October 26, 2021
Are you looking to bring a little sunshine indoors?
Maybe it’s time to start your flower and vegetable seedlings.
Perhaps your houseplants are drooping during the short days of winter or sulking in a new home.
Or maybe you simply want to enjoy the taste of your own fresh herbs year-round.
Whatever your need, grow lights can instantly provide hours of mock sunshine that your plants need for vigorous, healthy development.
They can provide any color spectrum required for every stage of growth and are easy to set up. The lamps run cool to the touch, are low wattage, energy-efficient, and have long lives.
This also makes them economical. And by starting your own seedlings, you’ll quickly recover the cost with fewer trips to your local nursery!
But they do come in a huge array of shapes, sizes, and configurations.
To simplify matters, we looked for units from reliable brands that are well-designed, easy to set up and use and provide effective coverage.
Here’s our take on the best grow lights for indoor plants and seedlings.
First, you must understand the light spectrum or color wavelengths. It is the range of light colors we see or didn’t see. Visible light that our eyes can see is between 380–740 nanometers. And similarly, the leaves of plants also enjoy these visible wavelengths; the chlorophyll uses these lights to manufacture food. The green light is an exception. Because chlorophyll only reflects green and they don’t absorb it, that explains why plants’ leaves are green.
So for the most part, plants respond to the blue and red colors very well. These are the two most important wavelengths that plants need during their growth. Basically, plants need blue light for their vegetative phase and red light for the flowering period.
Understanding that many grow light manufacturers have made it possible to produce the light colors plants need with their LEDs light. Many modern LED grow lights have a programmable setting to produce different color wavelengths. By this, you can control the type of lights at the different ratios for plants at different stages of growth in their life.
These types of LED lights with a very wide or full range of color wavelengths are called full-spectrum LED grow lights.
So two of the most important criteria that affect plant growth are light intensity (or the power of light output), and light colors (color wavelengths).
For light intensity, you can opt for the powerful light, but for light colors, you should choose one with a wide range of color wavelengths (or full-spectrum).
That’s why within the scope of this article, I’ll go into detail about all full-spectrum LED grow lights on the market, and help you pick the right one.
VIVOSUN VS2000 Samsung LM301H Full Spectrum LED Grow Light
Features:
VIVOSUN LED grow lights use the latest LED plant light technology including Samsung LM301H Diodes, high-energy efficiency with 2.9 umol/J; Extremely high output but consumes only 200W of electricity, making it more efficient than traditional HID lamps and other plant lamps on the market. This LED grow light has a dimming knob that makes it adaptable to different growing periods of your plant by adjusting its output from 40% to 100%; It is super convenient for both beginners and professional growers. These VS2000 full-spectrum LEDs deliver optimal full-spectrum coverage — offering power needed by your plants at all growth stages and maximum PAR output at various distances, supporting photosynthesis of your plants in an efficient way. The VS2000 LED has a unique appearance, with power supply and ventilation holes; No fans needed means low noise; Ambient heat around this light is very low, so there is no need to worry about burns or damage to your plant; It produces mild heat so you can place the lamp directly above your plants
EnFun Updated FS-2000 Full Spectrum LED Grow Light
Features:
Enfun grow light uses Independent detachable Driver Adjustable,only consume 200w-240w(Driver supports tuning to 240W).High Energy Efficiency with 2.7 umol/j,create the better canopy light penetration,running 50% less power than the HPS or Blurple lamps, and still was 50% more harvest.Led grow lights for indoor plants has Customized Dimming Design. Growing lights for indoor plants full spectrum uses Epistar NEW LEDS Chips which proved to be MORE BRIGHT as other chip,and the same PPF,high quality.Excellent Full Spectrum(3000K,5000K,660nm,IR 750nm,400nm)totally 576pcs LEDs.Grow light add a red light on off,Red light is turned off when growing and turned on when flowering to promote flowering and growth. Full spectrum led grow light No Fan Noise Free design will make your growing life easy and quiet,large areas of solid aluminium quickly heat dispersing reducing light lost to aisles and walls, increase the light intensity.
Light Spectrum
The plants you grow and the spectrum need at various sages should dictate the grow light’s type to buy. Generally, the combination of good quality blue and red spectra is sufficient for most greenery plants. If you plant vegetables, ensure your light has yellow, orange, and green ranges. Therefore choosing multi-spectral LEDs are the best or choose full light spectrum grower lights with proper VEG/BLOOM settings. Light spectra are crucial to plants, just like a balanced diet is to a human being.
Intensity of Light
Both location and luminaire of light determine light intensity. The plant types and habitat requirements define the light you should install in your tent. The closer the light source is to the plants, the more intensity. Therefore you should buy a system that will generate sufficient light intensity according to your plant’s needs for light. Practically, the plant top should be at least 10cm from the light board; otherwise, the light may burn the plant. So when shopping for the best led grow light for a 4X4 grow tent, make sure it will give your plants sufficient allowance to grow.
Ease of Installation
Do not go for grow lights that need masters in rocket science to install as that will attract more cost from the handyman. Just look for easy-to-install lights that you can even install yourself using the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Heat Generated
Depending on the type of plants you want to grow, some require both light and heat. The good news is that some available grower light offers light spectra and a certain level of heat. If you plan to grow such plants in your 4X4 grow tent, it would be wise to invest in LED bulbs that offer light and some degree of heat.
Lifespan and Energy Saving Ability
Generally, LED light bulbs or boards are relatively expensive than other standard bulbs and can last up to 5 times longer. The good thing is that they are more long-lasting and can offer quality service in the long run. LED light bulbs can withstand on and off switching without blowing, which is why other bulbs do not last as their filaments burn easily. These lights lamps use electric current to light and hence are the most energy-efficient you can ever have. Led bulbs are, therefore, better, unlike incandescent bulbs, which use heat to light.
Price
Although a high price is mostly directly proportional to the product’s quality, it defeats logic when you cannot afford it; when buying led light to support your plants’ growth, make sure you obtain the ideal LED light in terms of quality your budget.
LED grow lights need to be used properly to get the results, but if you know what to expect they pay you back with built-in cooling that allows a grower to hang their lights directly over their plants without worrying about fans, ducting or ballasts. They are easy on the electricity bill and don’t cause a lot of heat problems.
Additionally, buds grown under LEDs are known for producing colourful, sticky, strong and smelly buds! And isn’t producing quality buds the reason we do it all?
June 27, 2024
When choosing Best LED Grow Lights, you should also consider the durability of the lamp, energy efficiency and whether it can meet the light needs of specific plants. For example, the LED plant growth lights provided by Philips Lighting are designed for specific crops to promote uniform growth and improve quality and yield.
June 20, 2024
June 15, 2024
On Amazon, hot growth light types include LED Growing Lights, which have a variety of functions and features such as automatic on/off timing, red and blue LED light combinations, multiple dimmable modes, and flexibility for indoor potted plants or indoor gardens.