February 10, 2022
Choosing your grow lights is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for an indoor grow. Plants thrive from the energy the lights provide, but there’s a wide range of grow light types and options to choose from. Making the decision important is one other factor: Indoor LED grow lights are typically the most costly to buy, although the least expensive to run.
Quite a few factors make LED lighting for indoor growth increasingly popular. LED grow lights:
Can maximize growth.
Require little if any augmentation.
Use less electricity.
Last longer.
Prove cost-effective over time.
Yes, some LED setups come with a hefty price tag. The lights here, however, are priced to keep you under budget. To find out which lights are inexpensive to buy and operate, keep reading for our guide to the best LED grow lights under $300.
Light is particularly essential to plants as it is converted into energy through photosynthesis and determines the direction of their growth, the size of their leaves as well as the moment when the plant starts to flower.
Thus, different kinds of light and the way they are mounted result in a different response. In fact, this is about the wavelengths, with the visible longer ones being of the red color and the shorter ones being violet.
At the same time, there are kinds of light that cannot be seen but are physically felt by humans. It is these longer wavelengths, known as infrared light, that generate warmth. On the other hand, we have ultraviolet (UV) lights that are smaller than those of the violet color and are able to burn the exposed surfaces.
Andrew McAllister, a PhD student in the Applied Physics program at the University of Michigan, specifies what kinds of light should be used depending on what a farmer wants to achieve. So chlorophyll, a pigment giving the plant its green color, is used in producing energy. You might be surprised but most leaves typically have a green color because this chemical prefers blue and red light.
In order to change the direction of the plant growth as well as the size and the number of leaves, use red light. This is due to phytochromes, the plant’s photoreceptors that are responsible for detecting light. Another chemical compound, cryptochromes, responds to blue light and determines the time when the plant starts to flower.
ECO Farm FLD 200W Full Spectrum Dimmable LED Grow Lights
Features:
This ECO Farm LED grow light allows you to achieve higher yields. LED grow light adopts the latest LED grow light gardening solution Samsung diode and MeanWell driver, high efficiency of 2.3 μmol s-1 per watt, consumes only 200w, operates 50% lower power than HPS/MH, and obtains maximum higher output . Vegetable cover is 2 x 4 feet and flowering cover is 2 x 3 feet. The light intensity can be adjusted according to the stage of the plant. Excellent full-spectrum LED grow lights provide the best spectral coverage for your flowers, and blue light can shorten your blooming period. Full spectrum improves the quality of crops. Not only is it cost-effective, but it produces better yields.
Lumatek Attis LED Grow light 200 Watt
Features:
The Lumatek Attis series is a range of full spectrum LED grow lights featuring top box LUMLED LEDs and dimmable Lumatek drivers. This light-duty light fixture is ideal as a sole source or supplementary grow lighting for the propagation, nutrition and flowering period of crops grown indoors. The LED array produces uniform light spread at close distances to the crop, allowing good penetration of the tree canopy without hot spots and overheating. The use of innovative heat sinks and passive natural convection eliminates the need for fans, reducing noise output and significantly extending the life of the luminaire as it has no moving parts. The Attis is a highly efficient grow lamp, the 200W model produces 460 µmol/s PPF at an efficiency of 2.3 µmol/J (lamp efficiency), ideal for a 0.8 x 0.8 m grow area.
Maxibright Daylight 200W LED Grow Light
Features:
The Maxibright Daylight 200w LED is a full spectrum output LED with passive cooling design. The “fanless” design means there are no mechanical parts, greatly reducing the risk of failure. This energy-saving device has a high photoelectric conversion efficiency, which means you can save energy. High photoelectric conversion efficiency means you get more light and less waste heat per watt. The DAYLIGHT 200W LED benefits from a comprehensive full spectrum and high efficiency LUMLED chip, making it one of the most practical and affordable options for your purchase of LED grow lights. Ensuring the full spectrum, while maintaining the enhanced red region of the PAR curve, delivers consistently high levels of quality and yield every harvest.
Space Matters: Considering your space is a thing you should certainly do before buying a growing light. Space is a big factor. When choosing an LED growing light, its size and installation space must be properly checked in order to avoid the distorted growth of the indoor growing plant. Besides, when light is set too close to the growing plant, it will get destroyed and burnt. So, it is recommended to read the instruction manual to enable you to know the required distance of the light from the plant. Space and light’s size is key
Quality: product quality is very crucial as it helps determine efficiency. So, before selecting a product always take note of its quality. Some of those things to consider while choosing the best grow light are its appearance, durability, and internal and external hitting issues.
Pricing: price is a factor when it comes to getting a working and long-lasting LED grow light. Don’t need to bother with the price if you need quality. A good LED grows light for the large-scale purpose should be within the range of $500. However, for personal (hobby) use, you should spend $150–300.
Appearance: The look of the product always gives the first impression and either calls for an attraction or repels. When a product isn’t eye-catching then no matter how beneficial it’s working, the grow light might not attract you. It is important to consider the out-look of Led grows light before buying.
Durability: Durability is an indispensable factor to consider when buying an LED grow light. Knowing that a growing light is a big venture, which means you must embark on a sturdy product for greater efficiency and yield of your indoor growing plants. You can use a durable product for a long-living time. So, when selecting a grow light, take note of the longevity of it.
Lifetime of LED: This is another important factor to know. Before selecting the best LED growing light for an indoor garden or greenhouse, the lifespan of the LED bulbs contained in the growing light must be properly checked and guaranteed.
Since you will be playing the role of the sun, you want to pick the best grow lights for your coverage area and strain of plants.
The lights we recommended today all offer the full spectrum of light, give at least 10W per bulb, have built-in fans or aluminum sinks for heat dissipation and come with at least a 3 year warranty. We hope we have made it easier for you to find the best grow lights to suit your needs.
October 20, 2023