ECO Farm ECOZ 1000W Samsung 301H Chips LED Grow Light VS Iluminar 1000W iLogic™9 Full Spectrum LED Grow Light
As all plants need sunlight to thrive, growing indoor plants can be a little hard. That’s why you need LED grow lights to ease up your job. However, not all grow lights are beneficial for your plants.
A promising LED grow light should provide sunlike full-spectrum lighting, energy efficiency, safety, and maximum durability. But which one is the best LED grow light that will ensure maximum yield? Keep reading!
What kind of light should you use for an indoor greenhouse?
Different light spectrums bring different benefits, so it’s important to consider what outcome you’re looking for when choosing to grow lights for your greenhouse. For example, plants have been shown to absorb the most chlorophyll when exposed to red and blue lights as opposed to white lights. If you’re considering cutting back on costs, incandescent lights are a cheap alternative; however, keep in mind that they’ll need to be placed further away from the plants due to the amount of heat they produce. Like sun rays coming directly through a window, the heat from incandescent lights can scorch the leaves.
Choosing the right light spectrum
When we talk about the light spectrum for grow lights, we’re looking specifically at wavelengths that are ideal for plants and the benefits they bring to the table. The lighting you choose for your greenhouse will be mostly supplementary, as your plants will still be receiving some sun. The part of the spectrum lights usually use for photosynthesis is between 400 and 700 nm and includes blue, green, and red light. Photomorphogenesis (the development of the structure of a plant) happens more broadly between 260 and 780 nm, adding in UV and far-red light.
But how do you know which light is best to use? It boils down to what each light can do for the plant.
UV light (100 to 400 nm). UV light can be harmful to plants and isn’t the best option to use in a greenhouse, especially since there isn’t enough concrete information on how poorly it can affect plants; however, you may see this option available because it’s thought to increase resistance to environmental stress, fungi, and pests.
Blue light (400 to 500 nm). Blue light is mainly used for its positive effects on flowering and growth. When combined with other light times, it helps with root development and with increased chlorophyll absorption.
Green light (500 to 600 nm). Green light often isn’t used, either, because it isn’t as readily absorbed by the plant; however, it can potentially help with photosynthesis in lower leaves when used in combination with other light types. Green light should never be used on its own, if at all.
Red light (600 to 700 nm). Red light is the other most common spectrum used in grow lights. It helps stimulate photosynthesis and increase plant growth, and you’ll most often see red and blue light spectrums together. Growing plants under red lights only (without the blue light’s bushy effect) results in lanky, stretched-out plants.
Far-red light (700 to 850 nm). Far-red light is said to help promote flowering and expand leaves, which can increase the surface area a plant uses for photosynthesis; however, like red light, far-red should never be used on its own.
The most common light spectrums you’ll see (and likely the ones you’ll use in your greenhouse to supplement natural sunlight) are red and blue lights.
ECO Farm ECOZ 1000W Samsung 301H Chips LED Grow Light
Features:
The ECO Farm LED Grow Light’s powerful, innovative plug-in design will make your life easier, so you can focus on the health and growth of your plants. Built with Samsung LM301H LEDs (Mixed White Blend 3000k & 5000k), the grow light uses Samsung LM301H and Osram ssl80 diodes for high energy efficiency with 2.9umol/j. Its fanless design means a quiet grow space for you, and it’s engineered to be efficient for excellent energy savings. LEDs generate far less heat than HPS and other HID lamps making them perfect for horticulture. Lights can be installed much closer to the plants themselves getting them all the light they need and increase your harvest. Less heat also means a lot less power used for cooling your grow area. Stack that with power saving on the light itself for a huge drop in your power expenses. Adjustable height hanging cables makes installation easy. Simple replacement for existing lights or for new installation. 50,000 hour LED saves having to replace bulbs- Aluminum Housing with high tech Heat Sink protects the LED Driver. Better Heat dissipation ensures longer LED life and safety.
