Investing in LED grow lights for indoor growing environment is the latest innovation in the cannabis industry. These light fixtures have only been here for about 10 years and from the looks of their incredible performance, they are here to stay. The most reliable LED Grow Light is efficient – it uses less electricity and it is extremely resilient. It can maintain the temperature in your grow space to create massive yields. Any grower would want a grow light that can closely replicate the spectrum and intensity of natural sunlight.
Purchasing a great grow light – such as LED grow light – can greatly impact your cannabis plants and improve your harvest. Though grow light is just one piece in the puzzle, it contributes to the overall result of your cultivation. You must find the ideal grow light that can help you provide an adequate supply of light to your marijuana plants. To help you get started, here are the three main varieties of LED grow light that you can choose from.
Looking at this chart you can see better why people are becoming crazy with those grow lights!
For example a 400 watt led will cost you more at the beginning but will produce more than a 400W HPS (Learn more about HPS bulbs here)
Read more about it here
To help you choose the one that fits your personal project let’s have a quick look at what is available on the market in terms of led grow lights for sale.
The Mars Hydro Reflector 720W LED Grow Light provides a full spectrum spread for hydroponic indoor planters or grow tents. It provides a full 2’ x 4’ coverage for different plant stages.
The Mars Hydro 600W LED Grow Light was designed for indoor hydroponic planting. Full spectrum 12-band LED unit. Low consumption LED grow light.
The VIPARSPECTRA UL Certified Reflector Series V600 600W is widely applicable for a variety of indoor plants. It can be used with fruits and vegetables, leaves and greens, flowers, organic herbs aromatics and medicinal plants.
The Roleadro LED Grow Light, Galaxyhydro Series 1000w is a full spectrum indoor plant grow light. Aside from the blue, red and white LEDs, it also has UV and IR LEDs. This grow light can be used from the vegetation to the flowering stage.
The Phlizon Newest 600W LED Plant Grow Light comes with a thermometer/humidity monitor, and an adjustable rope. It is a full spectrum grow light with double switch plant light.
Generally, LEDs have three main types of grow light and they are widely-used among cannabis growers. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to determine the “best” variety of LED grow light because they offer something different and unique to the growers. Some work best in certain situations compared to others.
Most LEDs that are smaller in size are spread in big growing space to maximize their capacity. Some great examples for this are Rack and “Spider style” and Quantum Boards LED grow lights.
The term “Quantum Board LED grow light” was developed by the Horticulture Lighting Group. However, presently, the name is commonly used to refer to a style of LED set-up. This style contains smaller wattage diodes that’s scattered across a huge area on a board. It gained more and more popular lately because of its low wattage and impressive performance.
Spider Style Led grow light uses the same mechanism in Quantum Boards wherein every single diode are scattered and more likely to be on the smaller side. However, the unique thing about this style is that it’s placed on a panel with arms that resemble that of a spider, instead of using a solid board. One of the most sought after LED grow light for this kind of style is the SPYDRx. Expect that they can be a little pricey but for cannabis growers who swear by their exceptional performance, this type is way better than other LEDs out there.
The wattage diodes of traditional LED panels range from small to medium. Compared to other LED variants, the bulbs of the standard panel are more compact. Today, the majority of LED grow lights sold in the market replicate this style. They are somehow a combination between COB Style and Quantum Board light, displaying features from both. Hybrid LED grow lights such as this, are now making quite a scene in the cannabis industry because they offer the best features from two different grow light. Usually, big and small LEDs are combined to create a light fixture that sports the best features from both.
These are the varieties of grow light that utilizes large Chip on Board or COB LED lamps. One COB emits an extremely powerful and bright light since they have numerous LED chips in just a small area. Compared to other kinds of LEDs in the market, COBs create more illuminating light as each utilizes a generous amount of electricity. One famous brand of COBs is Cree.
Rather than having multiple small diodes, COB LED grow lights normally use dozens of big COBs, each having powerful lenses that directly struck light down the plant. Recently, they were making huge noises in the cannabis industry because growers were raving about their ability to penetrate deep into the grow tent.
LED grow lights that have a single COB per bulb is common right now. These AutoCOBS make it effortless to scatter light across the growing space, even just by using one bulb. However, numerous units can also be used, then spread out across the grow room to maximize the amount of light given to the plants.
Every COB exhibits a unique spectrum, thus you can make a personalized spectrum for your cannabis plants by mixing and matching several AutoCOBS. This technique is perfect for those who have an irregular grow room or those who wanted to address the lighting needs of different plants at the same time. The COB LED grow lights are easy to use because they can be plugged right into standard light sockets.
Now that you have gained a better understanding of the various kinds of LED grow lights, it’s time to learn how to use them for marijuana growing.
