The Main Types of Grow Lights for growing cannabis
Types of grow lights for indoor cannabis cultivation
How do we light our cannabis growing space?
When we decide to set up an indoor cannabis grow for personal use at home, there are many factors to take into account if we want to get the best results, but one of the most important to consider is the type of cannabis grow lights and its power consumption.
When deciding on the type of light to use, we must keep in mind that each technology has its different advantages and disadvantages with respect to growing cannabis. Certain types of bulbs will offer the best yield (lumen per watt) but at the same time they are a considerable heat source that can cause problems to many growers, especially those that live in particularly warm climates or are only able to grow cannabis in small spaces.
On the contrary, other types of illumination emit almost no heat at all, although often the high price of this kind of lighting, combined with its lower effectiveness when compared to other systems, combine to make them less popular. They are, however, indispensable to the many indoor growers that can only cultivate cannabis successfully thanks to the low heat emission of these lights.
The correct light spectrum for cannabis plants
When it comes to the to the colour temperature of the light spectrum, cannabis plants will benefit from receiving blue light (450-500nm) during their vegetative growth stage, and red light (610-750nm) during the flowering period.
When rooting clones and in the first stage of starting seedlings, many growers use simple fluorescent tubes or CFL lightbulbs with a blue spectrum. For plant growth and pre-flowering, many will begin to use lights with the same spectrum, but with greater power, such as Metal Halide lamps. This encourages the structure of the plant become stronger and hardier, preparing her for abundant flowering.
Red spectrum lights are used for flowering cannabis plants, as this is the colour range that best imitates the spectrum of sunlight during the autumn months, when outdoor cannabis is naturally in flower. In this case the most commonly used are HPS grow lights, increasingly followed by LED grow lights due to their good results, lower energy consumption and most significantly, lower heat emission, which is the main problem with high pressure sodium systems (HPS).
On the contrary, most green light is reflected by the leaves and therefore has no effect on cannabis plants, making it the perfect colour spectrum to choose when growers want to work on their flowering plants with the lights off, without disrupting the dark period and stressing them.
Lighting systems for cannabis plants
High Intensity Discharge (HID)(You may also hear: High Pressure Sodium, HPS, Metal Halide)
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| Eco Farm HID Grow Light Kits |
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| Eco Farm LED Grow Light |
LED Grow Lights(Light emitting diodes) have become the grow light of choice for many professional and hobbyist growers alike. These products can emit light in wavelengths ranging from 250 nm to more than 1,000 nm.
Most plants require wavelengths of light ranging from the blue section of the spectrum at about 450 nm to the far-red end of the spectrum at about 730 nm at different times of their development. Light emitting diodes have the capability of having their spectra manipulated to efficiently capture the nuances of the emitted wavelengths.
These lights are also favored because of their long life and efficiency. They have been shown to last more than 50,000 hours, with efficiency usually ranging from a low of 38 per cent to a high of more than 50 per cent.
They are also extremely useful for growers because some LED grow lightscan emit light in specific ranges of wavelengths to support plants during their vegetative and blooming phases. Light emitting diodes do not require the addition of any kind of reflector, as the light is directly emitted towards the plants and not dispersed like other types of grow lights.
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| Eco Farm T5 Fluorescent Grow Light |
Popular for propagation, early vegetative growth and over-wintering semi-hardy and tender plants. T5 fluorescent grow lights are the most modern type. They are available as single, daisy-chainable strips or in panel arrays. Lamps need to be matched to the fixture (high output (HO) or very high output (VHO.)) Different spectral distribution lamps are available-most common and “daylight” and “bloom.” Daylight lamps are used for propagation, vegetative growth and over-wintering. Bloom lamps are commonly used as side-lighting for larger plants flowering indoors.
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| Eco Farm CMH Grow Light Kits |
CMH grow light comprise of a ceramic element to give a higher intensity of light that can actually mimic natural sunlight. The addition of insulation also ensures control of the heat output so that crops aren’t burned. The lights are able to produce enough light to support vegetative and flowering stages, which is a great plus.
The cmh grow lights kits are longer-lasting than DE lights and real like the natural sunlight. They can support all growth stages.
Summing up the different types of grow lights
There are different types of grow lights out there and every type has its pros and cons. For small growers (1/2 to 1 ounce of Cannabis per month), LED grow light will definitely be your best choice. If you are a bigger grower you should definitely look into the newest models of LED grow lights. Older LED grow models will not outperform HPS grow lights. Nowadays all the new LED grow light models outperform the HPS because they often don’t need extra setup and are super low on electricity.
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