What grow lights do commercial growers use? - 2021

LEDs have been the top choices, be indoors or outdoors, for either hobbyist or commercial growers. But one big drawback of LEDs is their big size, making it hard to fit small spaces. That’s why people invented one type of LEDs which are still powerful for most vegetative and flowering flower, while don’t contain much space.

Why use LED grow lights?

There are some great reasons to use LED grow lights:

You have more control over your plants

The right temperature is critical to ensuring your plants don’t get burned or wilt. Optimal growth means the right balance of warmth and cool. LED lights produce less heat and don’t get as hot to the touch, and are therefore far less likely to damage your plants.

LED grow lights also give you more control over wavelength and even wattage. This allows you to manage the light intensity and wavelength your plant will receive at each stage. Many come with dimmer switches and other precision controls. LEDs also allow you to better plan for unique grows and provide better coverage by configuring multiple lights.

They run cool and eliminate the need to ventilate

No one needs the added expense of a separate ventilation or cooling system. LED grow lights give you intense light without nearly as much heat. No cooling or ventilation system means an additional energy savings.

Easy to install and portable

Installation is typically just following a few steps, very simple. Made with modern materials, these lights are easily portable and relatively compact.

Many LED grow light models are small, and can be configured together. This allows you to combine them to cover larger areas and unusual spaces.

More energy-efficient and cost-effective

LED grow lights have long life spans—between 50,000 and 100,000 hours, or 7 to 8 years on average, typically. LEDs are also more energy-efficient than any other type of light based on output and power drawn.

Lighting Science VividGro V2 Grow Fixture

Pros:

• Specially designed to replace 1,000W HID LEDs

• Provides a full spectrum to ensure your plants’ growth

• Includes dimmable power supply for convenience

• Offers bigger coverage for grow tents

Cons:

• Too expensive

• The lamp gets too hot after using it for a couple of hours

• The wiring underneath it is exposed and hazardous

LUMATEK ZEUS 600W LED GROW LIGHT

Pros:

• Offers a full spectrum with the latest white light technology

• Tested and proven to provide the highest yield on plants

• Produces 40% more light to the canopy with less 10W

Cons:

• Produces a little noise that comes from its fan

• The COBs gets too hot than necessary which can burn you

ECO Farm ECOS 600W FOLDABLE LED Grow Light

Pros:

• Certified with EC, ROHS, and UL listed

• Uses PWM dimming lights

• Provides an extra-large footprint that promotes better harvests

• Allows you to fully adjust its spectrum to match the needs of your flowers and vegetables

Cons:

• The deep penetration of spectrum is not that efficient for some plants

• The fan is a little bit noisy

Buyer’s Guide- What To Consider While Buying The Best LED Grow Lights

Growth of a plant depends heavily on the right light. All the plants has specific requirements. And the light becomes an even bigger factor when growing plants indoor. This why buying the LED grow light for your plants is necessary.

There are several factors that you need to know while buying the LED grow light like spacing, spectrum, light control, energy consumption, budget, coverage area etc.

Let’s look at them one by one:

1. Coverage Area

When you grow plants outdoor, you don’t have to worry about the space. But growing plants indoor is a different ball game. In outdoor, you have the tsun which provide uniform light for all the plants where as indoor its your artificial light that has to do the job.

Artificial lights have their own capacity and coverage area. Hence, depending on the coverage area, you have to buy the lighting system.

When you are looking to buy a LED grow light, you have to be sure about the coverage area. You must know the coverage area in feet. Using a measure tape, measure the area of your small plantation.

If you know the area of plantation you will be able to choose the right to grow light. Most of the manufacturer offers the rough figure on the coverage area of the particular model. You can either get one light that covers the area or you can use the combination of one or two lights to cover the area.

Again, remember the manufacturers provide rough figures, so make sure you buy the light that has 20-30 percent more coverage area than you require. Best way to know more is to consult someone who has experience with the particular model.

2. Spectrum

There is alot of science involved when it comes to the growth of a plant. If you want your plant to have dense leaves and flowers, the right amount of different spectrum of light plays a key part. The plant not only requires right amount of white, red and blue light but also requires the right amount of infrared and ultraviolet light. This requirement of different spectrums of light depends on the growth stage of the plant.

Hence, a light has to be powerful enough to ensure that offers a wide spectrum of light for maximum growth. The most of the lights we have discussed are full spectrum light which also include infrared and ultraviolet lights.

While buying the LED grow lights you have to make sure that light is full spectrum and includes IR and UV. In addition, to being a full spectrum, it also has switches for different modes of growth. Using these switches you can to right spectrum of light depending on the growth stage of the plant.

We also advice you to learn about the different growth stages of plant and how it is affected by a different spectrum of light. Simple google search will help you do that.

3. Light Control

As we discussed about how the LED grow lights must have switches that allow you to switch to the right spectrum of light according to different stages of growth, the control over the amount of light also plays key factor.

Plants don’t require a particular shade of light 24 x 7. If you see the sunlight, the intensity of light changes through out the day. It is necessary for the plant to complete the cycle of photosynthesis effectively.

While growing plants indoor, the control of the intensity of light has to be done by you. Hence, the LED grow lights need to have that control to allow the plants to complete the photosynthesis cycle.

Most of the LED grow lights have veg mode and bloom mode, that allow you to control the light. Some lights may even come with dimmer to effectively switch to the right intensity of the light.

4. Energy Consumption

Using traditional grow lights could take a toll on your utility bills. Grow lights are used continuously for days, hence you require highly energy-efficient grow lights. And LED lights provide that efficiency.

Even though LED lights are known for their efficiency, still they use a high amount of energy. For instance, if you are looking for an output equivalent to 1000 watts, the LED lights are known to use around 600 watts for energy. The energy of 600 watts is still high. In addition to lights, there are other parts like a cooling fan that uses energy.

When you are looking for a grow light, make sure you know how much output you desire. Once you know that you can compare the different models, that offer you the desired output with minimum input.

5. Cooling

Like light, the temperature of the environment for plants is also crucial. Too much high temperature kills the plant and too low temperature also kills the plants. You have to maintain the the right temperature for the maximum growth of the cannabis plant or any other plant.

Any LED grow lighting system will produce heat. If such light is placed too close to the plant, it can burn the flowers. So to control that heat, most of the top LED grow lights use cooling fans. There can be either 2-3 cooling fans on the top. In addition to cooling fans, some models also use side vents.

During our tests, most of the grow lights were able to control the heat. However, we observed that if 2-3 lighting systems are used in combination, then an additional exhaust fans are required.

Most of the fans on our list have cooling fans. We also advise you to buy a grow light that has a well designed cooling system. And if you plan to use several lights in combination, ensure that you have an additional cooling system like exhaust fans or air condition in place to combat high temperatures.

6. Budget

You have to admit the fact that, using LED grow light is expensive. You not only spend money when you purchase it, but you also pay an electricity bill for the energy it consumes.

However, you require a lighting system with a bigger coverage area, the budget could be an issue. You not only require a right amount of light but also that are cost-effective. For bigger coverage areas, 1000 watts are necessary.

Final thoughts

Especially for indoor growers, LED grow lights are excellent for cannabis at its different growth stages. They are designed based on photosynthetic wavelengths and have the diodes to produce the right kinds of light.

LED grow lights are also typically user-friendly. They can use a wall socket and don’t need a separate ballast. They are also simple to install and compact, easy to configure to any space. A commercial led grow light is suit for a big grow.