Light plays an important role in the photosynthesis and growth of plants. By growing in a controlled indoor environment, you can manipulate your lighting recipe by choosing the best lights designed for gardening, adjusting your lighting schedule, or modifying the spectrum.
There are many lighting options for indoor farming applications — but which one is best? This article will discuss the best lighting solutions and how your lighting choices can affect your indoor farm.
Why are LEDs the Best Grow Lights for Indoor Plants?
There are several types of indoor grow lights available for growing. However, most farmers prefer to use LEDs. Research shows that LEDs are the favorite lighting method for North American farmers. Here are some of the benefits of LED grow lights;
Energy saving: With LEDs, you can save 50–70% energy anywhere. They save energy and are also able to maintain a constant light intensity. Light does not fade over time.
Full Spectrum: LEDs have a full spectrum, comparable to the radiation spectrum of natural sunlight. This is one of its selling points.
Reduced Heat Emissions: LEDs generate the least amount of heat of all grow lights. They produce sufficient light intensity while reducing heat emissions.
Durability: One of the main advantages of LED grow lights is durability. Most LEDs have a lifespan of 3–4 years if maintained properly. You get nearly 50,000 hours of light.
ECO Farm DBL5000 Full Spectrum LED Grow Light 480W
Features:
With 1296 pcs SAMSUNG LM281B diodes, ECO Farm Led grow lights draw 480 watts achieving an impressive PPE of 2.5 umol/J, coverage for 4’x4′ of high-yielding full-cycle growth. with a smaller footprint for better crop quality, more cost-effective. 4x4ft for personal grow, 3x3ft for commercial grow. Built-in removable bars interval & disability enable the exact dynamic PPFD control over each of plant growing stages. Easy dimming & daisy chain max up to 15 lights, IP65 Waterproof, master light easily controlled, making it a high-performance commercial grow light for enormous yields. Also perfectly suit full-cycle hydroponic, soil, grow tent/room growing.
Mars Hydro FC-E 4800 480W LED Grow Light
Features:
The Mars Hydro LED grow light consumes 480W input power. The FC-E4800 has 2646 high-quality BridgeLux chips, which can perfectly cover the growing space of 4×4 feet (flowers) and 5×5 feet (vegetables), which is more cost-effective than other lights of the same type. Not only the driver is removable, but the light bar is also removable for easy installation, storage and replacement of the light bar. At the same time, growers can freely adjust the light bar space according to their own growth needs to maximize the use of light. mars Hydro’s newly developed chip arrangement enables a more uniform and efficient light distribution, allowing growers to achieve a more uniform crop. The light is designed with a dimming knob, which is more convenient for dimming. Up to 30 lamps can be daisy-chained and controlled from a single lamp.
Rayonled GLMF400W LED Grow Light
Features:
This Rayonled LED Grow Light’s Input Power is 400w but has High PPFD. It redefined engineering real full spectrum led grow light strips hydroponics from veg to bloom for indoor plants grow. It is ideal for beginner or professional growers choice. The full spectrum design of this grow light provides nutrients for each stage of plants, which is perfect for germination, seedling, indoor growing. One 400W grow light is equal to a complex 800W HPS grow system, making indoor planting become more convenient. It is also a noise-free fanless LED grow lamp for indoor plants. All casing is a heat sink. This LED grow light will provide high performance, long-lasting and energy-saving for general purpose use.
How to Choose LED Grow Lights
When choosing LED grow lights for your indoor growing area, there are a few things you need to consider. We’re going to list these important factors to help you choose the best LED grow lights.
Available PPF and PPFD
In your LED grow lights, the most important thing is PPF or PPFD. These metrics define the intensity of the output light.
PPF stands for photosynthetic photon flux and PPFD stands for photosynthetic photon flux density. They both show the luminous flux or amount the output light has. However, PPF shows the total flux from the fixture whereas PPFD shows the flux for a specific area/surface. Having said that, the unit of PPF is µmol/s and the unit of PPFD is µmol/m2/s.
First, you need to know the PPFD required for the plants you are growing. At different stages, plants require different PPFDs.
Once you know what your plants need, you can check the PPFD of LED lights and decide which one is right for you. PPFD values are usually mentioned in specifications.
Another important thing related to PPFD is uniformity. A luminaire shall provide a uniform PPFD throughout the area it covers. Otherwise, variations in uneven growth will occur.
Plants receiving more PPFD will grow more and are also at risk of minor burns. Conversely, plants that do not get enough PPFD will suffer and fail to grow properly.
Therefore, the uniformity of PPFD is also important. Lighting should be designed so that it provides uniform light throughout the area it covers.
Spectrum
Spectrum is the next big factor. Plants require different ranges of radiation throughout their lifetime. Sunlight provides the full spectrum, including visible radiation, ultraviolet and infrared. It enables plants to grow quickly and optimally.
When choosing an LED grow light, you want to make sure it also provides the full spectrum your plants need. Some LED lights also offer different types of light spectrum for different growth stages. For example, Smart-8 provides full spectrum flowering and full spectrum vegetation. It ensures fast and optimal growth at every stage.
Coverage Area
LED grow lights work in a limited area that is usually mentioned in the specifications. At a certain height, it can cover a certain surface area. The distribution of light is affected by light. If you increase the height, the area will get fewer photos. The closer the plants are to the light, the stronger the effect of the light.
Conclusion
If you’re ready to push your indoor crops to the limit — it’s time to invest in LED grow lights.
From giant buds to extreme frost cover, LED grow lights are the key to unlocking the potential of your garden. However, finding LED grow lights can be challenging.
Fortunately, we’ve put a lot of effort into finding the best LED grow lights for growers. Thanks for reading!