Can a Regular Light Bulb Help Plants Grow?

May 21, 2024

Regular Light Bulb, as indoor lighting fixtures, are not enough to meet the special lighting conditions required for plant growth, so they are not suitable for use as plant lamps. For scenes that need to use lamps to promote plant growth, it is recommended to use professional plant lights or LED plant growth lights to ensure that plants can grow healthily under the right lighting conditions.

Why Regular Light Bulb are not ideal

The light that ordinary bulbs provide to plants is not very effective, because：

They lack the specific spectrum of light that plants need to grow, especially red and blue light, which is essential for plant photosynthesis. Red light promotes plant flowering and fruit ripening, while blue light promotes plant growth and chlorophyll synthesis.
In terms of light intensity, Regular Light Bulb are also relatively weak, unable to meet the energy needs of plants for effective photosynthesis.
The plant growth lamp is specially designed to meet the needs of plant growth, they have a richer spectrum, can provide the red and blue light required by the plant, higher light intensity, more sufficient energy for the plant photosynthesis.
The plant growth lamp will also be more intelligent and convenient, and can be adjusted according to the growth stage and type of plants to meet the needs of different plants.

Therefore, if you want to promote the healthy growth of plants, it is best to use a professional plant growth lamp, so that it can provide a spectrum and light intensity suitable for plant growth, and more effectively support the photosynthesis of plants.

Comparison among the different types of bulb used for plant grow

A variety of bulbs are available for indoor planting. They include LED bulbs, the other Regular Light Bulbs such as incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, halogen bulbs and high-intensity discharge bulbs. They all offer different levels of light, so it's best to find out what your plants need before choosing one over the other.

The following are the details of main types of bulbs that can be used for indoor growing plants:

Fluorescent bulb

Fluorescent bulbs cost less than LED bulbs, although their light intensity can not compete with LED lights, but their relatively weak light intensity can be helpful for plant germination and vegetative growth stages.

If you decide to use fluorescent bulbs, you have two options. Fluorescent tubes are more compact and economical than led bulbs. This allows them to enter Spaces that even led lights can't, and if you're growing plants in a confined space, fluorescent tubes are a good choice.

There are also compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. They are known for their low power consumption. These bulbs are better for growing small plants, seedlings and clones. Among the various types of energy-saving lamps in Regular Light Bulbs，the "T5" bulb is the most suitable for growing plants because of its excellent light output.

High intensity discharge lamp

High Intensity discharge (HID) bulbs are known for their tremendous light intensity. They emit extremely bright light by burning the noble gases inside the glass. Environmentalists caution that this does not mean HID bulbs are very safe for the environment. But it does allow them to light up large Spaces with ease.

Similar to the other Regular Light Bulb fluorescent lamps, HID bulbs come in two types. The first is a metal halide (MH) bulb. The blue light emitted by MH bulbs belongs to the cooler spectrum, which is very beneficial for plants in the vegetative growth phase.

The second type of HID bulb is called a high-pressure sodium lamp (HPS). HPS bulbs emit light in the red to orange spectrum. This spectrum is called the warm spectrum. It is good for the flowering and growing period of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables.

Incandescent bulb

As far as growing lights are concerned, incandescent bulbs are the cheapest option. They are also the easiest to find. These lamps produce light on the red side of the spectrum, but we haven't found any experts who recommend incandescent bulbs for growing plants. Here's the reason：

For one thing, these bulbs get very hot within a few minutes of operating, so if a) you leave them on for a long period of time, or b) you grow plants in a small space, it creates a safety hazard. Manufacturers recommend making sure there is at least 2 feet between these lights and plants.

Second, this disadvantage stems from the first, the life of incandescent bulbs is shorter than other Regular Light Bulb . While an LED bulb lasts an average of 20,000 hours, you'd be lucky to stumble upon an incandescent bulb that's still bright after 1,000 hours. That's why you shouldn't use them to grow plants.

Halogen bulb

Halogen bulbs are a type of incandescent lamp. They consist of a tungsten wire encased in a dense glass and surrounded by inert gas. When an electric current enters the mixture, a chemical reaction occurs that causes the tungsten to glow.

After the tungsten becomes lighter, the role of the mixture does not end. It is also responsible for ensuring that halogen bulbs operate at higher temperatures, typically 2700 to 3500 k. Although higher operating temperatures have one drawback: they reduce the shelf life of halogen bulbs to a maximum of 3,600 hours.

Despite these features, halogen bulbs should not be used as plant growth lamps. Mainly because they emit ultraviolet and infrared light, which can ultimately damage your plants. But it's also because halogen lamps, like the other type of Regular Light Bulb incandescent lamps, can get very hot.

All the above is the regular Bulb,LED Bulb is the special one with the best efficiency as below.

LED Bulbs

LED bulbs are very durable, often lasting up to 50,000 hours, and operate at lower temperatures. Regardless of the distance between the plant and the LED bulb, there is little danger of burning the tender plant.

Another advantage of using LED growth bulbs is that they provide a full spectrum of light. When you use led bulbs, you don't need to switch lights as your plants go from one growth cycle to another. LED bulbs will accompany your plants from germination to maturity.

What's more, LED lights can also easily enter confined Spaces and consume very little power. They are also more efficient than other plant lights, which means lower electricity bills. Their only downside compared to the other is Regular Light Bulbs that led bulbs are more expensive to buy, although their operating costs are negligible.

The advantages and disadvantages of all kinds of lights

LED bulb

advantage

Operating at relatively low temperatures
Consumes less electricity than other planting lights
Produces greater light intensity

shortcoming

Higher upfront costs