LEDs are usually compared to its HPS counterpart – but both types have their advantages and disadvantages for marijuana cultivators. Here’s a summary to guide you whether you should invest in LEDs and what are the differences between HPS and LED.
You should invest in LED grow lights if:
What to look for when buying LED grow lights
You don’t know what to look for when searching for LED grow lights in the market? This article will teach you the essential things to consider when shopping for LEDs, as well as a list of some of the most noteworthy LED grow lights that you can find in the market today.
The kind of light you utilize has an impact on the development of your marijuana plants. The majority of the factors that go into the LED grow light that you will use for growing your cannabis. This being said, here is your ultimate guide when choosing for the best LEDs to use in your grow room.
Plants can thrive when exposed to most spectrums, but to speed up the process, they need particular wavelengths for every growth cycle. High-end LED grow lights offer complete light spectrum, giving you the freedom to easily adjust it for every growing period. Naturally, plants grow based on the light spectrum they receive outdoors. They will continue to grow if they can get LED blue and red lights. The spectrum you utilize in each growing stage will impact the growing characteristics of the plants.
Blue lights (400nm – 500nm): Blue Lights are perfect for the vegetative stage because the spectrum replicates the natural sunlight during summer. Plants treat this blue spectrum as a signal to extend their leaves to be able to soak up a lot of sunlight as much as possible during summer. It is highly recommended to take advantage of the blue light during the vegetative stage of growth for the plants to develop thicker leaves. Note that if you use the same kind of light for all growing period, you will end up with plants that have short stems yet big healthy leaves.
Red lights (660nm – 730nm): For the flowering stage, red or yellow lights are the best option. The spectrum from this light fixture replicates the natural sunlight during fall. This is the time when plants develop their height and grow taller, as preparation for the upcoming winter season. Taller plants produce buds and pollinate better because of winter winds. Using a good amount of red light, your marijuana plant can efficiently grow taller and produce more buds.
When growing cannabis indoors using grow light, you have a maximum capacity to replicate the natural sunlight by choosing the best light spectrum for the plants that you are growing. Good thing, most LED grow lights is easy to customize. With this, you can modify the light spectrum according to the growth stage of your plant and stimulate rapid growth.
Also, manufacturers usually calibrate the PAR of their LED grow lights. PAR stands for Photosynthetically Active Radiation, which is the wavelength spread of light between 400nm and 700nm. With these wavelengths, the photosynthesis process of your plants will be well-facilitated.
The greater the amount of light your plants receive, the better their growth is. So, how will you be able to determine which LED grow light offers the best light quality? For instance, LED lights are specifically engineered to directly target the plant. Panels with 3W for each bulb support the biggest amount of yield without burning the leaves. The more panels you install in your grow room, the better the light penetration around the area. If you have a huge growing room, it is highly suggested to purchase an LED grow light that comes with two panels.
You will use your grow lights for 12 hours each day and at some point, you would want to save a few bucks from your electricity bill. First, you need to inspect the electrical output of your light. Ideally, it should remain not be over 3000W. If your wattage is way too high, you will increase the chance of burning your crops. You should also determine how much space your lights can cover. The most popular lights used today are those that have a coverage area of 3ft x 3ft during the vegetative stage.
It is essential to shop for a LED grow light that doesn’t have too much heat emission. No one wants to have burnt or discolored plants, so it is vital to choose a grow light with low heat emission. One good thing about installing lights with limited emission is you can place them near your plants, giving them close access to direct light. Maintaining the proper temperature in your grow space is another crucial thing to consider if you want to save electricity. If the air is humid, just like in the tropics, your marijuana plants will grow tremendously. On the other hand, grow lights that emit a high amount of heat makes the air dry, restricting the speedy growth of your plants.
LED lights are a costly investment but its quality pays off because it can improve the amount of harvest you can get. You want a LED light that offers 3W for each bulb, which means that the semiconductor chip has to be of great quality. You should also consider its durability; LEDs can last for more than 50,000 hours. Work with manufacturers that offer a longer warranty period, specifically two years or more.
Though it is not always required to install a grow light when cultivating inside a greenhouse, these will guarantee that your plants have a consistent supply of light and thus growth will be more efficient. One example of exceptional lighting source is the unit manufactured by KingLED. It is suitable for indoor and greenhouse growing, thanks to its state of the art cooling system, which assists growers in maintaining the ideal temperature inside the grow space. It also eliminates any possibility that your lighting source might overheat in case your greenhouse starts to get heated.
Apart from this, another amazing feature of this light source is the fact that it is furnished with full-spectrum, which can cater to the lighting needs of the plant for all growth stages. It is also energy efficient with up to 100,000 hours of life.
