LED Grow Lights For Sale in New Zealand Blog.

LED vs HID Grow Lights – A Discussion For Indoor Growers

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 08:34:47 +0000

LED vs HID grow lights is a topic that has always been a constant debate around the world among growers. If you want to learn more about the difference, this is the page where you can find all the information.

In this article, we will discuss deeply on LED vs HID grow lights. We will start with the meaning and see the pros and cons afterward. Now, if you are a beginner you can take a lot from this article as we will be answering some of the relatable questions to hopefully put your mind at ease.

When it comes to ‘grow lights’, it can either make or break your gardening season. If you invest a good amount of money in grow lights, they can cost a lot with good results but if you use them the wrong way they can drastically ruin your final results. This means the success will largely depend on how you use your grow lights.

That being said, the biggest question that many growers need a proper answer is which grow lights they should choose. Well, a quick answer to that question is that both LED and HID grow lights are equally capable of mimicking the outdoor conditions and allow you to do your gardening.

Both grow lights have some advantages over others but there are many other factors that may come into play to decide which one will suit your needs.

Now, if you need to find more information on each of these ‘grow lights’, we suggest you to continue reading. Let us start from the basics, shall we?

What is grow lights?
In order to understand the difference between the LED vs HID grow lights, we need to understand what grow lights are exactly.

According to Wikipedia “a grow light is an electric light which is designed to stimulate plant growth by providing it an electromagnetic spectrum.”

The whole idea of using a grow light is giving the indoor plants appropriate lights for photosynthesis.

If you are thinking that do grow lights actually works? Well, there are three fundamental types of grow lights that are used in urban farming. These includes:

Fluorescent Lights LED Lights – light-emitting diodes

HID Lights – High-intensity discharge

All these types have one task and that is to:

Mimic missing sunlight – Provide supplement light by mimicking the sunlight. Optimize normal sunlight – Sometimes completely replacing the direct sunlight.

Now, the question arises which one of these lights is more effecting in its work? Fluorescent lights are commonly used for growing herbs and vegetables indoor.

We need to focus on LED vs HID grow lights, so let us discuss these lights in detail, starting from its meaning.

LED grow lights
Light Emitting Diode (LED) grow lights is actually a type of light that is energy efficient and is a good option for indoor growers. They pass the light through the semiconductor in order to create their spectrum.

LED grow lights do not burn filaments like other grow lights. The diodes are the small grid chips that are present in the light in hundreds or thousands. These chips have the ability to produce a specific narrow range of colors.

Each diode chip is capable to produce one specific color – red, blue, green, infrared, ultraviolet, etc. The colors from the chips combine in a specific manner which maximizes the spectrum of light they are producing. You will usually find the LED grow lights emitting light in purple color.

LED grow lights can be used as a sole means of light for a growing process, as a supplement of natural sunlight or it can be paired with other types of grow light for the same operation.

LED grow lights color spectrum
LED grow lights is designed to offer different color spectrum and you can select and manipulate it with the help of mobile application and touchscreen remotes.

This means you don’t need to swap lights. You can use the same array of light for flowering stages or vegetation. But, if you keep altering the spectrum of light you will lower the photosynthetic light output.

The purple light from LED grows lights can make tough to identify if there is any problem in plants. But, grow room glasses can come in aid, which can be used to correct the color of LED grow lights and see the plants more easily.

This was just the meaning of LED grow lights to help you understand how it could be different from HID grow lights. Let us continue with the difference and see what is HID grow lights.

What is HID grow lights?
HID stands for high-intensity discharge and is a type of grow light mainly known for its brightness and impressive output lights. The HID grow lights contain two different types of gas that ignites when the user switches the lights on; thus emitting light. The two electrodes present inside the light interacts with the gas and create a very bright light.

The HID grow lights are mostly used for commercial purposes. The modern HID grow lights have replaced the gas lamps which were used for several years before its existence.

Now, there are many forms of HID grow lights, but there are specifically two types that are considered more important – one is Metal Halide (MH) and the second is High-Pressure Sodium (HPS).

Metal Halide – MH produces the lights in the blue spectrum which mimics the natural lights during autumn and spring. It is advisable to use MH during the early vegetative stage of the plant cycle.

When MH is used as a primary source of indoor light, the light from MH encourages excellent plant growth. Though MH can be used for the entire plant cycle, it is not recommended by experts. Instead, you should transit towards HPS.

High-Pressure Sodium – HPS creates light in the orange or yellow-gold color spectrum. It is optimal choice for the flowering or reproduction stage. When HPS is used as a primary source of grow light indoor, the output is quick but skinny.

The color spectrum – orange, red, yellow triggers the plant hormones which could increase the budding or flowering of the plants. The downside of HPS is that it uses too much energy and produces too much heat. The grower will need extra upfront investment on an exhaust system or air-conditioners to balance the power.

Once you have learned about both the grow lights you may have a question in your mind that which light is best for you, right? Well, to find that out we need to see what pros and cons they are carrying within themselves.

Which is the best grow lights – LED vs HID grow lights?
In order to decide the best grow light, there are several advantages and disadvantages of each grow lights that you will have to consider before announcing a clear winner.

Here is the fact, when LED grow lights were not introduced in the market, growers had a limited indoor light option like HPS and MH. These were the most reliable, cheap and powerful options for gardeners and even today they are still very popular among indoor growers.

However, after LED grow lights were launched, the technology saw a drastic change as LED grow lights were more energy-efficient and delivered equally bright light.

This was the case 5 to 6 years back. And even at that time, there were constant debates on which technology is better. At that time HID was a clear winner because LED grow lights were not capable to help growers in indoor gardening.

But now, LED grow lights have improved its functionality and at the same time decreased the price. This is making the LED grow lights more powerful in this industry.

But in order to see who is the best or better than others we need to see the pros and cons of the technology. Let us clear our doubts by learning:

Advantages and Disadvantages of HID and LED grow lights
Advantages – HID grow lights
It has a lower up-front cost.The HID wattage lamp can cover a larger space.HID grow lights are cheaper and affordable.These lights are more reliable than LED grow lights. (Long history of ow to use’)With the extreme brightness, it can easily aid photosynthesis process. Intense light coming from the light penetrates the canopy and bulb of the plant and nourishes it entirely.

Disadvantages – HID grow lights
HID can generate highly dangerous heat temperature.You will need an air ventilation system to deal with heat, meaning –additional cost. It can degrade the quality of the plant.It may contain non-ecofriendly components.

These were the advantages and disadvantages of High-Intensity Discharge HID grow lights, now let see the advantages and disadvantages of LED grow lights.

Advantages – LED grow lights
It delivers a precise light spectrum to the plant. LED grow lights do not require air ventilation.You don’t need to switch between lamps during the different life stages of the plant.It does not require much maintenance. It is much energy efficient.The heat created from this light is limited and less risky than HID. There are no toxic components used in LED fixtures.

Disadvantages – LED grow lights
Higher upfront cost. The LED does not have a long history which means many growers are not aware of how to use this technology. Light burns are common if it is kept too close to the plant.

Summary
There you go, the pros and cons of each grow lights along with definition is cleared on this page. Hope the information on LED vs HID grow lights is useful and you have learned something from this article. Buy led grow lights new zealand Good Luck!

How to Grow With LED Grow Light

Fri, 21 Aug 2020 12:38:39 +0000

Grow lights can be used in a variety of ways. They may let you grow sun-loving plants indoors or on a windowsill that doesn’t get enough natural light. Grow lights can increase the yield of an indoor garden or delay the production of fruit and foliage. Colored grow lights could let you foster leaf or stem growth over the plant’s natural growth pattern. And grow lights could foster accelerated growth of plants in their early stages. Let’s review how to grow with LED grow lights, regardless of your intended application.

Raising Seedlings and Sun Loving Plants
These are perhaps the easiest plants to grow under LED grow lights. Two hours under an LED grow light equals one hour of direct natural sunlight. The seed bed or sun loving plants are set up under a full spectrum light for 12 to 14 hours; this equals six hours of direct sunlight.

If you’re trying to maximize leaf production, 16 hours of grow light with 8 hours to rest will maximize leaf growth. There are rare cases where growing plants in a closet greenhouse leads to recommendations to run LED grow lights 20 hours a day with four hours off to let the plants rest. No plant needs 24 hours of sunlight.

Note that if you’re trying to give the plants an “off” cycle and downtime, don’t work in the dark space. The light intrusion, the little bit of outside light that comes in through an open door, will harm their growth. If you must enter the room, use green light, since that isn’t absorbed by plants.

