Introduction:
It is well known that the light environment is one of the important factors indispensable for the growth process of plants. The growth and development of plants are always dependent on photosynthesis. Therefore providing your indoor plants with sufficient light in a low or no-light environment is a must. LED grow lights can meet all your needs with maximum advantages. You may be confused when you first choose to grow lights for your indoor plants. It’s not an easy thing to do. You need to consider many factors, such as the type of crop you are growing, the area of light, the spectrum and power of the light, etc. Does that sound complicated? Don’t worry too much. And this article will help you to choose the best LED grow lights for indoor plants. If you’re interested, start reading!
Why choose LED grow lights for indoor plants?
There are various types of grow lights on the market, such as incandescent lights, fluorescent lights, LED lights, and so on. They each have different characteristics, and the next will introduce you to the different types of grow lights for plants. I believe you will get something.
Different types of Grow Lights
Incandescent lights
Incandescent lamps are very cheap. But the heat of this lamp is high, and if the distance is too close will lead to heat damage. For indoor growing, safety is not guaranteed. In addition, incandescent lamps do not have the red and blue light plants need to carry out photosynthesis.
Fluorescent lights
Compared to incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps produce less heat. But it is too big and bulky to work well. And fluorescent lamps lack red light. It is fine to be used as a growing light for seedlings or small plants. In short, fluorescent lights are not suitable for full-cycle planting.
HID lights
Compared with the above two kinds of grow lights, HID lamps are highly efficient. However, HID lights are not energy efficient and costly to maintain. You may need to replace it every year. HID lights also lack the blue light that plants need for photosynthesis, so they are not the best choice for supplementing plants with light.
LED lights
LED lights are more suitable for grow lights than the above types of lights. It has the advantages of high energy efficiency, low heat production, low cost, long life, small space occupation, and more. For crops, it has the effect of increasing yield, early market, and enhancing quality. And for flowers, it has the effect of brightening flower color and preventing growth. In short, choosing LED lights as grow lights is a decision you will never regret.
Are LED lights good for growing plants?
After the above comparison, I believe you already have a judgment in your mind. All things considered, LED grow lights for indoor plants is indeed the best choice. It can provide plants with the red and blue light they need to grow, and it operates at a low temperature and emits almost no heat. LED lights with very high energy efficiency will perform perfectly in plant growth and development.
You’d better choose the best full spectrum LED grow lights for indoor plants. LED full spectrum grow lights are a full spectrum artificial light source developed to simulate the principle of solar spectrum rationing.
This grow light can provide your plants with any light needed during the whole process of growth and development. The best LED grow lights are just that. And it is worth mentioning that the red and blue spectrum LED grow lights have a pinkish color, and people can get dizzy and nauseous in this environment for a long time.
Things to consider when you choose LED grow lights for indoor plants
Many people often ask the question: what to look for when buying LED grow lights? Indeed, choosing the right LED grow lights can be difficult, especially for people who are new to the field. The following will help you in several aspects.
What are you growing?
You first need to consider the type of crop you want to grow. This is often overlooked, but it is essential. It determines the purpose of your grow light choice. In fact, most of the high-quality LED grow lights on the market can well guarantee your plants to complete the whole growth and development process. But some types of plant growth have special requirements. If you choose to grow commercially, you should consider the head space and coverage area of the light when buying LED grow lights. Also, you’d better choose LED grow lights with ETL or UL certification.
The size of your planting area
The size of the planting area is also a consideration. You should measure the area you want to light to cover. This determines the size and number of LED grow lights you want to purchase. Here you can get a reference wattage for you. If you have about 4 square feet of growing area, then you will need at least 120 watts of LED grow lights; if you have about 6 square feet of growing area, then 180-200 watts of grow lights would be best. You should also adjust for actual conditions.
Light spectrum
We all know that plants have different light needs throughout their growth cycle. Therefore, it is very important to provide the correct spectrum for your indoor plants at different times. This determines whether your plants get the right and sufficient light. The most sensitive region of the spectrum for plants is 400-700 nm, which is often referred to as the photosynthetically active energy region. This means that this region of the spectrum includes most of the wavelength range required for plant growth. Among them, red and blue light produce the most prominent effects and can promote photosynthesis in plants very well. Blue light mainly acts on the leaves and promotes leaf growth. Red light mainly acts on the plant to produce fruits and prolong the flowering period. It can be said that red light and blue light are the most important lights to help plants grow robustly, they will promote the accumulation of plant biomass and increase the output. In addition, plants also need other types of light, such as ultraviolet and infrared. Therefore, the ideal choice is LED full spectrum grow lights. You can give plants the entire spectrum of light and adjust the wavelengths required for different growth stages.
Light intensity
First of all, let’s understand a concept. Light intensity is a physical term that refers to the amount of energy per unit area that receives visible light. For LED grow lights, we can use PPFD to evaluate the effect of light intensity on plant growth. The higher the PPFD value, the more light in the visible wavelength range is received per unit area, and the better the photosynthetic effect of plants. Therefore, according to the different needs of plants for light intensity and the photoperiod phenomenon, the process of supplementing light to indoor plants must be targeted.
As we all know, different types of plants require different light intensities. For example, roses, moonflowers, and other plants belong to the long sunshine plants, more light is beneficial to the healthy growth of these plants; orchids and other plants prefer a shady environment, less light is more conducive to their growth.
Efficacy
The efficacy of grow lights is also an aspect you should think about. It refers to the ability to convert power into usable light for plants. One of the main reasons we choose LED lighting for growing is the high efficiency. For the same wattage, LED lights provide better light than HID lights, and the actual wattage of the LED lights will actually be smaller. This also means that LED grow lights are more energy efficient. It is worth mentioning that it is not the bigger wattage that is better, but another value – PPFD/W. The bigger this value is, the more efficient your LED grow light is.
Conclusion:
I believe that by reading the above article, you already know what to consider when you buy LED grow lights. If you are interested in LED grow lights, please feel free to contact us.