One of the most vital aspects of your indoor growing space is the grow light that you will choose. This is because the growth of your plants will greatly depend on it. LEDs are one of the best options for lighting set-up since they take up a limited amount of space and deliver strong light without eating up too much energy. The incredible line of LED bulbs with adjustable rope will make cannabis growing easier and effortless. At the end of the day, you will harvest taller, leafier, and healthier weed.
To determine the size of LED grow light that you need to purchase, you have to solve for the size of your grow room first.
The rule of thumb when cultivating marijuana is to utilize a minimum of 50 watts of light for each square foot. You want to deliver sufficient lighting to your plants for them to develop huge, chunky, and strong buds.
To solve for the square footage of your grow space, multiply the length to the width. Then, multiply the answer by 50w to determine the required rough wattage. Take this example: Your grow room has a length of 2 ft. and a width of 3 ft. If you multiply it, you will get a square foot to grow area of 6 ft. Multiply the answer by 50W and you will get 300W, which is the required LED grow light in your grow room.
Generally, one marijuana plant needs approximately 1 sq. ft. of space. This will give the plant enough space to grow and thrive into a large and potent weed without competing with other plants for nutrients or stressing over tent walls that can impede its development.
The majority of the LED grow lights that you can find in the market can be used for up to six plants. If you are looking for the possibility of cultivating more than this, you might want to consider shopping for numerous lights that you can hang side by side to cover the entire grow room and make sure that all plants receive an adequate supply of light. This mechanism is called daisy-chaining. Take this guide as your reference:
The greatest features of LED grow lights that you should note when cultivating marijuana seeds in an indoor set-up:
It should be non-toxic and 100% recyclable. On top of everything, it shouldn’t have any cadmium, lead, or mercury.
Since it has low wattage requirements, it should deliver powerful energy without the costly electrical bills.
It shouldn’t be expensive to throw away the bulbs and ballast because it is recyclable. It should also have a better color payoff for security cameras than low-pressure sodium lighting.
LEDs should be sturdy and long-lasting. It needs to have durable components that are heavy-duty and can survive even in a harsh environment.
LEDs are versatile – its dimness can be modified to give off customized color, light, and distribution.
It should help you save money in the long run, even if it has a pricey initial cost.
LED grow lights offer massive yields for a similar amount of electricity compared to CFLs. This is because LEDs are energy efficient which means they produce more light for a similar amount of electricity. Unlike CFL grow lights, LEDs don’t have to be altered for each growth cycle, making it easier and more convenient to use.
LEDs also emit less heat compared to CFLs even if it uses the same amount of electricity. It has a built-in cooling option such as heatsinks and fans that drive all the heat away from the plants, making it effortless to normalize temperature levels in the grow space.
Moreover, LEDs have to be placed further from the plants compared to CFLs, but even if this is the case, they can still deliver a good amount of lighting.
Nowadays, cultivators like to mix and match their light bulbs to deliver personalized lighting to their crops. One good example of this is LEDs combined with HPS bulbs. It is a smart way to upgrade the quality of your buds. LEDs alone can enrich its density and potency, while also bringing out the natural flavor and aroma of the strain. On the other hand, HPS tend to create beautiful buds.
If your goal is to harvest massive yields, then HPS grow lights will be your perfect companion, especially during the flowering stage. HPS is the master lighting source when talking about enormous yields. Apart from this, it is much cheaper compared to its counterpart.
On the other hand, some growers claim LED grow lights can create premium-quality buds with more trichomes, much better potency, and more natural and delicious buds. This type of lighting system is getting more competitive each year, with compatible results to its alternatives.
LEDs have a built-in cooling system and heat sinks. This pushes up the air and prevents it from affecting the crops. You can simply hang these grow lights and it will cover your entire grow room, plus it eliminates the need to install an exhaust system that can stabilize the temperature.
Now that you know the differences between LED and HPS grow light, is there any distinction if you grow your plants under each of them? Will their buds vary in flavor, aroma, and appearance? Slightly it will. Growing marijuana plants in LED and HPS grow light may have slight differences but nothing too dramatic. During harvest, the color may have a little distinction and during the curing procedure, the smell may also vary. Apart from this, their cost is the only thing that separates these two light sources.
LED grow lights are the best alternative for cultivators who are tired of working with heated HPS lights and want to opt for a way cooler system. Even if LEDs also emit heat, smaller units can’t increase the temperature inside the grow room. Also, even strong units of LED grow lights that emit a high amount of heat comes with an effective built-in cooling system to help conceal the heat and push it away from the plants.
When using LEDs, it is much better to invest in multiple smaller LED panels than a few big ones. For instance, you can reap many promising results when using 2 x 125W LEDs with a total of 250W compared to one LED unit that offers 250W. More panels result in easier light penetration throughout the grow room.