When you’re dealing with seedlings, a fluorescent white grow light is good enough. When you’re fostering aggressive leaf growth, then an LED panel with white, red and light blue emitting diodes is better. Then you could give the plants mostly red light when they’re young and a mix of red and white light as they mature.

In short, seedlings and sun-loving plants can be treated the same way when you’re trying to grow them with LED grow lights. This includes sun-loving plants you’re keeping inside over the winter and seedlings you’re giving a head start while it is still cold outside.

>>Click here to See the best led grow lights<<

Nurturing House Plants
Most plants we consider indoor houseplants are those that live on the forest floor, in partial shade or other low-light conditions in nature. This is because our artificial light or the limited sunlight that comes in through the window isn’t powerful enough for sun-loving plants. Plants that naturally grow in partial shade or forest floor need only six hours under a grow light. However, even “indoor” plants may need more light than what they get in your home. White LED lights are the best choice in these situations.

You may need to put succulents and other houseplants under an LED grow lamp for a few hours a day to foster their growth. They obviously need more light when they start to fade, stretch or turn brown. Conversely, sick plants may need red or blue LEDs targeted at weak areas to help the plant recover. For example, a plant that is losing green in its leaves or becoming “leggy” needs more blue light, since blue light will encourage the growth of stems and leaves.

If you want to nurture sick house plants or target weak areas, small LED grow lamps with flexible necks are ideal. If you simply want to give houseplants more light, an LED light panel with or without a mix of red and blue light diodes will be sufficient.

There are times when you want to use a grow light over putting the plants by the window. For example, the area by the window may be so cold that it harms the plant you’re trying to encourage. The solution is putting them under an LED grow light. Plants that grow better under cooler temperatures are probably better off inside and under an LED grow light than put out on the deck or in the hot summer sunlight streaming through the window, too.

Maximizing Production in Any Situation
The increasing red wavelengths of sunlight received as the day lengthens tell many plants to bloom for spring. The decreasing red wavelengths received in the autumn as the days shorten triggers fruiting or fall foliage. Red LED lights can be set up around indoor plants to trick them into thinking it is still the high days of summer. If you’re raising plants under fluorescent or white LED lights, you’ll need to bring in red lights at some point to trigger the flowering response in the plant.

This will keep indoor tomato plants bearing fruit. It will trick flowering plants into continuing to put out flowers. Red light will help plant roots grow and bulbs develop. Strong red light will keep plants short and leafy instead of growing tall in search of light. In every case, LED lights allow you to provide strong light without the risk of literally burning the plant because you put a too-hot bulb near the foliage.

Supporting Hydroponics
If you’re growing plants in a small, private hydroponics unit, then a full spectrum LED grow light is best. If you’re specifically maximizing production, then the ideal case is simply red and blue light mixed together. This creates the purple light that you see in nearly every picture of hydroponic farms, whether they’re raising lettuce, herbs or tomatoes. They ignore the white light LEDs because they want to speed up plant growth once the baby plants are established. (Yes, the seedlings will probably be under fluorescent lights if not general full spectrum lights.)

If you own an aquarium with live plants in it, you can stimulate their growth by putting a small full spectrum LED grow light over the tank, turning it on for a few hours a day. If the fish tank is overgrown with algae, then you may need to turn off the lights for a few days after you’ve cleaned the tank.

Summary
The best way to grow plants with LED grow lights depends on the type of plants you’re raising, how much natural light they get, and the end result you want.

Effective Grow Tents for Hydroponic Gardening

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 09:01:10 +0000

Hydroponics enable you to garden without the use of soil, and there are various sizes of tents that can fit your growing needs. When plants are in soil, they gather nutrients from it, so when you use hydroponics, you need to supply the nourishment for the roots of the plants. This makes it easier for the roots to find nutrients, since they don't have to search through the soil for them.

The method of growing hydroponically is not a new way to grow, but modern grow tents make it a much easier project for you to work on. You'll find that your plants will bloom more or produce more crops, since they have more oxygen available, and more nutrients, as well. Grow tents make it easy to grow plants using hydroponics, and even a novice gardener will quickly catch on to the methods used to grow plants indoors.

Using grow tents for hydroponic gardening gives your plants faster growth times, and it will save you money on watering them. They yield more crops, and you'll be using an auto-feed method, which is less hassle than using prepared plant food and soil. Your plants will also be less stressed by weeds and pests, which are much more of a problem when you garden outdoors.

You'll want to install grow lights for your indoor plants, or they will not reach their full potential. The processes that are vital to plants cannot be accomplished without light. They need light along with CO2 and water, to make oxygen for photosynthesis. The wavelength of your lights and the amount you give your plants will determine the plants' shapes. Plants produce crops and flowers based on the length of time they are exposed to light.

You'll find a variety of lights to use in your grow tent. You'll want to give especially your fledgeling plants plenty of light. The main types of light used include LED, CFL and HID, which stands for high-intensity discharge. Many people prefer to grow with HID lights, since they are tested and true. There are two HID lighting types: HPS or high pressure sodium, which gives your plants more of the proper light for flowering, and M/H or metal halide lights, which work well for vegetative growth.

HID lights tend to generate a good amount of heat, so plan to keep your grow tent cooler than the lights will allow by themselves. When you set your lights up, the lamp, reflector and ballast will allow you to set up the lighting the way you desire, and you can air cool your plants so they don't get too warm.

LED Grow Lights in grow tents are popular with people who garden indoors, and the prices are lower than they were in the past, since more people are using them. Grow lights use less power than HPS lights, and they don't need the use of a ballast. They are not as hot, either, although there will be some heat generated, enough that you'll want to extract excess heat. LED lights are more modern, but many growers feel that they don't compete well against HPS lights yet. They may have more refinement in the future, to make them more useful in your grow tent.

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Using LED Grow Lights

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 08:01:58 +0000

Takeaway: Grow lights are a great tool for making the growing process more efficient, but they can also be harmful to the plant if not used correctly. Here are 10 things you should avoid doing when using LED and other types of grow lights.

For people who use cannabis derived products on a regular basis, it is very tempting to try growing the plant at home. The benefits are quite obvious: the cost is drastically lower and there aren't any hassles related to the actual purchase of medical marijuana.

Many people all around the world grow cannabis at their homes, be it for recreational or medicinal purposes, and while some of them do quite well and manage to produce a good product, for others it doesn't work so well – their plants wither quickly or produce insignificant yields.

These issues can be related to improper usage of lighting. (The same issues affect other types of plants as well.) Grow lights are a great tool for making the growing process more efficient, but they can also be harmful to the plant if not used correctly.

In this article, we'll provide you with the 10 most common things you should pay attention to when using LED grow lights so you can grow healthy looking plants and avoid any unnecessary hassle. This information is extremely relevant to beginners.

Overheating the Plants
You will know the plant is taking too much heat if the leaves that are closest to the light start turning brownish. The first signs look like thin outlines on the outside of the leaves, so if you catch this quickly you will have a chance to avoid further damage. If some of the leaves start curling up, it might also be a sign that the plant is too close to the light. Good ventilation usually also helps with this issue.

Providing Insufficient Lighting
It is important to consider the scale of your operations. Think about how many plants you're growing and how many LED lights you'll need in order to illuminate them properly. You should also be aware of the luminosity of the lights you're using. For example, a 200W LED light is said to be sufficient for a yield of about 100 grams. Make sure that you have enough lamps but still look for a good balance between providing sufficient lighting and not overdoing it.

Setting the Lamps at an Improper Distance
Overheating or insufficient lighting can result from having too many or not enough lights, but it can also result from placing the lights too close or too far from the plants. There is no universal rule for setting the distance but it's recommended that LEDs are placed 12 to 18 inches away from the plants.

Using Inferior Products
Light is among the most vital factors to consider when growing plants because it triggers the photosynthesis process. If you're using regular incandescent lights, you're not very likely to grow strong and healthy plants. Therefore, for best results it is recommended that you use full spectrum LED grow lights. They are specifically designed for the purpose and have the feature to deliver light in the exact spectrum the plant needs.

Selecting the Wrong Light Spectrum
In order to grow efficiently, plants need different types of light for each growth stage. With full-spectrum LED lights this is easily achievable, but if you select the wrong setting, the plant will not develop well. You should also take into consideration the conditions in the room where you're doing the growing. For example, plants benefit most from light in the blue spectrum when they're in the vegetative stage of growth. That means that if you set the light to emit light in the red spectrum, you will only be hindering the plant's growth.

