Growing indoor plants has never been easier and more convenient. The best led grow lights allow you to grow a variety of plants in any climate at any time of year for indoor kinds of plants. These grow lights are specifically designed to replace natural sunlight, stimulate photosynthesis and provide the correct color spectrum for plants to grow and thrive. Choose the suitable lamps or bulbs, you can enjoy delicious tomatoes in harsh winters and award-winning violets year-round. Buying LED grow lights is a very wise choice.
There are many kinds of different led grow lights to choose, each with their own benefits and features. Here’s a guide on how to choose the best grow lights for your situation and how to set them up properly.
Choosing a Best LED Grow Light Types – Traditional Grow Bulbs & Lighting Fixtures
Should you replace the bulbs in your existing bulbs with special grow bulbs? Or should you buy new bulbs with built-in lighting? It all depends on what effect you want to performance- convenience and cost or professional quality.
The growing bulbs is a traditional and inexpensive option. It’s also easier to use for most of growers. Just take an old light or ceiling light that needs to be replaced and plug in a specially designed grow bulb.
Grow light fixtures are more expensive, but they provide a more comprehensive solution. A single luminaire can illuminate multiple plants, allowing the lighting to be evenly distributed throughout the spaces. Because these lamps are specifically designed for grow lights, it can tend to provide a more complete spectral range than cheaper bulbs.
Should you buy incandescent bulb, fluorescent lamp or LED grow light?
Incandescent lamps are the cheapest technology, but they are the least energy efficient and have a relatively high heat output.
Advantage:
1. The light source is small size and cheap cost. It comes in a wide variety of shades, ceiling and wall mounts and concealments.
2. Strong versatility, many color varieties, orientation, scattering, diffusion and other forms.
3. It can be used to enhance the three-dimensional sense of objects. The color of incandescent lamps is closest to the color of sunlight, with good color rendering, uniform spectrum and inconspicuous.
The spectrum of incandescent lamps (including halogen lamps) is continuous and average, and has the advantage of excellent color rendering; while the spectrum of fluorescent lamps and LEDs is discrete and has low color rendering. Health and vision are also detrimental.
Traditional light bulbs also have the advantages of dimming, flash resistance, and mercury-free. Incandescent lamps have the advantage that most other types of lighting products do not have, namely, they are suitable for occasions with frequent activation.
4. Compared with incandescent lamps and tungsten halogen lamps, tungsten halogen lamps have lower luminous efficiency than general incandescent lamps, small size, easy light control, high color gamut and good color rendering, especially suitable for TV broadcast lighting, drawing, photography and flood lighting of buildings, etc. However, it is easy to manufacture, low cost, quick to use, and simple circuit, so it is widely used for indoor greenhouse plants.
Shortcoming:
From all lighting fixtures that use electricity, incandescent lamps are the least efficient. Only 2% of the electricity it consumes can be converted into light energy, and the rest will be lost in the form of heat energy. As for the lighting time, the service life of such lamps is usually not more than 1000 hours. At this point, fluorescent lamps are much more durable than regular incandescent lamps.
Fluorescent lamps have low thermal properties and produce the appropriate spectrum for growth. They usually come in the form of light tubes or compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) reflectors. Growing with fluorescent lights is more energy efficient than growing with incandescent lights, but they will be relatively more expensive.
1. High luminous efficiency. Generally, the luminous efficiency of fluorescent lamps can reach 40-50lm/w, which is 3-5 times that of incandescent lamps, and is more energy-saving and power-saving than our commonly used incandescent lamps.
2. Long service life. Fluorescent lamps also have a long lifespan. Its service life can reach 2000-9500 hours, while incandescent lamps usually only have a service life of 1000 hours. So fluorescent lamps have a longer lifespan, allowing us to reduce maintenance and replacement costs.
3. Soft light. Fluorescent lamps generate ultraviolet light through a gas discharge, which causes the phosphor inside the tube to emit visible light. Its light is softer than incandescent lamps and very similar to sunlight, so it is also called fluorescent lamp, and it also emits three different colors of red, green and blue.
4. The fluorescent lamps is usually a cold light source, there are no any radiation, and has no effect on the indoor temperature. Therefore, if we use cool white fluorescent lights indoors in summer, it will give people a cool feeling. and using warm white light indoors will bring people a warm feeling in winter, which will bring good psychological effects to people.
The best led grow lights offer the latest technology for the growing market today. They are very energy efficient, have ultra-low heat output and provide ideal spectral effects. Low energy consumption, low heat and spectrum for different plant growth stages. Growing plants is the most efficient, effective and user-friendly way to use fluorescent or incandescent lights.
Metal halide lamps use mercury vapor mixed with metal salts to create a powerful light source. They use special fixtures and, like HIDs, are typically used by commercial organizations.
What color temperature is good for plant growth?
Violet blue light in the 400 – 520 nanometer range promotes chlorophyll absorption, photosynthesis and growth.
Red light in the 610 – 720 spectral range promotes flowering and germination.
Grow lights should provide the proper color spectrum for photosynthesis, which is key to plant growth. Be sure to check the color spectrum offered before buying a bulb. Offering a full spectrum light is good ideal for your grow space.
That’s why LED lights come in handy. Most LED grow lights offer two color spectrums of lighting, so you get all the benefits.
Setting up an indoor growing area
How to provide adequate light for indoor plants and indoor garden areas? Here are 3 tips how to best set up your space.
Consider your indoor garden was ploting. Whether it’s a single shelf, a basement area, or an entire room, see how much space you have. Potted plants and bedding correspond accordingly.
Depending on the type of plant, separate pots or trays 4 to 8 inches apart to promote growth, pruning and care.
You also need to make sure that the lights you buy can illuminate the entire growing area. You may need multiple bulbs or light sources to fully cover your growing area. Depending on the size, you may only need one light for your houseplants, or you may need more.
Planting light placement skills
Hanging or placing lights over plant beds or pots is the best arrangement because it mimics the natural sunlight overhead and exposes all sides and leaves of the plant to artificial light.
As a rough guide, incandescent bulbs should be at least 24 inches above the plant. Fluorescent and LED lights have low heat properties, so they can be placed 12 inches and 6 inches above plants, respectively.
As the plants mature, keep adjusting the position of the grow lights to maintain an appropriate distance. Consult your specific model and design type for exact details and instructions.
Remember that the light level required for indoor growth depends on the characteristics of the specific plant being grown. Depending on the plants you want to grow, you may need to set up different lights at different heights for specific plant areas.
What is the best grow light distance for seedlings?
When plants are young, their power requirements are usually very low in terms of seedling level. Certain plants that are safe to eat will definitely choose a completely dark place so they can sprout more.
However, under normal circumstances, any window with excellent light will start to provide enough light for the seeds. If natural light isn’t your substitute, then don’t pay too much attention to where your grow lights are positioned – just use what you have and make sure it’s no closer to the plant growth distance than the “lettuce” tip underneath to light the seedlings.