When tending marijuana using LED units, 3W chipsets often deliver the greatest yields out of all LED units. On top of that, you don’t have to worry about your plants getting burnt because it has a built-in cooling system that vents out the air. Furthermore, when using LEDs, always watch out for the “actual power consumption” or “actual power draw”. It is the amount of electricity that the LED panel takes from the wall. If you compare various LED grow lights, this is where you can see the biggest difference among all of them. In general, you should find an LED panel with 50-60 watts per square foot of growing space to achieve amazing results.
You need to know how to properly use LED grow lights to achieve superior results. This is a great lighting system that offers many benefits to cultivators, including built-in cooling system, strong light, affordable electricity consumption, and more. If you are planning to start your cannabis garden at home, then you should invest in one of the best LED grow lights out there.
The secret to successful cannabis growing lies in using the appropriate tools – regardless of the grow space or growing technique involved. Cultivators who harvest exceptional weed grow it with the use of the right equipment, even if it involves hydroponics or organic set-up.
Each indoor growing space needs to be maintained and marijuana plants need some cultivator TLC. Take note that the autonomous growing set-up doesn’t exist. Whether you are a micro-cultivator growing in limited space or fortunate enough to avail a bigger grow space, you still need a similar set of tools.
You need to invest in some essential tools. Take note that even if they are indispensable items, you can still find affordable and inexpensive alternatives for them. Don’t underestimate these tools because even if they have low prices, they make a huge difference in your harvest. Purchase the basic kit before germinating your marijuana seeds.
The industrial marijuana industry is currently flourishing. With the legalization of cannabis in some parts of the world, it is undeniable that the marijuana community is growing. There are so many marijuana cultivators who are looking for ways to upgrade their equipment and what better way to get into this expansion process than to evaluate your tools and methods to guarantee that you won’t get left behind.
To assist you in revamping your growing facilities, here’s your quick industrial cannabis growing equipment guide that’s made up of essential tools to improve your cannabis business:
Ventilation System: Select an open ventilation system that utilizes activated carbon exhaust filters to manage the odors and facilitate ideal airflow in your indoor grow space. When it comes to a heavy-duty carbon filter, Phresh is presently the number one provider in the industry.
Indoor Lighting Set-up: For indoor marijuana cultivators there are various options that you can choose from when it comes to the lighting fixture. The lighting option that you will select is dependent on your state’s electrical cost and the design of your indoor grow room. There is a lighting fixture, such as double-end HPS grow lights that demand additional cooling expenses which you should consider.
pH and TDS Measuring Equipment: To closely monitor the development of your marijuana crops, precise pH and TDS measurements should be done regularly. Select a measuring tool that is precise and doesn’t demand daily calibration, since it can impede operations or lead to wrong readings.
Temperature Control: HVAC equipment is incredibly essential to maintain the correct temperature around your plants. As aforementioned, your lighting selection can contribute to additional cooling expenses. If you are planning to grow in a greenhouse, the temperature control system needs to be extremely accurate.
UV Light Protection: Whether you are growing in an outdoor set-up exposed to the harsh rays of the sun or in an indoor set-up exposed to UV grow lights, reliable protection from these dangerous rays is a must. See to it that you and your workers wear extra protection such as hats, clothing, sunglasses, and sunscreen that will cover your skin in case you’re going to work under UV rays for long hours.
Gloves: Gloves are an indispensable protective tool that you and employees can use every time you have work that involves touching marijuana plants. This is because according to the study, 18% of marijuana employees suffer from skin irritation. Apart from this, the bacteria from the hands of your workers can also impact the health of your plants.
Anti-bacterial: One great way to combat bacterial from destroying your crop or infecting your workers is to establish wash stations equipped with antibacterial gel or soap.
Humidity Control: Your marijuana plants need to be in a grow space with appropriate humidity to achieve their full potential. Note that having inappropriate grow environment can encourage mold growth that could destroy your whole garden.
Vault: Apart from protecting your cannabis plants from harmful environmental factors, you also need to secure it from thieves. One way to do that is to have a protected storage space, such as a secure room or locked vault to hide your weed before you deliver it to your clients.
Trimming equipment: For commercial marijuana cultivators, trimming can be a time-consuming process. However, investing in a state of the art trimming equipment can speed up the trimming process.
Eye Protection: Protect the eyes of your workers from damaging vapors and particles that circulate your indoor grow room. Eye protection is extremely essential for those who are working in an area that is sprayed with chemicals.
Magnifying Glass: You need to see your marijuana to find out its potency and quality. This being said, having a magnifying glass that’s furnished with LEDs is very helpful for identifying contaminants like bugs, mildew, hair, and mold.
Coveralls: Another addition to the safety gear that you should require your workers to use inside your grow space are coveralls, apron, sleeves, beard covers, hairnets, and shoe covers. This will prevent any sort of contaminants from getting inside your grow space or infecting any of your workers.