Using the Wrong Light Schedule
You should be careful not to leave the lights on all the time, or worse, the opposite – forget to turn them on. It might sound trivial but it's quite easy to mess up the light schedule and even a minor change might have a negative impact the plant's growth. Cannabis needs about 18-24 hours of light during the vegetative stage and 12 hours of light during the flowering stage.

Forgetting to Adjust the Lights
Many people forget to adjust the height of the lights as the plants grow bigger and end up with burnt leaves. Another important thing is to occasionally rotate the pots in order to prevent the plants from leaning towards the light too much.

Not Protecting and Maintaining the LED Lights
LED grow lights are your friend and an important investment, so you need to take proper care of them. They bring numerous benefits to the growing process and a little maintenance and preparation can save you a lot of trouble. It is recommended that you set up a power stabilizer and connect it to the lights in order to equalize the incoming voltage, thus protecting the chip inside the LEDs.

Overwatering When Switching from HIDs to LEDs
Regular HID lights produce a lot of heat and generate lots of infrared light. This dries out the plant and the soil and results in the need to water the plant more often. However, LED lights generate no infrared light and don't emit nearly as much heat, so there is no need for abundant watering.

Not Considering the Other Factors
LED grow lights are a great aid when growing plants indoors but by themselves they cannot do much. In order to produce big and healthy yields there are a lot of factors that need to be considered – room temperature, airflow circulation, soil, nutrients, plant genetics, and many others things. Don't just focus on a single part of the growing process. Instead, try to get an overall understanding of the whole chain and how everything is interconnected.

Conclusion

more information please visit our website: www.ledgrowlight.co.nz Grow lights are a vital piece of equipment that every aspiring grower should have. Although they are easy to use and set up, you should pay attention to this list of common mistakes and save yourself from headaches.

LED Grow Lights and Your Eyes. What You Need To Know

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 07:33:13 +0000

With constant technological advancement in horticultural light systems, indoor growers who choose LED grow lights may be able to calculate higher yields for their plants in shorter amounts of time. But scientific breakthroughs benefitting the growth of your plants might pose unseeable risks to your eye health, especially long term.
Most grow lights on the market are manufactured for specific wavelengths targeting different stages of plant growth: red Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) activate seed, root, flower and fruit production; blue LEDs make strong stems and roots; and both have a strong role in active photosynthesis. On the other hand, plants also need yellow light, like that produced by High Pressure Sodium (HPS) fixtures, for photorespiration, or the growth stage where plants consume most of their nutrients. Though many growers use HPS and other combinations of light sources successfully, new full-spectrum LEDs are becoming more available as an energy-efficient and economical choice for high-yield grows.

Full spectrum LED grow light and UV radiation
Why should growers consider full-spectrum LEDs? LEDs utilizing the full light spectrum replicate the effects of natural sunlight more closely than other artificial light sources. When the entire light spectrum is available to plants, they can differentiate between each targeted light spectrums, which we see as colors, for higher absorption and cellular activation. The full spectrum that includes rays both visible and invisible to the human eye appear white in color when active simultaneously. Though the white, sun-like conditions make it easier to see normal colors with the naked eye (as opposed to traditional LEDs that appear pink or purple, or HPS lights that appear yellow), the highest risks of eye and skin damage exist in the invisible UV rays emitted by these lights. Later, we’ll mention the potential risk of visible blue light that’s also present in these types of fixtures.

Any artificial light used for indoor growing emits a certain amount of UV-A and UV-B Radiation by default, since these rays are what contribute to photosynthesis in natural sunlight. Almost anyone who’s ever worn sunblock is familiar with UV-A and UV-B, the most well-known types of UV radiation emitted by the sun. A third type of UV Radiation, UV-C, is also present in natural light but is almost 100 per cent absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. With artificial light, particularly full-spectrum LEDs, there is a high probability of UV-A and UV-B Radiation, but also potential exposure to UV-C Radiation, which poses the most serious risks to eye and skin health.

UV light and cataract formation
According to the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives, “Ultraviolet light exposure to the eye has been associated with cataract formation and retinal degeneration. In both cases, it is hypothesized that ultraviolet light can initiate formation of free radicals, which can cause protein modification and lipid peroxidation.” In short, the UV Radiation emitted by full-spectrum LEDs may pose a higher risk to eye health than other types of artificial light, and those exposed should always protect their eyes from these harmful rays.

High-energy visible light — blue light
We’ve touched on the risks of exposure to UV light and explained why utilizing the full-spectrum of light may be beneficial for plant growth. But between lower-energy visible light and high-energy UV light, there is blue light, also known as High-Energy Visible (HEV) light. There’s a lot of information circulating about HEV light due to increased use of computers, cell phones, and other devices emitting blue light. Full-spectrum LEDs are certainly one of these devices.

Though the risks of eye exposure to HEV light may not be as damaging as UV light, it can have adverse affects on your overall health. While UV light can damage the cells of the eye and lead to degenerative eye diseases over time, HEV light affects hormone balance and fatigue, particularly due to its effect on melatonin levels, which regulate alertness and sleep cycles. From the Harvard Health Letter, 2012: “While light of any kind can suppress the secretion of melatonin, blue light...does so more powerfully. Harvard researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as long as the green light.” This imbalance may be why those who spend extended periods of time exposed to artificial light, such as indoor horticulturists, experience unwanted fatigue, headaches, eye pain, or trouble sleeping.

LEDs have always been an efficient choice, producing less heat and taking up less space than other light sources. Though they may pose a higher initial investment, they tend to last longer and have a lower environmental impact than HPS or Ceramic Metal Halide lights, though these lights are still widely used with great success in indoor grows. No matter what light source growers ultimately choose, these technologically advanced devices can pose risks. Knowing the risks can help you make an informed decision about protecting your eyes in these conditions. Always wear protective eyewear that shields UV Radiation to protect your eyes from long-term damage. Choose eyewear that balances color and provides clear vision, so you can accurately assess your plants. Many products that protect your eyes from UV light and HEV light may be an economical solution but don’t provide visual clarity that protects against eye strain and fatigue. Keep your plants and your eyes healthy for life.

With constant technological advancement in horticultural light systems, indoor

growers who choose LED lights may be able to calculate higher yields for their

plants in shorter amounts of time. But scientific breakthroughs benefitting

the growth of your plants might pose unseeable risks to your eye health,

especially long term.
Most grow lights on the market are manufactured for specific wavelengths

targeting different stages of plant growth: red Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

activate seed, root, flower and fruit production; blue LEDs make strong stems

and roots; and both have a strong role in active photosynthesis. On the other

hand, plants also need yellow light, like that produced by High Pressure

Sodium (HPS) fixtures, for photorespiration, or the growth stage where plants

consume most of their nutrients. Though many growers use HPS and other

combinations of light sources successfully, new full-spectrum LEDs are

becoming more available as an energy-efficient and economical choice for

high-yield grows.

Full-spectrum LEDs and UV radiation
Why should growers consider full-spectrum LEDs? LEDs utilizing the full light

spectrum replicate the effects of natural sunlight more closely than other

artificial light sources. When the entire light spectrum is available to

plants, they can differentiate between each targeted light spectrums, which we

see as colors, for higher absorption and cellular activation. The full

spectrum that includes rays both visible and invisible to the human eye appear

white in color when active simultaneously. Though the white, sun-like

conditions make it easier to see normal colors with the naked eye (as opposed

to traditional LEDs that appear pink or purple, or HPS lights that appear

yellow), the highest risks of eye and skin damage exist in the invisible UV

rays emitted by these lights. Later, we’ll mention the potential risk of

visible blue light that’s also present in these types of fixtures.

Any artificial light used for indoor growing emits a certain amount of UV-A

and UV-B Radiation by default, since these rays are what contribute to

photosynthesis in natural sunlight. Almost anyone who’s ever worn sunblock is

familiar with UV-A and UV-B, the most well-known types of UV radiation emitted

by the sun. A third type of UV Radiation, UV-C, is also present in natural

light but is almost 100 per cent absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. With

artificial light, particularly full-spectrum LEDs, there is a high probability

of UV-A and UV-B Radiation, but also potential exposure to UV-C Radiation,

which poses the most serious risks to eye and skin health.

UV light and cataract formation
According to the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives, “Ultraviolet

light exposure to the eye has been associated with cataract formation and

retinal degeneration. In both cases, it is hypothesized that ultraviolet light

can initiate formation of free radicals, which can cause protein modification

and lipid peroxidation.” In short, the UV Radiation emitted by full-spectrum

LEDs may pose a higher risk to eye health than other types of artificial

light, and those exposed should always protect their eyes from these harmful

rays.

