What To Look For When Buying Led Grow Lights?

Getting best LED grow lights for your indoor garden can be a bit intimidating as you have a lot of technical information to digest. You might rather just let your plants outside in the sun instead of reading up on wavelengths, light colors, and temperatures. Do not fret as we are going to provide you the beginner’s guide on what to look for in LED grow lights.

Frankly, the answer to the question “What to look for in LED grow lights?” is—a lot, but in this article, we are going to enumerate the main 6 things that you should know about the LED grow lights.

Read on to find out what LED grow lights really are and how they can be beneficial to your seedlings or growing plants.

What are LED Grow Lights?

The “LED” stands for Light Emitting Diode. This is basically a light that has a small bulb. In order for it to produce the proper amount of light, different diodes in various colors are used for specific purposes.

The LED grow lights are used as an alternative to natural sunlight for indoor plants or even aquatic plants since the light from the LED are efficient enough to provide the same effect of the sun. A lot of horticulturalists use LED lights for professional greenhouses and indoor gardens since they are more convenient and customizable.

Why choose LED Grow Lights?

• Increases yields – While using LED grow light, as a farmer, you are able to keep tabs with your greenhouse. You will be able to supply the much-needed light increasing yields.
• Easy installation – After purchasing this appliance, there is that urge to use it immediately. Since LED Grow lights are easier to install, in a matter of time you will be using it.
• Environmental-friendly – It achieves this feat through generating less heat unlike the traditional bulbs.
• Ensures uniform growth of plants – LED grow lights emit narrow wavelength spectrum that are absorbed by crops. They can also be altered to suit different requirements of growth in plants thus ensuring uniform growth.
• Saves Energy – By using it, there is less energy consumption making it viable for indoor farming of plants.

What to Look for in LED Grow Lights?

1. The plant you are growing

In order to get the grow lights of your dreams, you must first decide on the type of plant that you are planning to grow. There are lot of products in the market which you can buy and many of these are very useful, for example a full cycle led grow light will assist your little seedling to blossom into a beautiful flower and finally transform it into a full grown plant. But the light or the output of the led grow lights for indoor plants varies and so does the requirement in each plant. 

2. The Space

Another thing that you must bring into consideration when looking for LED grow lights is the space you need to cover. Indoor planting can vary in terms of area and you have to choose the LED grow lights likewise. For example, if you choose a light which transmits less power in comparison to a larger area then chances are that the plants may not grow properly and vice a versa.

3. Light Spectrum, PAR and PPFD

PPF (Photosynthetic Photon Flux) is the key measure for grow lights as they measure the total amount of PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation) that is produced by a lighting system each second. 

PAR light is the wavelengths of light within the visible range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm) which drive photosynthesis. This is essentially the spectrum of light your plants actually use and need. Beware that if the LED light you are considering makes no mention of these anywhere then dig in a bit to understand whether their wattage actually caters to the spectrum your plants need.

A lot of lights claim to be full spectrum, however, as we mentioned above, plants need a certain wavelength and this is critical for their growth and during vegetative and flowering stages. Make sure you find out what the PAR is for light you are evaluating and what the density of that PAR based on PPF values.

4. Wattage and Efficiency

A key aspect of LED lights is their efficiency as compared to other lights. As your lights will be on for atleast 8 to 12 hours and in some phases most of the day, you need to ensure that your light is efficient. 

Higher wattage lights tend to cost more initially but work out more cost effective in the long run as they are far more efficient. Higher wattage generally means that your light does is powerful enough to give the adequate intensity and wavelength to your plant by using less energy. That automatically leads to lower energy costs.

However, read enough reviews about the light your are considering to get an idea of what other users may have experienced.

5. Low Heat Output

This is one of the most important things when choosing LED lights, as it contributes to two main factors – plant protection and durability.

The lights are in constant proximity to the plants and having low heat output than HPS grow lights and guarantees that there won't be any damage but also enables for a smaller distance between the lamp and the plant.

Also, a light with higher heat output would burn out more quickly and will need to be replaced sooner. Well balanced low heat output LED lamps let off less energy as heat and have aluminum heat sinks attached.

6. Quality Semiconductor Chip

The semiconductor chip is the LED light`s core and serves the purpose of converting electricity to light, but also has a part in determining the wavelength. It is advisable that you look for a light that has a chip of at least 3 watts, otherwise it won't be able to provide sufficient illumination.

Summary

Now you know the 6 main things as to what to look for in LED grow lights for grow tent. It is important to take good care of your plants, but without the knowledge of the six that we discussed, you will still be very confused about what to get. Just always remember that your LED Grow Lights should always follow the needs of your plants.