Respirators: The majority of marijuana cultivators aren’t fully aware of the air contaminants that are always roaming around their grow room. It needs the help of an expert hygienist to inspect to levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oil, odor, and water.
Pesticides: Pests are one of the mortal enemies of marijuana growers. Before you decide to treat your crops with any chemical, make sure that you are completely aware of the state and federal legislation for utilization of pesticide for marijuana plants.
Security Cameras: For cannabis cultivators, theft is a possibility and they understand this risk – even the fact that it might sometimes be their workers. To catch burglars and thieves in your grow room, install security cameras and other security measures.
Safety Gear: Selecting an appropriate safety gear is another way to secure your cannabis growing operations. Make sure the gear and aprons of your employees don’t have any pockets to prevent them from stealing valuable marijuana protects while working.
Pocket Microscope: It is important to determine if your buds have reached its full potential and are ready to be picked. You can estimate it at first glance, but that is not a reliable method. You need a pocket microscope to zoom in and see the trichomes of your plants. Using your naked eye, resin glands might still be too early for harvest with clear heads that look frosty. Pistils are also notorious for color-changing from white to red when it undergoes flushing, even if the buds are not yet matured. You can only rely on a microscope to give you the precise picture of resin heads to determine if they are matured enough with amber and milky white tones.
PH Meter: Marijuana grown in soil needs a pH that ranges from 6.0 – 6.5 and 5.6 – 6.3 for those cultivated in hydro/coco. When you water your plants, you need to make sure that the pH level is appropriate. You can purchase a pH pen to guarantee correct level every time. Keep in mind that despite using nutrients with perfect levels of pH, you still need to invest in a basic color chart tester kit to be 100% sure.
Pipettes: Measuring the precise dosage of liquid fertilizers is crucial to guarantee that you don’t commit any error in the preparation of your nutrient solution. Even by just 1 ml of excess, it could mess up the entire formula which can result to over-fertilization, pH problems, or nutrient lockout. Invest in a lot of 3ml to 5ml plastic pipettes. These don’t cost much and some stores even offer freebie pipettes if you buy the entire set of marijuana nutrients. Just make sure you clean them with water after using it for measurement.
Cable Ties: There’s always something needs to be tied in your grow room. A whole pack of cable ties is usually equipment that you don’t realize you need until you encounter a job that can’t be complete without it. Whether you need to clear away and organize the wires that are awkwardly dangling from your grow lights or you need to secure the corners of a ScOG, cables ties are your convenient solution.
Rope Ratchets: You need to hang your grow light in an organized and pleasant way – whether you are growing with the latest LED system or the traditional HID lamp and reflector. The majority of aluminum reflectors are pretty much lightweight that’s why you can use any pair of easy-roll hangers. However, contemporary LED systems are heavy and they need a sturdier foundation. This is where rope ratchets are useful because they are heavy-duty and adjustable.
Duct Tape: Duct tape is considered as an all-around tool for cannabis growers. One roll of premium-quality duct tape is the first-aid kit for indoor growers. Broken plant shoots? Put it together using the duct tape. Damaged grow room? Fix it using the duct tape. No matter what emergency you face in your grow op, duct tape will save your day.
Thermo-hygrometer: It is one of the vital tool during grow op. If you lack the understanding and precise data when controlling the growing environment for your plants, you simply cannot do it. Replicating the ideal microclimate for marijuana plants is made easy with this equipment. It offers RH and temperature reading for growers that are displayed on an LCD screen.
Grow Room Glasses: There’s a possibility that you could go blind when cultivating cannabis plants. LEDs and HID grow lights can damage your eyesight and if you are planning on cultivating safely for long-term, you need to get yourself and your employees some grow room glasses to protect your eyes. There are a lot of grow room glasses that are stylish and affordable. They can be a bit expensive but for their benefit, it’s worth the investment.
Denatured Alcohol: Also called sticky green, denatured alcohol is the cleaning solution that’s relied on by most home cultivator. Soaking a clean cloth with this solution, you can eliminate and sterilize any kind of sticky residues that you encounter during your growing op. You can also use it to sanitize all the surface and maintain cleanliness in your grow space before you house your plant inside it. Besides this, you can utilize it to clean your shears as well.
You need to have clean clippers even if you don’t have any plans of pruning your crop for defoliation or yield because you are going to need it for trimming during harvest. On top of that, you want scissors that have long, thin, and sharp blades. It should also provide amazing grip when you hold it.
LED lights create light by going through a current via a semiconductor. LEDs don’t have any filaments that can overheat, which means that they can last for a long period. Most LED grow lights in the market can last for 50,000 up to 60,000 hours.