High-energy visible light — blue light
We’ve touched on the risks of exposure to UV light and explained why

utilizing the full-spectrum of light may be beneficial for plant growth. But

between lower-energy visible light and high-energy UV light, there is blue

light, also known as High-Energy Visible (HEV) light. There’s a lot of

information circulating about HEV light due to increased use of computers,

cell phones, and other devices emitting blue light. Full-spectrum LEDs are

certainly one of these devices.

Though the risks of eye exposure to HEV light may not be as damaging as UV

light, it can have adverse affects on your overall health. While UV light can

damage the cells of the eye and lead to degenerative eye diseases over time,

HEV light affects hormone balance and fatigue, particularly due to its effect

on melatonin levels, which regulate alertness and sleep cycles. From the

Harvard Health Letter, 2012: “While light of any kind can suppress the

secretion of melatonin, blue light...does so more powerfully. Harvard

researchers and their colleagues conducted an experiment comparing the effects

of 6.5 hours of exposure to blue light to exposure to green light of

comparable brightness. The blue light suppressed melatonin for about twice as

long as the green light.” This imbalance may be why those who spend extended

periods of time exposed to artificial light, such as indoor horticulturists,

experience unwanted fatigue, headaches, eye pain, or trouble sleeping.

LEDs have always been an efficient choice, producing less heat and taking up

less space than other light sources. Though they may pose a higher initial

investment, they tend to last longer and have a lower environmental impact

than HPS or Ceramic Metal Halide lights, though these lights are still widely

used with great success in indoor grows. No matter what light source growers

ultimately choose, these technologically advanced devices can pose risks.

Knowing the risks can help you make an informed decision about protecting your

eyes in these conditions. Always wear protective eyewear that shields UV

Radiation to protect your eyes from long-term damage. Choose eyewear that

balances color and provides clear vision, so you can accurately assess your

plants. Many products that protect your eyes from UV light and HEV light may

be an economical solution but don’t provide visual clarity that protects

against eye strain and fatigue. Keep your plants and your eyes healthy for

life.

Benefits of Using LED Grow Lights In The Farming Sector

Sat, 08 Dec 2018 12:31:34 +0000

1% of all electricity use in the United States is towards indoor gardens. How can we limit our use and still produce?
LED grow lights are becoming a hot trend in the farming area due to the multiple benefits delivered by LED lighting technology. It is basically used for viable urban agricultural practices. One important reason behind the growth of LED technology is our increased awareness towards global warming. LED lights are used for lighting different areas including offices, streets, airport and other latest technologies such as TV, smart phones and computers. LED technology has also delivered great results in greenhouse settings. When it comes to the farming sector, plants grow well in a greenhouse setting. It is important to ensure accurate temperature and brightness to facilitate the process of photosynthesis. Over the last few years research conducted on LED grow lights has emphasized on enhancing the use of LED grow lights in farming. This has lead to the introduction of grow light kits which are easy to install and use.

Following are some of the benefits delivered by LED grow lights

Long term use due to long lifetime: In comparison with the other illumination technologies, LED grow lights have a long lifetime. The light emitting does have high efficiency and because they use low energy they can work up to 100,000 hours. This implies that they can be used continuously for 11 years. LED grow lights don’t stop working all of a sudden. They gradually emit less brightness, just before the end of their long life time, giving a signal to the users in advance. This helps the users make arrangements of new grow light kits.
Targeted Wavelengths: The conditions inside the greenhouse atmosphere must be carefully regulated. The growth of plants must take place under the right temperature and light so that photosynthesis process can occur naturally. There are particular wavelengths of light under which some plants are the most sensitive. LED grow lights use specific spectra to match with the peak absorption ranges. Plant growth can be enhanced by targeted wavelength as it ensures that least energy is lost during process of plant growth. LED lights can be installed at the two wavelengths that are closest to the ideal values.
More light and less heat: LED lights, installed using grow light kits, emanate less heat than other lighting methods. This is of crucial importance because too much heat might damage the plants and may decrease growth that leads to decreased lifetime. LED technology ensures that less heat is emitted and the efficiency of light remains high. This ensures that the plants have the right atmosphere to grow.
led grow light utilityFrom the listed benefits, we can conclude that LED grow light kits are much more beneficial then their counterparts. Apart from the above benefits they also help in huge energy savings. LED grow light kits offer different designs of LED lights and this ensures a lot of flexibility in the installation of the lights. Thus, LED grow lights have the ability to illuminate the future of sustainable urban farming and large-scale urban agricultural projects.

LED Lights For Growing Indoor Marijuana

Tue, 20 Feb 2018 02:13:52 +0000

When creating an indoor setup for growing marijuana, one of the most important decisions is what kind of lights to use. In this article, we’ll cover a few of the different options and details about LED lights.

LED grow lights have not always been popular with marijuana growers. However, technology has improved, and so have LED lighting systems. Although they would not have been a reasonable choice for marijuana growers five or ten years ago, they are becoming more popular every day. We can now find LED lights not only in the marijuana grow room, but also in cars, offices, and homes.

Many people swear by LEDs instead of HID setups, asserting that they are a far superior and more energy conscious option. If you go with LEDs, you will save energy, money, and management time.

The advantages and disadvantages of using LED lights

While LEDs sure sound amazing at first, this does not necessarily mean that they are the right light choice for you and your indoor marijuana grow setup. Let’s go over some of the major pros and cons that come with using LED lights.

Advantages
First and foremost, the energy savings are enormous. If you compare using an LED light for the same purposes as you would an HID light, using the LED light will save you about 40% of the energy consumption. They also last a lot longer. You can expect between 50,000 and 60,000 hours of working use of an LED light, compared to between 2,000 and 3,000 hours with an HID light. This is because LED lights don’t have a filament to burn.

LED lights take up less space, emit light faster, and are more durable and shock-resistant than HID lights. They also have a much lower heat output, therefore lowering the need to keep your grow room cool. This reduces the risk of fire significantly. HID lights will become very hot, but good LED lights feel cool when you touch them, even after running for several hours.

LED lights focus using the lenses, which means there is less of a need for reflectors like HID lights, which disperse the light without focusing and, therefore, need an external means of focusing. HID lights need approximately 100 to 150 Watts of more power than LED lights since there is power management built into the LED lights. HID lamps require external ballasts and, therefore, add extra watts of consumption.

LED lights turn instantly on and off, unlike HID lamps, which need to warm up before being fully lit. LED lights can even be dimmed quite easily. Classified as “Class 1 LED product,” LEDs are considered a safer lighting option. This is because they don’t have mercury like some other lights, such as compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs).

The efficiency of LEDs is particularly noticeable when compared to CFLs. You can expect to save about 50% of your energy bill when you choose an LED over a CFL.

Disadvantages
When using LED lights, precise power (current) management is necessary. Additionally, LED lights have higher upfront costs. That being said, they are less expensive over longer periods of time. LED lights particularly need more specific current and heat management than do HID lights, when they are powerful lights to be used to light entire large areas.

LED lights vs other lights

One of the biggest questions to consider is whether you should choose an LED light setup or one of the other options for an indoor grow setup. How do LED lights measure up to other types of grow lights? Let’s look at the differences in lighting.

LEDs vs. CFLs

The most common light that has been traditionally used to grow marijuana is the CFL. CFLs are tried and true, having been used for generations, causing many growers choose to go with them, despite the fact that LEDs are often hailed as a more efficient technology. For people who have properly done their research on lighting systems, LEDs are almost always the winner. While CFLs needed to be adjusted pretty much on a daily basis, LED lights do not need this frequent maintenance.

LED lights also do not release the large amount of heat that CFLs do. They are well-equipped with cooling systems such as fans or heatsinks as well, which allows for an easier time of keeping the grow room at a temperature that isn’t too high (for the plants as well as the grower).

That all being said, there are some situations where using CFL lights makes more sense. One such situation is if your indoor growing area is on the shorter side. This is simply because LED lights need to be kept further away from the plants than CFLs do. Generally speaking, LED lights should be between twelve and eighteen inches above the canopy of your plants (although this should be cross-checked with the specific manufacturer) while CFLs just need a minimum of a few inches.

LEDs vs. MH/HPS

While many growers choose either LEDs or MH/HPS lights, the fact is that combining the two might provide the most advantageous setup you can find. Without the scientific evidence to prove it, many growers will swear that HPS lights turn out much prettier buds while LEDs get them to be denser and more potent. Therefore, using both should give you the best of both worlds.