Iluminar 1000W iLogic™9 Full Spectrum LED Grow Light
Features:
The Iluminar Grow Light is the go-to high-efficiency lighting fixture for sealed grow rooms enhanced with CO2 supplementation. Nine light bars deliver extremely high light intensity and uniformity across a 4’ x 4’ footprint to drive unbeatable growth rates and flower production. Delivering an incredible 2800 μmol/s PPF, the iLogic™9 Full Spectrum fixture has the power to penetrate more deeply into the densest indoor plantations, giving lower growth tips the intensity they need to reach the canopy, resulting in more viable flower sites per plant. Cultivators enjoy bigger yields, higher quality, and more overall crop homogeneity. The enhanced canopy penetration frees growers from the chore of remedial foliage stripping in order to promote the development of lower and mid-tier flower sites.
Buying Considerations for Grow Lights
Spectrum
All light, visible and invisible, exists on a spectrum that is measured in nanometers. Visible light falls between 400 to 700 nanometers on the spectrum, which is also known as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). PAR is the wavelengths of light that plants can actually use for photosynthesis.
When it comes to grow lights, you have likely heard of “blue light” versus “red light.” These two types of light refer to different subsections of PAR that are used by plants during photosynthesis for specific purposes. “Blue light” exists in the 400–490 nanometer range and helps support vegetative growth, while “red light” exists in the 580–700 nanometer range and helps support flowering and fruiting.
Many grow lights available on the market today are “full-spectrum” lights, meaning that they cover the full PAR spectrum, plus a little extra. However, you will also see grow lights that are specifically manufactured to cover the blue or red light ranges as well, which can help you to tailor the light to your specific growing goals if desired.
Light Output
Light output refers to the strength and intensity of the light being emitted from a light source and is measured in lumens. The higher the lumen rating, the brighter the light. For succulents, a grow light with a lumen rating between 2300 to 9300 (similar to full daylight) per square foot is sufficient.
Power and Efficiency
The amount of electricity used by a grow light is measured in watts. To understand the efficiency of a grow light, you will need to understand the lumens (light output factor) per watt. The higher the number, the more efficient the light is in terms of energy consumption.
Types of Grow Lights
There are a number of different grow lights available on the market today including metal halide (MH), high-pressure sodium (HPS), fluorescent, and LED. However, for the purposes of smaller indoor applications (versus medium to large greenhouse setups), we are only going to cover fluorescent grow lights and LEDs in detail. These two options are great for succulents and are some of the most widely available grow lights.
LEDs
LED grow lights are the most popular choice for growing succulents indoors. LEDs are energy efficient, long-lasting, and have low running temperatures — meaning growers don’t have to worry about plants being burned if the light is placed too close. The one major disadvantage to LED grow lights is the initial cost, although as these lights become more popular and widely available the relative cost has decreased over time.
Fluorescent Lights
Fluorescent grow lights come in two different forms: compact fluorescent lights (CFL) and fluorescent tubes. Both can be used for succulents successfully, and your choice will likely be based on the amount of space you have available for your grow light setup. Fluorescent lights tend to be cheap to purchase, efficient, and versatile. However, they do not last as long as LEDs and they tend to run hotter than LEDs as well, meaning growers should be careful about how close they place fluorescent grow lights to their plants. Fluorescent lights also contain mercury, which means they are less environmentally friendly to dispose of.
Cost
Grow lights come in a wide range of sizes, strengths, and applications, so the cost that you can expect to pay for a grow light also varies depending on what you need it for. If you are looking for a small light to support the growth of one or two plants in your home, you can likely find a grow light for between $50-$100 that will do the trick. Alternatively, if you are hoping to use grow lights to grow lots of succulents in a larger space, you may be looking at a heftier investment — several hundred dollars at least.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s plenty to consider when shopping for a new LED grow light. But the most important aspects to keep in mind when shopping are the PAR your plants need, the wavelengths they need to thrive, and the footprint of the lights you’re looking at.
When you know the light intensity your plants need, what wavelengths they thrive on, and how much area you have to cover, you can pinpoint the exact grow light you need. From the size to the type, the more you know about your plants, the easier you’ll find the right light. So when you have the right light growing your plants, you’ll get the yields you’ve been working toward.
And you’ll do it using less energy while getting more intensity over HID’s.
