How Do LED Grow Lights Offer A Superior Grow Solution?

There are many different types of grow lights available for indoor gardening. You will see HID, high intensity discharge; MH, metal halide; and HPS, high pressure sodium, grow lamps advertised for use in greenhouses and all types of indoor plant growing situations. LED grow lights are also now available, and offer a superior solution to indoor plant lighting than was previously available.

Lightweight

The LED grow light is quite a bit lighter in weight than other types of traditional grow lamps. This is because HID, MH and HPS lights all require the use of a ballast in order for them to function properly. Reflectors, to cast a larger pool of light on the plants, are also used with HPS light bulbs and others, adding to the bulk of the equipment. Because the lights are usually suspended in some fashion over the plants, weight is an important consideration, especially if lights must be regularly raised and lowered for plant maintenance chores, such as watering, to occur, as well as an appropriate distance from the plants to be adhered to. With certain high-end LED grow lights, they come with built-in fans, negating the need for air-cooled reflectors and ducting.

Ability To Change Light Spectrum

Plants grow best under certain light spectrums based on the plants' stages of growth. Young seedlings get the light they need to grow strong and sturdy stems when they are grown under the blue light spectrum offered by HPS lights, among others. Mature plants that are ready to reproduce and set fruit or flowers require light in the red and orange spectrum, which certain HPS lights make available. You can find an HPS light bulb that is geared toward blue or red spectrum, but it does not have the ability to offer both spectrums. This means that you will need to start out with one grow lamp bulb, and then will need to change it out as the plants mature.

All of this is simpler when you use an LED grow light. LED grow lights offer you a single lamp that will produce both red and blue light spectrums. Better quality LED grow lights utilize knobs that you simply turn to change the spectrum of the bulb.

LED Lights Cost Less To Operate Than HPS Light Bulbs

Although the initial purchase price of an LED light is often more expensive than an HPS light, there is a big price difference is the cost of operating the different grow lamps. Superior LED grow lights use only one-eighth the electricity to produce the same amount of light as an HPS grow lamp, saving you much money over the life of the grow light. The tiny LED diodes can also be configured by the manufacturer in order to offer a larger lit area than traditional grow lamps.

The choice is clear: LED lamps are the way to go for indoor garden lighting.

From years of indoor and hydroponic gardening, Susan Slobac has developed an in-depth knowledge of led grow lights and writes frequently on the subject.