LED systems have a red or blue spectrum or both, it depends on the unit that you will buy. There are numerous absorption peaks for carotenoids and chlorophyll so LEDs may utilize one or more LED colors to overlap these peaks.
The wattage of this type of lighting system range from 12 watts up to 400 watts while creating a 200-1000 watt HID equivalent lighting for marijuana plants. In the previous years, LED grow lights utilized enormous fractional-watt LEDs yet they are still not bright enough to defeat the efficiency of HID lights.
Modern and upgraded LED grow lights now use high-brightness multiple-watt LED that is almost similar to the performance of HID lights. LEDs keep improving in terms of their energy consumption which lead to improved effectiveness.
Furthermore, LEDs utilized in the past were designed to use 1-watt of power but now, 3-5 watt LEDs are used. They are currently being distributed with power up to 600 watts of power.
Contemporary advancements in LED grow lights made way for the production of brighter and more long-lasting units. These affordable alternatives emit limited wavelengths of light that is parallel to the absorption peaks of the usual photo-chemical procedure of a marijuana plant.
If you compare it to other kinds of grow lights, LEDs are more suitable for indoor growing because they use less electricity, can function without ballasts, and create low-level of heat. You can even place LED grow lights near your crops – a trait which does not apply to other lighting systems.
LEDs are extremely cool to the point that growers can keep them close to the plants, at approximately 12-18 inches or closer. This allows the plants to receive an adequate amount of light supply.
One of the biggest problems for cultivators when it comes to indoor growing is the heat generated inside the room. To maintain the coolness inside, you need to spend a large sum of money on the ventilation system, which is not cool. This commonly happens when HID bulbs are used in the grow room. But if you switch to LED grow lights, expensive expenses for the cooling system will be eliminated and you don’t have to waste your time maintaining the coolness inside your grow room. This will give you more time to take care of your plants.
Moreover, blue light given off by LED units are highly recommended for successful vegetative growth. This is because it has a wavelength that revolves around mid-400 nm. On the other hand, the red LED lights are ideal during the flowering stage because its wavelength is somewhere near 660 nm.
LED grow lights is a relatively new technology in the market. Despite being a rookie in the field, it managed to beat pioneer grow lights and made a name for itself. It is currently gaining more and more popularity in the cannabis community. It is no longer surprising because, with its perks and amazing features, any grower would be lucky to utilize it in their grow op.
Is it advantageous to use white LED lights during your marijuana growing operation? The answer to this is a big yes. They play an essential role as being one of the absorbable spectra, however, it is just one piece of the puzzle. To effectively nurture the plants, it should be combined with a blue and red spectrum.
This is the primary reason why the white spectrum from LEDs is always combined with other colors. Furthermore, you also need white LED grow light to establish a safe grow space. It is important because it safely lights up the room while other light colors are at rest. However, take note that you don’t have to invest in a lot of white LED lights.
When talking about grow lights for indoor grow space, supreme-quality HID lights always dominate among home growers. But as more advancements were developed and technologies improved, a new lighting system made its way to the industry, in the form of LED grow lights.
LEDs were the laughing stock in the cannabis community before but with the help of advanced technology, it’s starting to rise in popularity. High-end LED grows lights are now distributed in the market and they are rapidly becoming the choice of most indoor cultivators because of the exceptional performance they show. However, with LEDs being a novice in the field, many consumers are still questioning what it is and what qualities does it have that sets it apart from other grow lights out there.
LED grow lights produce light by pushing the current in a semiconductor material instead of burning a filament. This encourages electrons to move and create light without losing energy in the form of heat, unlike traditional bulbs.
The first-ever LED light was developed in 1927 by a Russian inventor named Oleg Vladimirovich. However, when it was invented, it doesn’t have any practical use yet. It wasn’t until 1955 when particular semiconductor alloys were discovered to produce infrared emissions. In 1961, Texas Instruments recognized and patented LED lights as a lighting system. The beginning of LEDs was made of red lights and they were commonly utilized in televisions to create lowlights around the corners of the device. This humble beginning branched out to the development of LED technology and now, it produces various lights that range from the whole ultraviolet spectrum to infrared.
LED grow lights today have a lot to say – one is being far superior compared to HPS lights however, that’s not always the case. Recently, LEDs are discovered to perform less efficient compared to their HPS counterpart. It failed to produce the same brightness and quality of light. This dubbed them as inefficient in the cannabis community. Though LED grows lights have dramatically changed over the past years, it is still below the level of some veteran lighting system. But this negative reputation is beginning to turn around as more and more cultivators are starting to realize the real potential of LEDs.
Investing in a LED grow light is important for specific reasons. There are various ways on how you can supply light to your cannabis plants, but how can you find out if you are using the most efficient and suitable approach? How will you know that you are not overheating your plants trying to direct more light towards them? The answer lies in LEDs.
