We all know that light is needed for growth of plants, right? High intensity discharge (HID) lights have been the industry standard and led the way for indoor growing. It has been proven to be valued as a good mimic of natural sunlight. But there comes a point when using HIDs, that there should be a better alternative. We’re looking at high electricity costs that cleans out the wallet, clunky or heavy equipment that takes time to install, constant bulb replacements (no one likes an empty wallet), and extreme heat that can hurt your plants.  In fact, the number one complaint I hear is that most growers don’t like the high energy costs that HID grow lights come with. You can either grow with HID (That’s HPS and MH bulbs) grow light systems or opt for LED grow lights.

LED grow lights, if you’re new to it, is a new way for plants to get their source of light which simulates the photosynthesis process in the plant by emitting electromagnetic radiation from a heated element. The light allows growth of the plant in the same way sunlight does. Just like HID grow lights, the difference is that LED grow lights save you from heat and temperature issues, pays itself off after one year, and buys you dinner because you don’t have to pay for a high electricity bill or replace any bulbs.

Why Choose LED Grow Lights?

I already listed some of the reasons why, but let’s go into it deeper when choosing an LED grow light system over an HPS grow light system.

Efficiency: For the best growth for your plants, the lights need to produce specific light wavelengths. HPS and MH grow bulbs provide great intense coverage in a broad spectrum. But a lot of energy is wasted producing unwanted visible light (usually in the yellow or orange spectrum) and heat.

Understanding Wavelengths:

Color: For effective growth of plants, the lights need to be available in cool and warm varieties. With cool lights (white or blue spectrum) you can get tall spindly plants while warm lights (orange and red spectrum) will produce shorter plants. With LED you get both cool and warm in a single bulb which allows for perfect light balance for your plants. highly recommend full spectrum led grow lights.

Effectiveness : This light is effective indoors. The LED grow lights produce strong and intense lights that don’t use up a lot of electricity.

Cost : The LED lights are initially an expensive version of grow lights. However, they pay for themselves after two harvests. If you think about it, HID grow lights require a lot of environment management. You have to worry about the heat from the grow light, the intense shift of humidity and temperature when the lights are on and off and strong ventilation equipment in order to move the heat out of the room. This will also cause a lot of noise and HID grow lights naturally need extra things like a ballast and a reflector in order to work correctly.

When it comes to your plants, the lower heat and exhaustion means your plants are less stressed. They require less watering and feeding under the stress from the heat.

UPDATE: Recent studies have shown that mild stress allows plants to uptake more nutrients and water and is a good thing. Newer LED grow lights, like the Advance Spectrum series, contains UVB LED Diodes that produce ultra violet lights to promote resin production. Ultra violet light also provides consistent low stress which tricks your plants to increase it’s water and nutrient uptake. A plant that eats more will get bigger and stronger quicker and new LED grow lights have added features to benefit your garden.

So taking in those considerations…

This makes them very reasonable over a longer period of time. That’s why a lot of industrial commercial growers prefer LED grow lights for their operations. Those savings generate lower costs and margins for their garden and for the average consumer. Not only that but you can also take advantage of lower costs if you grow from home.

Growing with LED Grow Light

When you are setting up grow lights, make sure their height matches the need of the plant. Just like any other grow lights, the LED grow lights need to be moved further up when the plant canopy grows. Watering the plants also differ during the different growth stages. A little heating may also be required during regular intervals so make sure you make room for that. Always feed your plants with the right nutrition as they are growing.