wrong.
Whatever you go for, be sure it is something that meets your plant’s demands. Follow our buying guide for a decent pick.
October 20, 2023