The truth is, LED grow lights are the most efficient lighting system that you can access in the market. This is because they generate 75% more power compared to the traditional lighting system.
When you use less power, you also pay for lower electricity bills and thus you will save a reasonable amount of money. You can use the money you saved from other important aspects of running your growing operation.
Furthermore, high-end LED grow lights make use of specific light wavelengths that are craved by most marijuana plants. Traditional grow lights offer lighting supply that is only directed at one portion of your crop, leaving other parts.
LED grow lights use a special mechanism that comes with blue and red wavelengths to provide your marijuana plants with sufficient light from all directions, without sacrificing any parts. It is also specifically-made to fulfill the lighting needs of your plants, no matter where they are inside your grow space.
Moreover, LEDs are notorious for being much cooler compared to traditional grow lights. This is because they have decreased power usage. The problem with the majority of the lighting system is the heat they emit, which is the result of burn out during growing op. The higher the temperature inside the grow room, the more air you should push through it, and the higher the expenses you would pay to maintain the temperature inside it regularly.
This only proves that LEDs are significantly helpful to the environment. Knowing the ecological problems that the world is facing today, with the drastic increase in worldwide temperature and other related issues, it only makes sense why many people switch to a more eco-friendly lighting system.
This is an aspect where LED grow lights flourish. The huge decrease in carbon dioxide emissions despite its power usage, only means that the developer of this unit cares for the welfare of its customers and the Earth as a whole. On top of its benefits for the environment, LEDs don’t have to be thrown away meticulously, unlike HPS bulbs.
Traditional grow lights that contain mercury need to be thrown away professionally and it demands for extreme consideration that requires several years because of its limited-time usage. LEDs are the exact opposite – they can be used for at least ten years without worrying that you are negatively affecting the environment.
Lastly, the great thing about using LEDs is you don’t have to replace them more often. Common grow lights easily degenerate and they need to be replaced from time to time. LED grow lights can still run in great condition after 50, 000 hours. This means that they will last for at least 7-8 hours.
The price of LEDs might dissuade some growers from investing in them, but with their lengthy lifespan, it will pay off in the long run because you don’t have to replace them from time to time.
Light spectrum is the scope of colors created by the light. Most LEDs give off a comprehensive set of colored LEDs which result in a broad spectrum of hues. Some have a wide range compared to others. With this, how will you know the ideal range for your plants?
Scientifically speaking, plants crave for blue light during the vegetative phase and more red light during the flowering phase. This is why a lot of LED grow lights replicate a purplish type of light, combining blue and red LEDs.
It is recommended to install a lighting unit that radiates exhaustive range of colors, and that includes the ones that are invisible to the naked eye such as UV lights. Limited amount of such light can be beneficial for the growth of your plants.
LED grow lights are the lighting system that is produced from light-emitting diodes or LEDs. They come in different wavelengths or colors. It is proven by science that the varying wavelengths radiated by LEDs assist in different growing stages of plants. In this article, you will learn about the best LED grow lights that you can use when cultivating marijuana.
Before you splurge on buying LED grow lights, it is essential to know some details about it first, including its specs.
LEDs are popularly termed as “luminous efficient”, which means it efficiently utilizes electricity to create light. In a lab set-up, LED light has an efficiency that ranges from 150 or more lumens for every watt, furnished with top-end CREE lights that generate 254 lumens each watt.
Relatively, regular HPS bulb has an efficiency of 100 lumens for every watt. This means that if cultivators use premium-quality LEDs, they can save up to 50% on their electricity expenses unlike using HPS lights.
One thing about LED grow lights is that these don’t utilize filaments. This means that the lamp will have a long-lasting lifespan, that can reach up to 50,000 – 60,000 hours. Relatively, the majority of HID grow lights only remain for 2,000 – 3,000 hours.
LEDs create an extremely small amount of heat. Their heat emission is so little that you can even touch it. This is once again possible because of its lack of filament burning. The problem with HID lamps is almost 95% of their energy is spent in radiation and heat production. This is not an issue with LED bulbs because it doesn’t burn anything. With this, you can place LED lights in as little as 30-45cm above your marijuana crops, allowing them to prevent stretch. Relatively, HID lights need to be at least 60-90 cm above the plants to avoid heat stress.
Furthermore, since LED light doesn’t produce much heat, there’s no need to install a complicated cooling system in your grow room. Specifically for large batches of crops, where gigantic watts are generating heat in the room, the huge improvement in the electricity bill will back up LEDs.
On the other hand, most marijuana cultivators, particularly those that reside in colder places of the world depend on HID lights to contribute heat, maintain proper temperature in their grow space. The need to power a different heat source to make up for some of the missing heat when utilizing LED grow light may erase its energy-saving capacity. But if you mix both LED and HID, it could result in an exceptional combination that could give you the best of both worlds.