Many growers have specific requirements for their situation that make either LED or MH/HPS lighting a more logical choice. For instance, if you are trying to keep the upfront costs of your grow room as low as possible, using an HPS grow light during the flowering phase makes the most sense. If you compare electricity used to the resulting yield, MH/HPS lights will give you the best bang for your buck. Electricity aside, they also simply cost much less than LED lights.

There is also a higher degree of variability with LED lights. If you buy LED lights, you must always check the manufacturer’s information to know what “rules” to follow. MH/HPS lights, on the other hand, are highly standardized and the models all fall into the same category of rules for the most part.

Many assert that LED lights get a better quality bud than MH/HPS lights, however. More trichomes, greater potency, and a stronger natural taste and smell are all associated with using LED lights.

How do LED cannabis grow lights work

Most simply, LED lights use a current passing through a semiconductor to produce light. The energy (in the form of light) is released from moving electrons inside the semiconductor. They used to only be available in the red, but now they are available in any color, ranging from ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths.

The invention of LED lights is credited to H. J. Round, a British man from Marconi Labs who, in 1907, was the first to experiment with, and observe electroluminescence. Fast forward twenty years to when the actual invention of the first LED light finally came about. But even the Russian inventor, Oldeg Vladimirovich Losev, couldn’t find a practical way to use the light. It wasn’t until 1955 that Rubin Braunstein observed semiconductor alloys, and six years later, Texas Instruments took over with a patent.

LED colors
LED colors are made via electronic action occurring at the p-n junction. This junction is where the n-type and p-type semiconductor materials emit energy, resulting in the color of the light. This light wasn’t even observed until 1962, when Nick Holonyak, Jr., working with General Electric, witnessed the red LED light. His graduate student, named Craford, then invented the yellow LEDs and also made the reds and orange LEDs ten times as bright by the year 1972. Blue and white followed similar development, via other experimenters and companies.

The different colors of LED lights actually stimulate and trigger different types of growth in marijuana plants, for example:

LED lights within the blue spectrum spur vegetative growth.
LED lights within the yellow, amber, red, and far-red spectrums spur pre-flowering and flowering stages, which includes reproductive growth.
Generally speaking, using lights to grow marijuana indoors can be successfully done from sprout to harvest by using between 420 and 730 nanometers (nm). Therefore, if you want to grow marijuana that ends up with a successful yield, you will need LED lights that include and use the full spectrum.

If you choose an LED light that has only red or blue lights, it simply will not get your plants to grow to their full potential, like a white LED light (also known as a full spectrum LED light) would. White LED lights contain closer to the full spectrum, making them more similar to the sun than single color LED lights. Even red and blue lights together will not do it. You need white LED lights.

So what exactly are the other types of LED lights, such as the 3, 5, 6, 11, or 12 band LEDs that are advertised? These LEDs have a spectrum that includes those gaps. They might be 440, 470, 525, 640, 660, or 740 nanometers. These lights do not offer the same full spectrum that a proper white LED light would provide.

Instead of white LED lights, you will often find many different diodes on store shelves, or online. Some claim to be able to match the PAR spectrum more accurately than a white LED. When you shop for an LED light for your marijuana plants, you should be aware of the exact spectrum that it covers, and know whether it coincides with the PAR spectrum as closely as possible.

The fact about the PAR spectrum is that the better an LED light matches it, the more efficient the light will be. Less light will be wasted since there will be a higher ratio of usable light for your marijuana plants. This helps marijuana growers save on their power bill while simultaneously spurring better growth in your plants. There is also less heat loss, which means cooling your grow room is much easier with LED lights.

Thermal management of LED grow light
LEDs don’t get as hot as other types of lights, and they are also far more efficient than other lights. This efficiency is because they don’t burn filament. The vast majority (95%) of an HID lamp’s energy is actually wasted as heat or radiation, therefore reducing its efficiency significantly. Since LEDs are generally cooler in temperature, they waste far less energy as heat.

When using LEDs or HIDs as grow lights, it’s important to take these heat differences into account. HIDs need to be situated several feet above the tops of your marijuana plants, for example, while LEDs can be kept really close to them (between one foot and 18 inches).

This does not mean, however, that LEDs have absolutely no heat issues associated with them. While they don’t feel warm because they aren’t emitting infrared radiation, the high powered LEDs are actually less efficient and, therefore, waste more heat than low powered ones.

If you have high-quality LEDs, they should have heat sinks that keep the heat under control. These heat sinks allow for the dissipation of unwanted heat. Any LED lights that are below 700 watts should use heat sinks to cool them. For high powered LED lights, heat sinks should include aluminum, copper, thermoplastics, or even graphite (for the most expensive option). A large surface area is required for the heat sinks to work efficiently, so don’t be surprised by odd fin shapes designed into some of the more expensive lights.

Because of the requirement for a large surface area, heat sinks will not be as practical of an option for the largest LED lights on the market. Therefore, some of these larger lights use passive heat sinks combined with fans to keep cool, although the best designs don’t need a fan at all because the sinks work well enough.

Whatever type of cooling system your LED light has, make sure it is high in quality. Low-quality cooling systems will cause your LED lights to deteriorate fast, so it’s better to pay the higher upfront costs to get your money’s worth in the long run.

The LED lens
Cannabis LED grow light lensOne of the best qualities of an LED light is the fact that external reflectors are not needed to focus the light on one area efficiently, unlike HID lights. Instead of requiring these reflectors, LEDs use a lens to focus their lights onto a smaller area in full force. The plastic shell holds together the entire LED system: the “chip” that sits in the potting, which also serves as the lens for your LED, boosting the light out of the semiconductor. Depending on the quality of the way the chip was “potted,” the light output can vary considerably between cheap and very expensive options.

Remember, the actual extraction of this light is equally important to the type materials being used for the semiconductor. This is why sometimes people prefer to purchase reflectors even though they have LED lights. Reflectors don’t need to be complex to be effective. If you are getting a lens instead, go for a Total Internal Reflective (TIR) lens because it is the most accurate and complete.

The best LED lens for directing light right onto the plants is one with a 90-degree angle, although some products are 120-degree angles. The typical output of an LED light is around 160 degrees. If you choose a lens that is too wide, it will cover a greater area but will be less efficient because less light energy will be hitting your plants, and instead, will just be wasted. Don’t buy an LED light without a lens.

High powered LEDs and low powered LEDs

Regular LEDs use 30-60 milliwatts (mW), but higher powered LEDs use around 500 mW, or even more. The first 1-Watt LED light came out in 1999, but many people don’t understand the difference between a 1-Watt LED and a 3-Watt LED. To put it simply, the 3-Watt LED can run at 1 Watt, but the 1-Watt LED cannot run at more than 1 Watt because that is its limit. In other words, these names refer to the highest possible potential power output from the light.

Differences in price and quality

To start with, it’s a given fact that almost every LED grow light that you will find in stores, even ones with American designs, will be produced in China. At a minimum, most or all of the different components will come from China. There is a difference in quality between the low, middle, and high prices LED lights, we’ll explain those differences to help you choose the best lights for your grow room setup and budget.

Low price
Because these are lower in quality and spectrum, they will hurt the growth and yield of your marijuana plants. Simply put, these LED lights are not recommended over HPS or MH system lights, making it not worth the money at all.

Middle price
These LED lights will be more reasonable in their quality. They will have a better shell, come with a built-in fan, and will come from higher quality brand names that should be familiar although they still will not have the full spectrum that their more expensive counterparts will. More likely is that they are models with either 6, 8, 11, or 12 bands. The primary function of these bands is that they will cover the entire PAR range, but not thoroughly; there will be some gaps missing throughout. This means that, although they are better than the lower quality version, they are not as close to the sun’s spectrum as you can get with LED lights.

High price
These are the types of LED lights that are going to get you the best results in terms of marijuana plant yield. They don’t need a fan to stay cool, they are built with the best materials, and they incorporate the entire spectrum, getting as close to the PAR (and, therefore, are the most sun-like) as possible. These models should cover a range from 420 to 750 nanometers. Sometimes they will appear dim or dead to people because of the far-red part of the spectrum, which is 710 to 850 nanometers and is hard to see with many people’s eyes.

The highest quality LED chip will be from companies such as Cree, Bridgelux, or Epistar. The lights have the highest thermal engineering, allowing them to operate without a fan and still stay cool. You can rest assured that plants growing under these lights will reach their maximum yield potential, helping you end the season with a fantastic product. Although the costs are higher for these LED lights, the results are equivocal, making it well worth the extra spending.

