Finding the right grow light to use with your plants can be difficult. There are plenty of models available to choose from which can make buying one a daunting task. If you’re looking to invest in a grow light to use with your plants, there are a few things you’ll want to look for. This article will highlight the top features an LED grow light should have and 3 of the top LED grow light models you should consider using.
What to Look for in an LED Grow Light
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There are a few important things you need to look for in an LED grow light before you invest in a certain product. One is the wattage amount. LED lights come with various wattage amounts which means some grow lights might not work well with certain growing space areas. It’s important to keep your growing area’s size in mind so you find the right wattage to use with it.
Another thing to look for is a wide color spectrum. While many LED lights do often come with a wide choice of colors, not all do. To get the best results with your plants when using one of these products, you’ll want to make sure it has various shades of red, blue, and white. These different shades can help your plants to grow strong and will help to mimic sunlight for your indoor plants a little better. Also be sure to see if the color spectrum includes UV and IR lights. While these lights shouldn’t be as strong as the red, blue, and white ones, they are important to help encourage your plants to enter their flowering stage. LED grow lights that don’t include UV and IR lights in their color spectrum will end up having your plants take a little longer to flower.
The next crucial thing to look for in an LED grow light are fans. LED grow lights don’t get as hot as other types of lighting, but they still get very warm. For this reason, you want to make sure that the grow light system has fans built into it to help cool it down. This can prevent your grow lights from burning out and prevent the lights from killing your plants due to them emitting too much heat.
Types of LED Lights
You’ll find 2 types of LED lights to choose from: incandescent and fluorescent.
Incandescent lights are the very bright white lights you often see with many light fixtures today. They use a metal wick inside them which heats up when you turn it on. This will then cause the light to glow.
Fluorescent lighting is the more energy-efficient option. Inside a fluorescent light you’ll find a small amount of mercury. This mercury is then heated when you plug the lighting in and causes the bulb to light up.
These two types are very similar except for how they create light. If you prefer one way over the other, it’s definitely a good idea to check the type of LED light a grow light contains before buying it.
How LED Grow Lights Work with Plants
LED grow lights are very beneficial to use with plants because they do a fantastic job of creating fake sunlight for indoor plants. Ordinary light bulbs aren’t able to do this as well as LED lights because they don’t emit the same type of colors and light spectrum an LED grow light system can.
LED grow lights shine red, blue, and white colors on your plants to help them grow. These lights have various amounts depending on the type of grow light you invest in. Some grow models will focus more on using blue lights while others focus on red to help with the different growth stages. The plants will then absorb this lighting (just as they would do with the sunlight outside) and put it to work so it helps them create chlorophyll and other necessary things so they can grow.
The Benefits of LED Lights
There are many benefits that LED lights have. One is that they are energy-efficient. LED lights don’t burn at excessive heat levels like many other types of lights do. This helps to prevent burns on your plants from occurring and lets you keep them running constantly for your plants without fears of a high electric bill.
LED lights also are much cheaper light products. You won’t be spending a lot of money on one so you are able to buy many of them. In addition to being cheap, LED lights also have a long lifespan. They can burn for up to 50,000+ hours which is a very beneficial amount to have when using them with plants. This also means you won’t be needing to replace lights for a while which saves money in the long run.
Examples of Simple Grow Light Models
HollandStar LED Grow Light
This grow light model runs on 1000W and features 9 bands of LEDs. These LED lights burn at a 360 degree angle which means they can easily reach all areas on your plants to warm them. The LED lights also have a full color spectrum so you’ll find the important red, blue, and white lighting included as well as IR and UV lights. These Epistar LEDs use a heat sink so they won’t overheat.
Besides a heat sink, this model also has 2 fans built into it to help with cooling this grow light down. These fans will work with the heat sink to reduce the heat produced so your plants aren’t destroyed due to too much heat. The white aluminum housing of this model is also beneficial with helping to prevent overheating and isn’t hot to touch when running.
When using this grow light with your plants, you’ll want to hang it about 3-5 ft. above them, according to how high your plants are. This grow light can be used with all growth stages and it is recommended that you run it for 13 hours during the germination stage, 10 hours during the flowering stage, and about 8 hours for the harvesting stage.
This LED light has copper hooks located all over it so you can hang it easily. There is also an on/off switch on the top of it and an input port you can use. This model is ideal to use for growing spaces that measure 4 ft. x 4 ft. and comes with a hanger and power cord.
Roleadro Galaxyhydro LED Grow Light
This 300W LED grow light is a great energy-efficient choice. It will help your indoor plants to grow, especially with their vegetative and flowering stages. This model is made with an acrylic paneling which is made to be rust-free. It also has a special insulation built into it to help prevent heat from escaping. On the back of this grow light is an aluminum backing which helps to cool this grow light down as it runs. This model also has 2 UL-Certified fans and large heat sinks to help prevent this grow light from overheating.
The LED lights built into this model are Epileds LED chips which feature a high PAR value. This high PAR value ensures that your plants will receive an adequate amount of lighting. The red PAR value of this model is 86% and the blue PAR value is 10%. These amounts will help with the flowering stages of your plants and also help them with producing chlorophyll. You’ll also find IR and UV lights with this model to help your plants reach their flowering stages faster.
To properly hang this grow light over your plants you need to take into consideration their current growth stage. If your plants are in their germination stage, you’ll want to hang it about 50 inches above them and let it run for 17 hours. For the vegetative stage, you should lower the light to about 45 inches above the plants and let it run for 15 hours. Once your plants reach their flowering stage you’ll want to lower the lighting even more to about 30 inches and let it run for 11 hours.
King Plus LED Grow Light
This grow light runs on 1000W and features many unique LED lights. These LED lights feature double chips in them which helps them to produce more light for your plants and light that is very bright compared to regular LED lighting. These lights have a full color spectrum along with UV and IR lights. Altogether, this model has 5 pcs white lights, 71 pcs red, 14 pcs blue, 8 pcs orange, 1 pc IR, and 1 pc UV. These lights can burn for up to 50,000 hours.
Because this model can get very hot, it has a special cooling system built into it. This cooling system feature holes in the grow light which helps the heat to move quickly through the paneling to prevent overheating. There is also a glass convection with fans to help with this.
When using this grow light you’ll want to hang it about 2-4 ft. high, depending on the growth stage of your plant. You’ll also want to keep it running for about 13 hours during your plants vegetative stage, 11 hours during their flowering stage, and 8 hours during their fruiting stage to ensure the plants grow well with this grow light.
Conclusion
LED grow lights can be a very useful thing to use when growing cannabis plants. They offer a wide color spectrum to help with mimicking sunlight and don’t overheat which helps to protect your plant from wilting or even dying. The models above are some of the top LED grow lights on the market and ones you should definitely consider using when growing plants indoors.