The huge issue with LED grow lights in the past is that they couldn’t deliver sufficient light intensity to make the lives of most marijuana cultivators easier. The only lighting system that managed to fulfill this void was the bulb from an HID light system. However, with several developments in LED technology, cultivators discovered that the newest 5-watt diodes added to LED lights are capable of producing adequate light intensity that is almost similar to HID lights or much better than it. Now, LED systems sport a staggering 10-watt diode, making them one of the most efficient lighting mechanisms.
A top-notch LED grow light can radiate all types of light spectrums needed to cultivate healthy and robust marijuana plants. The most vital spectrum that is needed during the entire growth stage of a marijuana plant is red and blue. The majority of high-quality systems radiate a combination of both red and blue diodes to achieve the full potential of the plants – with some having adjustable feature for every growing stage. Currently, there have been some incredible developments in LED technology, with RGB LEDs lining in front. These are white LEDs that contains the perfect mix of yellow, blue, and red spectrums – replicating the same lighting produced by the sun. This being said, the lighting system that uses RGB LEDs with regular red and blue diodes will result in massive and greater yields.
What made it even superior compared to HID lights is the fact that LEDs can produce optimum levels of spectral output using a particular color, one thing that HID cannot perform. High-End LEDs can perform better compared to its HID alternative – allowing marijuana plants exposed to LED grow light perform more efficient photosynthesis process compared to marijuana plants exposed to HID grow light.
Efficient, premium-quality LED lighting systems will still have expensive cost. However, just like most LED-powered products, its price will somehow decrease through time. Each year, prices are reduced, since LEDs are only at the beginning of its development. Bulk production and replacement of traditional grow lights will power the cost of LED systems to reduce reasonably.
While waiting for its price to potentially go down, it’s better to focus on the long-term benefits of LED lights to your financial status. Since it has an energy-saving feature and long-lasting lifespan, these can result in tremendous savings in the long run – making it a good investment for those who don’t want to spend more money replacing their bulbs from time to time.
If you’ve come to this point of this article and you are still not sure whether you should invest in LEDs, read these hash tips. This is one great example of how LED grow lights deliver benefits and perks using the latest technology. The capacity of LEDs to radiate maximum color spectrum results in the development of hash tips. These are trichome formation located above the flowering primary buds that are extremely compact and dense and enveloped in crystal, to the point that you can’t see any vegetation. Hash tips are the by-product of extreme resin production, the highest level of genetic expression.
It is only LED systems that can develop hash tips because they have particular wavelengths that are absent in other light systems. They radiate blue and red diodes that can create approximately 40% 660 nm red. On top of that, it does not deliver 680 nm red and this is where the accuracy of LEDs is at its peak. Even superior HPS lamps cannot perform such precision because it does not have accurate control, making it impossible to eliminate 680 nm read. This means that if you are an avid user of HPS lights, you will never witness the beauty of hash tips.
Marijuana plants that are exposed to LED lights can produce hash tips naturally because they can detect danger from too much 660 nm red light and lack of 680 nm red light. As a way to protect itself, the marijuana plant activates its defense mechanism by producing additional resin to filter potentially dangerous light rays.
To achieve successful results, LED lights need to be placed approximately 15 cm away from the plant during the blooming stage. This will guarantee that sufficient light supply penetrates throughout the grow tent, encouraging faster and more efficient reside production, not just on the primary buds, but in every part touched by the light.
No matter what purpose you have in mind for purchasing a LED light, always remember that there are different kinds of LEDs out there and you need to choose the best unit that will fulfill your requirements as a cultivator. Select the appropriate one and you will have the easiest time growing your cannabis. Below are some basic things to consider before purchasing the LED grow light of your choice:
Lighting is part of growing any plant. Growing any crop requires some form of light. Growing marijuana outdoors requires is not usually possible due to laws and regulations. Growing indoors has its own problems which start with the lighting. However, it has advantages over natural sunlight. Indoors, the environment is controlled and aimed at efficiently growing the plants. The plants go through the seedling, vegetative, and flowering stage with the help of optimum lighting. With proper lighting, the plants go through the growth cycle on a schedule, and also produce the most number of buds. Experts also give the opinion that the lights produce the most buds and best quality.
LED lights provide the most benefits and advantages among all the types of grow light technologies. It is energy-efficient, versatile and durable. It produces light with low heat, and even lower energy usage. Even though it has a high initial cost it proves to be a cost-efficient on the long term.
The advantage of LED grow lights compared to traditional light units are easy to notice. If it can compete when it comes to affordability, this would be the perfect light system for cultivating cannabis.
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