Reputable LED brands
Whatever type of LED light you buy, make sure you choose one from a reputable source. The problem with there being so many options these days is that plenty of those options are sub-par, meaning consumers need to do their research before buying. Ask in-depth questions about the light intensity and the spectrum, and check for the most highly recommended products around.

Common problems with LEDs and how to avoid them

If you’re looking for an everyday, “standard” type of grow light, then LEDs may not be for you. They require a certain amount of research and patience, and they achieve different results than other types of grow lights. In order to avoid some of the common problems that occur with new LED growers, let’s look at some important facts and common problems with LED lights.

They change the appearance of your plants
Many growers who are newly using LED lights begin to panic when they see that their marijuana plants apparently have nutrient deficiencies because of some strange discoloration taking place. Before you start testing the pH levels and loading your soil with extra nutrients, however, consider the fact that it might simply be from using LED lights – and it is not necessarily a bad thing.

It is most common to see such discoloration during your plants’ flowering stage, particularly when they are reaching the end of it. The leaves will start appearing discolored, but as long as the lights are far enough away, the leaves aren’t actually falling off of the plant, and the buds are still healthy as ever, there is nothing wrong with your plant at all.

Distances can vary
Because LED lights are not as standardized as other types of lights, it is crucial that you check the manufacturer’s instructions for how far away from your plants your new lights should be. This distance varies according to the bulb size as well as the type of lens, so don’t start using it until you feel confident that you fully understand what should be done with your specific LED lights.

Generally speaking, smaller LEDs that have 1W chips should be a minimum of one foot away. The majority of LED lights with chips that are 3W or larger, however, should be at least 1.5 feet away. Otherwise, you could give your plants light burn. Remember that you can always ask the manufacturer for recommendations yourself. If your plants are starting to appear burnt on just their top part, you should probably try moving your LEDs further away.

HPS lights get a higher yield
While this statement is probably true, that does not necessarily mean that you will get a better yield with HPS lighting. LED lights may achieve a lower yield than HPS lights, but it is well known that buds given light from LEDs will be stickier, stronger, and have a more intense aroma. Remember, more is not always better, especially when you are growing something that will be consumed or smoked later.

Thank your for your readed, please visit our website http://ledgrowlight.co.nz LED Grow Lights is future for indoor grow marijuana.

Are LED Grow Lights the Future to Growing Plants?

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 06:40:14 +0000

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.

LED Grow Light with professional cultivator

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 09:55:01 +0000

If you are a professional cultivator, or a person who is growing plants indoors as a hobby but are really serious about, you'd probably already have a few grow lights installed. If you are just starting or are planning to, you would be looking for the good ones out there in the market, and LED grow lights are the best.

First things first; a grow lamp is one that is used to light up the indoor greenhouse where you are growing your plants. Some people might think this unnecessary, but you know that plants need a wide range of the visible spectrum of light to grow healthy and this is just not possible without providing artificial light of some kind. In fact one type of artificial light is usually not adequate and you would need to install different bulbs that give off light in different wavelengths to be useful. This is because the plant requires the ultraviolet band for growing well whereas the lower bandwidth will help in flowering and fruiting. This range cannot be provided by a single lamp, and this is the reason most indoor greeneries will have a number of bulbs that come on during different parts of the day or season.

Incandescent bulbs were traditionally used but this has now given way for more energy efficient High Discharge (HD) lamps, because they last much longer than the incandescent ones and also give off more light per watt of electricity. You also get them in different colors which is light in different bandwidths so that you can use the specific one that you need. They also last up to 300% longer than ordinary incandescent bulbs lasting an average of 20,000 hrs to the 750 hrs that the normal bulbs usually last for.

As good as these bulbs are the future is now with us and it is in the form of LED grow lights. LEDs are not a very recent phenomenon, they have been under development for more than 10 yrs, but the original lamps just did not have the necessary output to be useful for anything. Continuous research for the automotive industry has however changed all that, with LED bulbs now gracing the head and tail lights of a number of premium marquee sedans. Although the discharge for a single LED bulb has not gone above 6 watts, they are used in banks or rows of lights that give the necessary output. This is possible with these bulbs because they burn with a cold light; very little of the energy used is converted to heat and they are in fact more than 50% more efficient than the HD bulbs.

An LED grow light has a number of advantages over the currently used HD variety of lamps, they are more efficient, giving you tremendous savings in electricity bills, and also last a long time, years if necessary. Because very little heat is produced they can be kept closer to the plant, reducing the wattage of the lamp needed, giving you more savings. They are also cheaper than the other bulbs, and will probably get even cheaper with more and more people starting to use them. The most important thing about LED grow lamps however is that they come in any color that you like, giving you the option of choosing exactly which bandwidth you want, or installing different colors in the same bulb giving you something akin to natural light.

Going in for the latest technology, or even investing in future developments, is good because it means that whatever you get now will remain current for some time yet. Already a number of countries are starting to phase out incandescent bulbs, and although this has not started happening with the HD lamps, it is only a matter of time. The inherent advantages that LED grow lamps give you are overwhelming; it just depends on whether you want to be the leader of the herd or not.

Indoor Gardening Q&A with LED Grow Lights

Sat, 13 Aug 2016 05:09:01 +0000

Professional and hobbyist growers alike are switching to LED grow lights for the many advantages they offer compared to traditional grow lights such as high intensity discharge (HID) and compact fluorescent. We did a Q&A session with LED to find out more about their line of LED grow lights.

For many years, indoor growers and hobbyists used metal halide, high pressure sodium, T5 & compact fluorescent lights to grow indoors. Why now would they want to switch to LEDs? How do LED vs. HID compare?

LED Grow Light – HID systems like metal halide and high pressure sodium have been the main lighting systems used by indoor gardeners for a couple decades. Although these systems work as indoor growing lights, they have a few shortfalls which have given the impetus to the LED grow lights industry. HID systems are inefficient by nature. They try to emulate the sun by using a very high power consumption bulb which will emit a very bright light for the plants to conduct photosynthesis. However, it is not necessary to have such a bright light, with high Lumen count to have successful photosynthesis. In fact, most of the energy coming off from HID systems gets wasted as extra heat which then needs to be mitigated with expensive venting and air control systems. LEDs are attractive to indoor growers since they consume much less electrical power, do not require ballasts, and produce considerably less heat. This allows LEDs to be placed closer to the plant canopy than other lights. As a result of the reduction in heat, the time between watering cycles is longer.

Can you tell us about wavelength and spectrum needed?
LED grow light - By using LED technology, we are able to concentrate the grow light in the wavelengths that the plants need for photosynthesis; mainly reds and blues, but some orange, yellow, violet & white as well. When you look at a Photosynthetic Action Radiation (PAR) chart, you see that the part of the visible spectrum necessary for plants to conduct photosynthesis is concentrated in the 400-450nm & 630-680nm ranges.

LED Grow lights have gone through many iterations of spectra formulation to achieve the optimal 8-band wavelength ratio that goes into our LED Grow Lights. LED has designed and optimal ratio that not only delivers the blues and reds necessary for vegetative growth and flowering, but also provides a weighted average representation of diodes for the smaller photosynthesis peaks that appear in the PAR chart.

This all sounds good, but is there any proof that LEDs actually work?
Great question! This is one of the most asked questions from our first-time customers and the answer is a definite YES! NASA has tested LED Technology to grow food in space because of the efficiency over other growing systems. Everyday there are more commercial growers who are successfully growing with LEDs and posting their results all over the internet. As more of these grow journals and blogs permeate through the internet, more and more growers will switch to hydroponic LED Grow Lights. As with all grow lights for indoor plants, if you do not have enough light for a given grow area, your plants will not enjoy robust growth. To be sure you are successful with LED growlights, make sure to follow the manufacturer's recommended settings for the amount of grow area a light will cover.

Make a Safe Grow Box

Sun, 17 Apr 2016 14:04:07 +0000

One of the greatest grow box ideas I have come across in my life also one of the most secure and easiest to implement. The "safe" grow box is a design in which a gun safe is purchased from your local Wal-Mart or other department store and converted into a grow box.

The lighting you'll utilize is really up to you, I personally prefer to use led grow lights due to their quick turnaround time with regard to growing but to each his own. The best place to start in any event is by drilling a hole in the back of the safe large enough for an electric cord to be snaked through so that electricity can reach the lights inside the safe. It is a good idea to store the safe inside a closet or in another inconspicuous place where your grow box will look like a gun safe and not like a grow box.

