LED, short for Light Emitting Diode, is a fairly new lighting technology that keeps on improving because of continuous research in the field. Weed growers don’t mind spending money on grow lights but they want to be sure that they will get their money’s worth. Choosing the best cheap LED grow light can be achieved by simply understanding the factors to consider and the features that are important in making the choice.
LED Grow Lights
The weed growing industry today is all about LED grow lights, which have proven their efficiency by drastically reducing the energy bills while at the same time providing great yields that are a lot better than what growers can get from HID lamps like HPS/MH 600w grow light.
Manufacturers of LED grow lights have acquired the ability to fully customize light emission by employing various colors and light warmth, giving growers the most of those watts to ensure the light will meet the specific needs of their plants.
As a new technology, LED lights have a wide range of prices and quality, which makes choosing the best option very challenging. A grower cannot just enter a store and pick up a LED bulb and get the right one for his plants. Growers who are new to LED technology have to learn the basic knowledge about it.
Why switch to LED grow lights?
Growers who have been in the business for years are familiar with HID bulbs like the Gavita grow lights, as they have been using them right from the start. Some growers are hesitant to make the switch to LED because they are more expensive. What these growers do not know yet is that choosing a high-quality grow light will result in their plants thriving.
LED grow lights are environmentally-friendly because unlike HID, incandescent, and fluorescent lamps, they do not use mercury, lead, filament, or gas. LED lights do not use fragile glass bulbs and there are no failure-prone moving parts. LED lighting lasts longer than incandescent lighting. LED lights are cool to the touch while emitting visible light as specific colors.
The use of LED grows lights may be considered one of the biggest advancement in horticultural lighting.
Choosing the best cheap LED grow light
The factors to consider when choosing the best cheap LED grow light are Lumens, Lux, and PAR. A lumen is a unit of measurement that describes the total quantity of light from the visible spectrum emitted from the light source.
The main consideration here is not the amount of light that the grow light emits, but how much light reaches your plant. Illuminance is the quantity of light reaching a surface and is defined as lumens per square meter or lux. Lux, however, is a measurement of the human eye and is not considered for plant applications. PAR is the measurement that provides the most useful information in for comparing grow lights. The units of measurement for PAR is µmol m-2s-1.
The best cheap LED grow light provides information about light wavelengths distribution emitted by the light source, the area size to be illuminated, and the energy available for photosynthesis or PAR photon irradiance, at the plant level. Using a spectroradiometer, which is a very expensive instrument, growers can get the exact information needed in making the grow light selection.
LED grow lights to consider
There are several LED grow lights that may be considered by weed growers when they choose the best cheap LED lights for their plants, but the VIPARSPECTRA 1200W LED Full Spectrum Panel is by far the best.
VIPARSPECTRA 1200W LED Full Spectrum Panel
VIPARSPECTRA 1200W LED Full Spectrum Panel is manufactured by VIPARSPECTRA, a UK company that has been manufacturing grow LED panels since 2011. The 1200W full spectrum panel is an older product of the company that has been replaced with newer models not higher than 900W.
The VIPAR panel has the following features:
- The panel is made of 200 5W LEDs with a size of 15.8×15.8×2.8 inches, making it easily fit in any grow room
- The light spectrum is a mix of red, white, and blue colors that work during the vegetative and flower cycles for a very long period with a range of up to 80,000 hours
- Cooling of the panel is ensured by a fan located on the back and an inner heatsink
- The panel’s spectral output covers the full PAR to ensure the best photosynthesis during both phases
Conclusion
Growers with enough budget should consider getting the latest LED series. LED is still a new technology with a lot of research going on. Growers can expect that new LED grow lights will be available on the market every few months. Even older products are constantly upgraded by their manufacturers.
However, if growers have a somewhat limited budget, they could settle for the VIPARSPECTRA 1200W LED Full Spectrum Panel and enjoy all the benefits for their plants instead of using a 600 Watt Grow Light.
