Natural light isn’t always adequate when growing inside or starting plants from seedlings, especially in colder regions and during the winter. While some indoor plants can thrive in low light, others require more than the natural light through windows. Years of science and research have brought us high-tech lighting systems that can not only replace but enhance light for indoor growth. Among these advancements, LED grow lights are the cream of the crop, excellent at mimicking direct sunlight and providing plants with everything they need to succeed.
LED grow lights are grow lights that give off light via "light emitting diodes" instead of traditional lights. Compared to HPS grow lights that run off bulbs that use chemical reactions to illuminate light, LED's give off light by sending an electric charge to diodes around the light's surface to shine light.
LED Grow Lights: Why You Should Use Them
Many growers are skeptical about LED plant lights due to the various upgrades they’ve gone through over the years to get where they are now. High-intensity discharge (HID) lights have been around far longer than LEDs and have historically been reliable indoor growing lights. However, advancements made in the sector have proven the value of LED lights in the grow room. If you’re in doubt, here’s why you should consider horticultural LED grow lights for your next harvest:
Why Use LED Grow Lights?
Flowers growing vigerously under full spectrum LED grow lights.LED's are some of the best options out there when it comes to indoor gardening, compared to traditional light systems like HID and HPS lights. Here are a few of the advantages:
✓ Wide spectrums of light - Compared to HPS and HID lights, which are limited in their spectrums, LEDs offer more flexibility and a wide range of spectrum combinations. They’re also able to enhance specific wavelengths, like UV and IR, to target specific needs in your garden.
✓ Lower heat output - LED grow lights run much cooler than other types of grow lights, thanks to the fact that they don’t need to burn anything to create light. This not only leads to lower electricity costs, but also protects your grow room from excess heat.
✓ Increased efficiency - LED grow lights are much more efficient than HPS grow lights; they consume 60% less energy for the same amount of light. For example, the 680w lights we list offer more intense light than a 1000w traditional lighting system.
✓ Longer lifespan - For lights that will last you a long time, go with LEDs. They can last over 50,000 hours thanks to their non-checmical construction and lower operating temperatures.
Benefits of LED Grow Lights:
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They Use Less Power Than Traditional Grow Lights
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LED Grow Lights Produce Less Heat
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They Are More Efficient than HID Lighting
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Less AC Is Needed Which Equals Lower HVAC Costs
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LED Grow Lights Have a Broad Spectrum Available
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Some Lights Offer WiFi and Remote Operation
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LED Lights Are All in One Packages
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They Are Extremely Easy to Install
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They Offer A Long Use Life
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Lights Are Solid State
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No Bulbs To Buy or Change
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Most Are Waterproof and Dust-proof
AntLux 4FT LED Grow Lights 50W Full Spectrum Integrated 4 Foot Growing Lamp Fixtures
AntLux’s 4ft LED grow lights will provide high performance, long-lasting and energy saving for general purpose use. This plant growing lamp uses 50 watts, which is equivalent to 300w traditional lights. Our led plant grow Lights will cultivate record breaking growth, both in speed and quality.
AntLux 4ft LED Grow Plant Lights 80W (600W Equivalent) Full Spectrum Integrated Growing Lamp Fixture
AntLux’s 4ft LED grow lights will provide high performance, long-lasting and energy saving for general purpose use. This plant growing lamp uses 80 watts, which is equivalent to 600w traditional lights. Our led plant grow Lights will cultivate record breaking growth, both in speed and quality.
Because plants can’t photosynthesize in regions with long winters, they can have a hard time growing during cold seasons. You may also opt for LED growing lights if you live in an area where your species doesn’t thrive naturally. In a nutshell, you can always use LED grow lights if you want to grow plants but don’t have enough natural light. Here are some tips for choosing the right LED grow lights for your crops:
Power
Manufacturers employ a number of measures to evaluate wattage and the amount of light they generate, making it difficult to compare LED greenhouse lighting. However, the standard metric is lumens, used to measure the brightness. To flourish, seedlings require approximately 2,000 lumens per square foot, while blooming plants may require up to 10,000 lumens.
While lumens measure visible light, biologists frequently employ photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) or photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) to quantify light intensity in terms of the light plants absorb. The quantity of photons of light released per second is measured in mol/second, the unit of measurement for PPF. The density of light dispersed per square meter per second is measured in mol/m2/s, while the PPFD is measured in mol/m2/s. The more efficient the light is, the greater the PPF and PPFD.
Look for a light’s “real power draw” or “actual power consumption” to determine how much electricity it consumes. This is measured in watts and provides you with an idea of how powerful the light is. However, keep in mind that because LEDs are meant to be energy efficient, bulb wattage isn’t always a useful metric.
Light Spectrum
All of the colors in the electromagnetic spectrum are present in natural sunlight. However, some LEDs can only replicate a limited range of colors, whereas white full spectrum LED grow lights can generate all hues required at every step of the growth cycle.
Here are the most important color wavelengths to keep in mind when selecting your growing lights:
Plants need blue light to grow in the early stages of their lifecycle. In their vegetative cycle, it’s the first hue plants can absorb.
Purple light is also employed in the vegetative state, although it’s less effective than blue light for photosynthesis.
Red light is beneficial in the last stages of growth and is required for buds to bloom.
All of the hues of the spectrum are represented by white light. It can be useful at any developmental stage when used alone.
What’s Your Growing Environment?
Once you’ve decided which plants you wish to grow, it’s time to do some investigating. Find out what sort of environment your plants need so you can meet their demands. LED plant lights feature a variety of characteristics that can impact plant health, and plants react to different situations in different ways, so it’s important to understand the requirements for your harvest cycle.
Heat
When using industrial grow lights, one of the hazards is the heat generated by bulbs can harm your plants and disrupt their cycle. This is why LED grow lights are the preferred indoor lamp, as they generate extremely little heat compared to the quantity of light they produce. However, because they generate some heat, many come with built-in cooling systems to maintain adequate temperature management.
Connectivity
Most LED grow lights are designed to connect with other units in order to cover greater areas, a process known as “daisy chain connection.” This feature allows light systems to be interconnected, linked to one another from a single outlet, reducing the number of cables necessary for setup.
AntLux’s 4ft LED grow lights will provide high performance, long-lasting and energy saving for general purpose use. Our professional indoor plant light fixtures will cultivate record breaking growth, both in speed and quality.