Aside from not arousing any suspicion having your plants inside of a safe makes for a great security measure if anyone should become suspicious of you and go rummaging through your home. Most people will not glance more than once at a gun safe since it is a well-established place to house weapons, not grow plants. The durability of safes also means that even if it should fall from a great height or just be knocked over the contents inside will be more safe than in many other setups. This alone makes the safe grow box a method worth considering no matter what type of grower you are.

Make sure to consider the height of your plants and also the amount of attention they will need, if you are going to need to be accessing your safe more than twice a day it might be a good idea to put it in a convenient place. Do not forget to line the safe with plastic sheeting (your preference) in order to maintain a sterile environment for your plants. As an added bonus this particular grow box should also be very effective in keeping out pesky insects.

As with anything else your specific situation may necessitate a different approach to growing than someone else's, make sure to consider your own needs when selecting your grow box strategy. Your nominal yield, home situation and countless other factors all contribute to which strategy you should pursue. While a safe grow tent is an awesome concept and it really does work it is a good idea to consider other designs and options based on your individual needs. There are far simpler methods out there that will have greater yields, this is a setup that is meant for the growing enthusiast that is looking to add security to practical growing.

What is the Best Distance to Keep the Light From the Plants

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 07:02:41 +0000

Indoor gardeners often ask how far away their plant grow lights should be from their plants but the answer depends on what stage of growth they're in. It's important to get the correct distance as the effectiveness of the lights are greatly reduced by even being just a little farther away from the top of the canopy.

Plant grow lights are generally fluorescent, metal halide (MH), or high pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs.

Fluorescent bulbs don't give off much heat but they're also not as intense so they need to be closer to the plants. With proper ventilation and grow room temperatures, it's possible to get fluorescent lights inches away from the top of the canopy without burning any leaves.

Fluorescent lighting can be used for every stage of the plant's life. However, low wattage bulbs (125 watts and under) are perfect for clones (cuttings). When using a 125 watt fluorescent for this purpose, it's best to keep the light immediately above your humidity dome.

Metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs fall into a class of lighting called high intensity discharge (HID). HID lamps require more electricity and they must be cooled as they get very hot and will easily burn your plants. They're commonly air cooled and the heat is ducted out of the grow room.

Often times, indoor gardeners will use metal halide bulbs for the vegetative stage of growth as the spectrum of light given off by these bulbs contains more blue and is better for this stage. The blueish light is exactly what plants need for photosynthesis. Not only that, using a metal halide bulb for the vegetative stage results in more compact plants with tighter inter node spacing. That being said, you can get great results using a metal halide lamp for your plant's entire life cycle.

The best of all plant grow lights is the led grow lights. Like fluorescent and metal halide lamps, led grow light can be used for both the vegetative and flowering stages of your grow. However, they emit the yellow and red regions of the light spectrum so are best suited for the flowering stage. Another great things about led grow lights is that they don't have to be changed as often as their metal halide counterparts. If you were to only go with one bulb for your grow room, your best option is led grow lights.

Earlier I wrote that the effectiveness of your lights are greatly reduced by just being a little farther away from the top of your plants' canopy. According to the inverse square law, "the intensity of light radiating from a point source (in this case a bulb) that reaches a surface is inversely proportional to the square of the surface's distance from the source. So if an object is twice as far away, it receives only 1/4 the light."

As a result, your goal is to get your lights as close to your plants as possible without burning them. To make your life easier, invest a few dollars and get the light lifters you can just move up and down as opposed to the chains you have to add and remove links from.

Start with your lights as high as they go. Next, turn them on, let them get warmed up, and place your hand underneath the lights, palm down. As you move your hand from the top of your plants' canopy up toward the light, you'll feel a definite zone of cool space vs. hot space. Move your lights down to a point where you can keep your hand right above your plants and the back of it is cool. If you move your hand up just a bit, you'll feel where it's warm which is too hot for your plants.

It's as simple as that! Yes, you should have a thermometer in your grow room and you should monitor your humidity levels. However, when it comes to the height of your plant grow lights, it's as easy as using the back of your hand. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for your plants.

Horticulture Grow lights - Light requirements of plants

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 07:20:31 +0000

Hydroponics, greenhouses, indoor gardening, growing aquatic plants, food production and plants propagation – all of these fields use grow lights. Mostly, it is done on an industrial level, although, non-professional, domestic gardeners are also in a habit of using grow lights.

Increasing light efficiency is often of vital importance for the growers, as the farther the grow light is from the plants, the more of it is lost. Many methods, techniques, and tricks are employed nowadays by the growers to achieve this goal: it is possible to use light reflectors, to whitewash the walls or cover them with reflective materials, to group plants close together, or to move lamps closer to them. For example, incandescent lamps may be placed as close as 24 inches to the plants, while other types of light (those that produce less heat) may be about 4 inches close to the plants.

As for the reflective materials, white and black plastic sheeting is the most common option. The black side is turned towards the walls and the white one faces the plants and works to reflect the light. Using a white paint gardeners choose those with the highest content of titanium dioxide to increase its reflexive abilities. Other types of sheeting include Foylon (foil-laminated fabric), Mylar, or Astrofoil (heat and light reflective sheeting) grow tent.

Light requirements of plants

It is the real science of adjusting light to the requirements of peculiar plants. Indeed, various herbs need different amount of lighting, and that used in the indoor gardening should mimic that of the natural surrounding. Furthermore, along with the kind of the plant grown one should take into account its growth stage and even size. Thus, having provided optimal light, a gardener may expect the best yields.

Let us say, the richest crops of vegetables is possible to achieve using led grow light, which resemble full sunlight. Foliage plants may grow best in the shade, thus, led grow lights may be enough for them.

The growers must not forget to allow the plants to "rest" ensuring dark periods (similar to the night in the natural environment). Some plants need many hours of light and short dark periods, while others flourish when both periods are equal.

How to Grow Marijuana – Chapter 1 – Lighting

Fri, 11 Dec 2015 08:33:02 +0000

Marijuana is a wonderful herb that grows naturally all over the planet. Unfortunately it is still illegal to grow marijuana in many countries. Please check your local laws before growing marijuana. With that said, let’s get growing!

It’s a general consensus that growing herb is best done with a good hydro system. Hydroponics is the process of growing a plant without soil. There are a couple of different ways to grow with hydro, but regardless you need to pick up some supplies. First and foremost you will need a light source to grow your herb. There are several technologies out there and I will break down the advantages and disadvantages of each for you.

The cheapest and most inefficient light source is compact fluorescent lighting (CFL). There are two different styles of CFL lighting. Some people grow marijuana with CFL light bulbs. You can pick these up at the grocery store and a splitter at your local hardware store. It’s a good idea to strive for at least the 100 watt bulbs because anything less is not giving off enough light. Keep in mind that these are not especially efficient so you may need as many as 8 or more to grow and flower 3 plants. The other kind of CFL lighting is the shop light style. These have a metal bracket used as a reflector and the bulbs themselves are long and cylindrical. This style of lighting is a little more efficient than the CFL bulb but still not ideal for growing marijuana. Whichever style of CFL bulb you choose, strive for the bluest temperature for vegetative growth and the warmest color light for flowering.

The next lighting type is Metal Halide (MH). You see metal halide lights anytime you leave your house out night, as that’s what most street lights use. Metal halide lighting works by converting power with a ballast and then delivering it to an HID bulb. This lighting type is extremely good for vegetative growth but not so much for flowering. These systems use quite a lot of electricity and give off substantial heat so you should always use MH in conjunction with good ventilation.

High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting is arguably the best lighting for the money. Just like the metal halide system, HPS also uses a ballast and an HID bulb. The advantage is a fuller spectrum which plants will appreciate for both vegetative growth and flowering. While it is not quite as good as MH for vegetative growing, it is nearly ideal for flowering. This system also runs pretty hot so it should be used in conjunction with proper ventilation.

Light-Emitting Diode Technology (LED Grow Lights) is on the verge of becoming the best lighting technology to grow marijuana with. It is extremely efficient and a 165 watt LED grow light can give off as much usable light as a 400 watt high pressure sodium or metal halide system. NASA is fine tuning LED technology in hopes of sustaining life in outer space with LED farming. A good LED panel is a bit pricy but worth every dime because it gives off virtually no heat and uses less electricity than your television. Most systems use only blue and red light but surprisingly a marijuana plant will flourish with only those two colors of light.

Once you select your light source pick up some fans to help with circulation and heat. A good light source is the start of a successful hydroponic grow system.

