Best Small LED Grow Light Bars in 2022
Indoor plants need light to grow, and unless you live in a sunny Mediterranean climate, they are best grown indoors with artificial light. The good news is that indoor lighting allows you to precisely control the amount of light your plants receive each day — regardless of the weather outside.
Lighting schedule and vegetative vs flowering stage
Indoor plants have two distinct growing phases — vegetative and flowering. When growing plants outdoors, the plants usually begin flowering (producing buds) when the days become shorter as summer shifts to autumn. Indoors, there are no seasons, so growers can “trigger” the flowering stage by artificially mimicking the seasonal shift by adjusting the hours of light the plants receive per day.
The vegetative stage
During the vegetative stage, growers tend to give the plant an 18/6 lighting schedule, or 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness (other combinations include 17/7 or 19/5, anything that isn’t 12 hours of darkness).
The flowering stage
By shifting to a 12/12 schedule, growers can trigger flowering. Flowering too early can mean a smaller yield while waiting too long to flower your plants can result in plants too big for your grow tent or indoor room. Harvesting your flowers too soon or while clear trichomes are present will result in a smaller harvest with fewer terps and potency, while harvesting too late can result in too many amber trichomes which can cause the flower to be harsh and sedative for the user. With some strains, the vegetative stage can range from around 2–4 weeks to somewhat longer, which is all dependent on the sexual maturity of the plant. With clones, this stage is significantly shorter.
LED vs HID lights
Most indoor grow lights in use today are divided into two main categories — light-emitting diode (LED) lights and high-intensity discharge (HID) lights.
HID lights
HID lights include metal halide (MH) and high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights, and HID grow systems often use a combination of the two in order to increase yields. These lights tend to produce more heat and require more energy than LED lights. This means you may need more height in your grow space to keep the lights further from the plants.
LED lights
LED lights are typically more energy efficient and give off less heat. This can mean that they are safer, but looks can also be deceiving. Because the lights don’t appear to be working as hard, it can be easy to underestimate the light your plants are receiving, potentially resulting in a light burn. Also, they tend to have a higher price tag than HID lights.
ECO Farm ECO-RAY 100W LED Grow Light Bar
Features:
The ECO Farm light strip has a wavelength selection from 420nm to 800nm and has a full spectrum of light. The planting light belt has first-class LED bulbs, providing an excellent indoor farming experience. The 40 inches long and medium length is perfect for side canopy lighting in a 4-foot area. ECO RAY 100 Slim multi-purpose LED plant growth light bar with a 120-degree beam angle can be used for close-up planting, which can minimize the amount of light on the floor and concentrate it only on your plants. Can maximize Your growth rate, thereby achieving a greater harvest and return on investment. In addition, it has a service life of 50,000 cycles, which is great compared to other products on the market.
Mammoth Lighting 100W Single Bar
Features:
The Mammoth LED grow lights are built with high-quality Samsung diodes. The lights encompass a continuous range of wavelengths from blue and green to red, creating a light blend matching the natural sunlight. We customized our light spectrum to optimize plant growth and increase yields while consuming less energy and reducing operating costs compared with traditional horticulture technologies. True multi-use,100w single bar, with standard dimmer knob and rj ports for group control. Cloning, Veg, Side Lighting, Lighting Gaps, etc. Hardware included to wall mount for Side Lighting and Remote Mountable Driver for flush mounting.
LUXX 200w LED Grow Light Bar 208–277v
Features:
The Luxx 200W LED Grow Light Bar is designed and manufactured with top-of-the-line components, including the top bin diodes that produce the Veg Spectrum that plants love. The 200w LED Bar form factor lets you choose your wattage and footprint to suit any growing environment. The 200w LED strip can operate in single stack, multi stack or greenhouse growing environments. The modular design allows you to customize and expand your 200-watt LED light bar system to meet your operational needs.
Factors to Consider When Buying LED Grow Lights
So now that you know what LED grow lights are and the benefits they provide, it’s easy to see why so many indoor growers choose to use them. If you decide to use them for your setup as well, then you’ll want to make sure you choose the highest quality lights.
Finding an LED grow light isn’t a problem, as there are so many different options to choose from; it’s difficult to try and sift through all the different options and decide which one is best for your specific needs. So how do you do it? By considering some key factors before making your final choice.
Here are some of the most important factors to consider that will help you choose the right LED grow lights for beautiful, rich, sticky, fragrant and powerful plants.
Heat output. One of the most important factors to consider is the heat output of the lamp. If you’re planting where space is tight and the light is hot, you may end up killing the plant.
PAR value. All plants — use a specific range of light called photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for photosynthesis. The PAR value of a lamp covers electromagnetic wavelengths ranging from 400 to 700 nanometers. LED grow lights produce a lot of different wavelengths of light, and plants may not absorb all of those wavelengths, they reflect light they don’t use. Simply put, PAR refers to the amount of light produced by LED lights that plants can use. The PAR value of an LED grow light indicates the effectiveness of the light. The amount of light in micromoles per second per square meter is used to measure the PAR value. The higher the intensity of the PAR value, the better the effect of the grow light.
Shape of the lamp. You also need to consider the shape of the light. LED grow lights come in a variety of shapes, including bulbs, panels, bars, and saucers. Different styles are better suited to different needs, so be sure to do some research before deciding which shape is best for your growing space.
The number of lights. Typically, a grower will only need one or two lights, and since in most states the number legally allowed to grow is between six and 12, a light or two should do the job for that amount. However, if you plan to grow more plants, you may need more LED lights because you want to make sure that all your flower buds get the light they need to thrive. Likewise, if you give your plants too much light, you will end up doing more harm than good.
Programmability. Some LED grow lights are programmable, which is a handy feature because you can just set it and forget it; however, that doesn’t mean programmable lights are for everyone. Before you start shopping, make sure you decide if a programmable LED light is best for you.
Price. Last but not least, you need to consider the price of the light fixture. Prices for LED grow lights can vary widely, so make sure to set a budget before you start shopping so you don’t spend more than you can afford.
Conclusion
If you plan to grow your indoor plants indoors and want to ensure the highest quality yield possible, any of the full spectrum LED grow lights on our list will do just that. Powerful, efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly, each light has been carefully designed to help you grow robust crops.
Like grow tents, fans, nutrition, etc., what you need depends on the job you’re trying to accomplish. Thanks for reading!
