November 03, 2021
Growing plants indoors takes away a lot of the hassles that traditional outdoor gardening entails. But if you’re like most indoor growers, you’ve experienced a bit of a dilemma: how to get your plants the sunlight they need, without scorching them by the window sill.
What you need, friend, is an LED grow light.
LED grow lights are much preferred over other types of grow lights, as they’re more energy-efficient and produce higher-quality lighting. They are specially designed to provide the best possible lighting for your plants, using a mix of red, blue, and (sometimes) white lights.
LED grow lights are used to grow plants indoors. While they can be used year-round, they are particularly useful during the winter months and in locations that receive less sunlight.
The spectrum of light used (the most popular being “white” and “full spectrum”) promotes and aids in the photosynthesis of the plants. Different light settings may be used at each stage of the plants’ growth cycle in order to optimize their growth, health, and longevity. I’ll talk more about this in a bit!
While there are other types of grow lights, LEDs are considered far superior for a number of reasons:
They last longer and retain their brightness for longer than other types (HID, HPS, etc.).
LEDs also produce less heat than other lighting methods.
In the long run, LEDs cost less to operate (though they do cost more up front).
2 month plants should give about 40g per plant, so with about 9 you’ll be able to easily fill a square meter and get up to 400g per 600w light. 3 month autoflowering plants grow much bigger, however, so you should only plant 4 per 600w light.
The wattage of the light will determine how much area you can light up. If we assume that the plants will get no sunlight, a 1000 watt light will cover about 6×6 feet of growing area. A 600 watt will cover 5×5 feet, a 400 will cover 4×4 feet, a 250 will cover 3×3 feet and a 150 will cover 2×2 feet.
ECO Farm LUX 600W Samsung LM301B UV+ IR Dimmable LED Grow Light
Features:
This ECO Farm LED grow light provides more higher PAR/LUMEN. The unique heat dissipation structure can keep your plants in a suitable temperature state all the time(below 75 degrees),and Consuming 600W with this LEDS,It saves up to 50% energy than single-ended 600watt HPS. The grow light has high-energy efficiency with 2.8 umol/J,The 1501.6 μmol/(m2·s) can provides high-intensity full spectrum light for your plants,The 8 bar configuration helps to provide more even coverage accross your tent.600W LED growing lamp will make you get 35% higher yield compare with low power led lights, Max 2.2g yield per wattage (power draw). This grow lights are equipped with 3500K+red light 660nm+IR 730nm+UV 395nm, that will help your plant to get enough light intensity to actually produce flowers and fruits on your plants.and we have made strict adjustments to RED IR light because red light waves are essential for spurring plants to flower and fruit indoors.
Features:
The PhotonTek LED grow light is a perfect solution for home-grow, grow tents, grow rooms, and all kinds of indoor cultivations. Producing a total PPF output of 1620 µmol/s and a Photon Efficacy (fixture efficiency) of 2.7 µmol/J, PHOTONTEK X 600W Pro LED creates a homogeneous light spread at a close distance from the crop canopy, resulting in outstanding results when used in indoor multi-layer cultivation systems, grow rooms and tents. When compared to regular similar wattage High-Pressure Sodium solutions the PHOTONTEK X 600W Pro LED can achieve 30–40% less HVAC capacity and increased yields of up to 30–60%. The X 600W Pro LED is built using high quality and durable PHOTONTEK drivers and top bin LEDs generating an optimized full-spectrum light source ideal for veg and flowering stages.
LED grow lights are a fantastic way to get the right light to your plants when growing in a greenhouse.
They are low heat, so won’t burn your plants, whilst being very cost effective to run.
Of course you’ll want to get the best LED grow lights for your specific set up, so the following information should help you make an informed decision:
Power
Wattage is a key consideration when choosing the appropriate LED grow light. Plants need a lot of light to grow, but too much light can result in browning or yellowing leaves.
The amount of watts you need will depend on the plants you are growing. Fruiting plants like tomatoes may need up to 32 W of light per square foot of growing area. In contrast, leafy plants such as salad leaves will only need 10 to 20 W per square foot of growing area.
Coverage
You will need to measure the growing area to ensure that the light you choose provides enough to cover the whole area evenly.
Most LED grow lights specify the coverage at certain heights in their description. Therefore, you should also consider where you’ll be hanging your light before you buy one. You may have a limit on the maximum hanging height that you have available.
The size grow light you need will depend on the type of plants you are growing as some require more light than others. However, the following is a guide to the wattage you might need to cover your growing area:
An area of 60 x 60 cm will require 50–200 W depending on the type of plants
An area of 80 x 80 cm will require 200–400 W depending on the type of plants
An area of 100 x 100 cm will require 400–800 W depending on the type of plants
The best LED grow lights can help you start off plants much earlier in the season leading to bumper crops of tomatoes and chillies. In addition, grow lights can support your house plants including orchids and succulents through the winter months so your home always has a tropical vibe.
Energy efficiency
LED lights cost less to run than traditional High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. In addition, LED lights produce less heat so you will not need to use as much energy cooling as you would with HID.
A lot of lights have an energy efficiency rating, so you can see how they stack up. For example, the KINGBO 1000W Double Chips LED Grow Light has an energy rating of A+++.
Full spectrum
Until recently, LED grow lights usually provided red, blue, and white light.
However, modern grow lights are ‘full spectrum’. This means they provide all the colours in the light spectrum.
Full spectrum lights are the most similar to natural sunlight and can, therefore, support your plants well through all stages of the growth cycle; from seed to fruiting/flowering.
Optimum Light Placement
LED lights can be placed much closer to plants than HID light because they give off less heat. This is a great advantage as it means the lights can be placed closer to the plants and therefore the light can penetrate the canopy of the plants more easily. In addition, it means you don’t need such a tall growing space.
Positioning the LED light the correct distance from your plant wills result in strong healthy crops with no burning or yellowing leaves. When your light is placed too close to the plants you may see bleached or yellow spots on the leaves.
If the LED is too close it can also result in nutrient deficiencies for your plants.
However, it is not always easy to calculate how far away your LED light should be — it’s something that differs depending on the size and wattage of your lights. It’s best to check the directions that come with your grow light and follow their recommended distances.
However, in general, you should aim for the following distances:
200 W — 30 to 51 cm away from plants
250- 400 W — 41 to 76 cm away from plants
450- 550 W — 51 to 76 cm away from plants
600- 800 W — 71 to 107 cm away from plants
With this, we come to the end of this guide and we hope you will find it easier to choose an ideal full spectrum grow light now.
The ECO Farm Full Spectrum LED grow lights will be a great choice if you are looking for an affordable but high-performing grow light for your plants.
October 20, 2023