Mars Hydro SP 3000 LED Grow Light VS SpecGrade LED Linea Series 300 LED Grow Light
Looking for the perfect lighting system for a grow takes a lot of work between actual research and getting through the litany of marketing copy and reviews online. It’s a big industry these days, and especially so with LEDs.
To get the most out of an LED system you need a light that can provide the proper spectrums to your plant during all stages of growth. Plant tends to respond to different colors depending on whether it’s a seedling, vegetating or in the flowering stage.
Let’s take a look at the best LED grow lights we’ve found on the market for both general and niche use. Read on at your leisure and take the time to make an informed decision.
LED Grow Lights, why choose them?
There are different types of grow lights out in the market, but the LED ones have always been famous and preferred. LED grow lights are chosen and preferred for these number of reasons:
Smart energy costs
If you’ve grown with traditional grow lights, you know that electricity is often a grower’s largest ongoing expense. Although HPS and HID light intensity is higher, LEDs use about half the electricity resulting in significantly more light per watt. With LEDs, the energy savings alone can quickly pay off your investment, and the longer you own your system, the more you save!
Great cooling costs
Because HID and HPS grow lights run so hot (up to 600°!) both they and your plants must be air cooled with fans and, at times, air conditioning, adding even more energy demand to your system. While fluorescents are a little cooler, they still require external cooling and a watchful eye to avoid burning leaves. By contrast, LED grow lights are cooled internally so you save money on electricity and can have a quieter, fan-free grow space in the process! And, since LEDs run so much cooler, plants are happily growing closer to the fixture.
Low maintenance costs
While startup costs favor less expensive traditional grow lights, maintaining a grow room full of them can require significant ongoing costs. Apart from the need to purchase cooling equipment, traditional growers seeking peak performance must consistently invest time and money into their hardware as well. As the key statistic, compare the lifespan of an LED at a conservative 50,000 hours to the 10,000 and 18,000 hours of HID and HPS lamps. What’s more, traditional lamp efficiency begins degrading immediately and decreases quickly while LEDs maintain the majority of their potency over their long lives.
Environmental costs
While saving money on materials, LED growers are also benefiting the environment. With their quicker burnout rate, not only are HID, HPS and fluorescent lamps adding more mass to the landfill, they’re also adding toxins including mercury. And, not only is the lifecycle of traditional lights shorter, the large and fragile lamps are also easier to break during storage and handling, causing more waste and releasing yet more toxins. As we see all around us, the waste adds up. In the case of fluorescents, you need a lot of those “inexpensive” bulbs per fixture: with a max of 54 watts, a grower might need 10–20 bulbs for a 4’x4′ grow bed!
Quick setup and little maintenance
Like most traditional grow lights, LED fixtures are plug and play. However, unlike those other units that require special cooling and ventilation needs, LEDs are actually plugged and grow! And with lower electricity needs it’s much more likely that you can set up your grow room using your existing electrical outlets. LEDs offer two main advantages: One, they give off specific wavelengths of light that can be fine-tuned to the plant and its stage of growth. And two, they use way less energy, up to 60 percent less than traditional bulbs, by some accounts.
Mars Hydro SP 3000 LED Grow Light
Features:
The Mars Hydro LED Grow Light can accommodate up to 2.5' x 5' flower areas and 4' x 5' plant growth areas. Mars Hydro has a great reputation in the grower community. The successor to the popular Mars Hydro SP250, the SP 3000 LED Grow Light offers a range of new and improved features that make it a reliable, effective and long-lasting tool for any indoor grower. Among other impressive features, the fanless grow light features full-spectrum LEDs, a waterproof body, and the potential to increase production by 50%. The master designers at Mars Hydro have created the SP Series LED Grow Lights as a top-of-the-line LED option that combines a variety of features to take the device to the next level. Full-spectrum grow lights cover all necessary wavelengths, mimic natural light from the sun, and have removable drivers to reduce heat output.
SpecGrade LED Linea Series 300 LED Grow Light
Features:
Designed for professional cultivators, SpecGrade LED grow light delivers exceptional photobiology and engineering. Whether your intention is to use this grow light as a supplemental or only light source, the next generation Linea will provide your crops with unparalleled uniformity and virtually no shadows. Their proprietary bi-fold aluminum heatsinks are engineered to ensure the LEDs operate at the lowest operating temperature, ensuring the longest lifespan. Finally, in the 300W version we can generate a layout that gives your crop the exact amount of micromoles to increase yield, quality and vegetables, fruits and flowers to hemp, our proven spectrum will be consistent. From optimizing your growing facility.
Buyers Guide: Choosing the Best Budget Grow Lights
There are several important aspects to consider when deciding on a grow light. Because your lights are like the “sun” to your plants, they are one of the most important purchases you’ll make. They will affect your yields, bud quality, and power consumption. The choice that you ultimately make will need to take into account the following factors.
Budget
You’ll need to weigh up light cost vs. yield, as well as the cost of production vs. yield. If you are using a power-hungry light, like HIDs, your big juicy buds will cost more to produce in the long term. LED lights in particular will dramatically lower your energy consumption and thus, your running electricity costs.
Light Spectrum
LED lights are the new standard for indoor grows. They save power and are usually full spectrum. Full-spectrum lights live up to their name by giving your plants the complete range of light they need for optimum growth, imitating the spectrum that the sun would give. They give the full range of light spectrums from red, blue, infrared, and violet in order to help your plants grow optimally and ensure maximum yield.
They are generally a more expensive light, though their wide use is driving the price down slowly but surely, as our list above demonstrates. There are good quality yet affordable LEDs available to new and budget-conscious growers.
Light coverage area
When buying lights, you also need to take into account your grow room size. Most budget lights will not give you a wide area of light spread. More plants need more light, and you’ll need to decide if you want a few high-output lights or several smaller lights.
Heat
Another consideration is heat output. LEDs typically pump out far less heat than their HID counterparts and so do not require much extra cooling. While lights like HIDs can save you money initially, in the long run, you’ll need extra fans and vents for cooling. Added to this is the fact that LEDs have a far longer lifespan than any other lights currently available.
LEDs do run the risk of burning your plants if placed too close, so they are more suited for bigger grow spaces. They can be used for smaller grows if you have enough height available above your plants.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading today! We hope we’ve made it easier for you to narrow down your options for LED grow lights and choose the light that’s the best fit for your particular grow. Best of luck with all your indoor growing adventures!