Knowledge of Indoor Garden LED Grow Lights

Sat, 31 Oct 2015 03:53:21 +0000

Some people don't know any knowledge of led grow lights, they still use HID grow lights, and some people know a little about led grow lights, but they don't know led grow lights can instead of HID grow lights, I want to help you know all knowledge of led grow lights in this article.

1. 165W LED Grow Light can instead of 500W to 600W HID Grow Lights, they will do same work, it will help you to save electric energy.

2. The wavelength of LED is very important, general red light wave uses 620 - 630 um, blue light wave uses 450-460um and 460-470um. Red light can promote plants to sprout and bloom, blue light can promote plants to grow.

3. Led grow lights can only be used indoors, its time of shining is 10-14 hours.

4. There are two kinds spectrum of LED grow lights, one is red:blue, one is full spectrum, Usually the red and blue grow lights is cheaper, I advise you to choose full spectrum led grow lights.

5. Light decline is very small, the lifetime is over 50,000 hours.

6. The brilliant rays that led grow lights distributes can be totally absorbed by the plant, though HID can do the same work, but the efficiency of led grow lights is stronger

When you use led grow lights, you need to pay attention to:

1. use led grow lights indoor.

2. After opening the power, don't touch the surface of the light.

3. Don't put it in the place with water.

4. Don't let water soak led grow lights.

5. the temperature of led grow lights have better below 65 centigrade.

6. When raining, you had better close the power, this is a very good lightning measure.

7. Time don't be over 12 hours to shine, it is the best shining for time, if over 12 hours in 10-12 hour, will not benefit the growth of the plant, is unfavorable to led grow lights too.

8. The distance between led grow lights and plant is 2.5 meters - 3 meters, the minimum height of 135 Watt led grow lights is 1.5 meters, the minimum height of 300 led grow lights is 2 meters, 600W is 3-4 meters.

History of Hydroponics

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 06:29:32 +0000

Hydroponics is a means of growing plants in nutrient water without the use of soil. Instead of soil a non-reacting medium is used such as perlite, gravel, or the husk of coconuts. It was known as early as the 18 century that plants absorb their minerals in water as ions. The soil in traditional growing acts as a nutrient reservoir but does not actually contribute to plants growth. Water dissolves the minerals in the plants soil enabling the plants to use them. In hydroponics the minerals required for plants growth are artificially dissolved in the water making soil unnecessary. It is possible to grow almost any soil based plant using hydroponics. Hydroponics is such a promising field that there is much research into different methods in the academic community.

The first book ever published on hydroponics was published in 1627. After which, water cultivation soon became a popular technique. Experiments were done and in 1699 it was found that plants grown in distilled water grew less rapidly then plants grown in plain water. This is due to the dissolved ions found within non-pure water. By 1842 scientists had published a list of nine elements believed to be responsible for plant growth and the results of which led to what is known as modern hydroponics. At first they used soilless cultivation and grew terrestrial plants using the nine essential elements. It quickly spread throughout academia and became an area of hot research.

One of the first achievements of hydroponics was performed by Dr. Gericke at the University of Berkley. He managed to create tomato plants that grew to over 25 feet tall. At the time this was considered only possible due to the usage of hydroponics. He claimed that hydroponics would revolutionize growing. If only he were alive today to see how it has. He wrote a book in 1940 called the Complete Guide to Soilless Growing which became the go to guide on hydroponics of its day; although, at first he refused to publically reveal his secret.

Due to the extravagant nature of his claims several scientists set about reviewing his work. At first they found that soilless growing was no better than soil growing. They found that the yield of crops were limited by other factors other than minerals, such as light. The research overlooked many of the important factors that make hydroponics benefit plants. Namely that hydroponics allows the plants roots to grab more oxygen. Around this time mineral solutions were developed called Hoagland solutions were developed and are still in use today. Hydroponics was used on Wake Island early on to grow vegetables where there was no soil. Recently hydroponics has been thoroughly researched by NASA.

With the advancement of modern hydroponics along came advances in grow lights. At first the introduction of HPS (high pressure sodium) grow lights allowed plants to be grown indoors. They produced high light output and allowed plants to mature fully. Recently the advances of LED grow lights has begun to revolutionize the field of hydroponics. They completely eliminate the heat issues that come about with HPS lights and can reduce electrical costs by up to two thirds.

Marijuana Grow Lights - LED Grow Lights Increase Productivity

Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:22:03 +0000

Marijuana has been cultivated for centuries by cultures throughout the world. Some cultures use marijuana in religious ceremonies, others use it to relieve to medical ailments, and some use it for recreational purposes. The first indoor marijuana grow relied on High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide (MH) grow lights as a sunlight replacement for plants indoors. These forms of High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights produce a full-spectrum white light, the final color of which is determined by the gasses and elements within the bulb. While these full-spectrum HID lights have worked well to grow marijuana for decades, the majority of light they create is unused (reflected) by plants. In fact as much as 70% of the light they create is never processed during photosynthesis, meaning the majority of the power they consume is simply wasted energy.

Marijuana has evolved over thousands of years to process certain wavelengths (colors) of light that the sun provides, while reflecting most others. The wavelengths it processes for photosynthesis are 439nm and 469nm blue, and 642nm and 670nm red, which are converted by Chlorophyll A and B. HID Grow Lights emit low amounts of light at these wavelengths, focusing the majority of their output in the 500-600nm region (outside of the photosynthesis wavelengths). It is for this reason that HID Grow Lights are quickly being replaced by LED Grow Lights, as LED's are able to focus their spectrum on the wavelengths plants use most efficiently.

LED Grow Lights

LED Grow Lights are comprised of multiple low-wattage diodes (normally 1W-3W) that work together to create the complex spectral varieties that marijuana requires to grow properly. LED Grow Lights work almost like a puzzle, with each LED wavelength playing a specific role in determining how the plant will grow and produce. By fine-tuning the wavelengths and ratios of a LED Grow Light properly, up to 100% of the light being produced can be efficiently absorbed marijuana plants. This gives LED Grow Lights a huge efficiency advantage over HID Grow Lights, allowing the end user to consume far less energy to achieve similar or better results.

LED Grow Lights provide many additional benefits that HID lights do not. LED Grow lights contain no mercury or harmful elements, and as such can be fully-recycled. HID bulbs on the other hand, must be changed at least once per year at a cost of $100-$200! LED Grow Lights also consume about 60-70% less energy, putting money back into your pocket with each power bill. LED Grow Lights also operate up to 600 degrees colder than HID Grow Lights, virtually eliminating the need for ventilation and A/C equipment.

If you need more infomation about led grow lights, please visit: http://ledgrowlight.co.nz/blog

The Importance of a Growing Tent in Hydroponics Gardening

Tue, 01 Jul 2014 08:29:46 +0000

Growing plants by the hydroponics method is steadily gaining in popularity all over the world, since people are discovering that they are easy to manage, and give you many benefits. You need no soil for hydroponic gardening, and not as much space is used as in traditional gardening methods. Your maintenance needed for a garden is also reduced when you grow hydroponically. There are many ways to use hydroponic gardening for your plants.

Smaller scale gardeners and people who garden at home will find it easy to grow various plants within containers, and all you need to grow them is to use the necessary minerals and nutrients. You can purchase grow tents that are made for hydroponics that will protect young plants and help all plants to grow better.

Growing tents are useful, since they reduce the amount of space needed for your garden, and the plants don't need as much time to grow. If you use hydroponic gardening methods, you will also be able to control the temperature in the root zone and the overall humidity levels. Growing tents are box type structures lined with sheeting that will increase the light levels within the tent. They are quite easy to assemble, and you can find them in most price ranges. Tents will absorb heat and keep light inside.

The grow tent size you need is dependent on the amount of space available and the type of plants you want to grow. They are convenient and most anyone can use them. Assembly is easy and your plants will require less water than they would in traditional gardens. This makes them Eco-friendly, since they also use very little electricity.

You can purchase growing tents online, and arrange to have them delivered to your home. There are quite a variety of sites where you'll be able to browse through various tents and products, in order to choose the tent and supplies that will work best for you. You will find hydroponic kits, LED grow lights and different options for your tent, and you can select the right size of growing tent for your home. Some special lighting will also help your plants' photosynthesis. You can obtain advice about tents and supplies from other hydroponic gardeners, and then purchase your supplies from a reputable dealer. This will allow you to fully enjoy this new gardening method.

Led Grow Lights - How led grow lights now rival Hps

Sun, 27 Apr 2014 08:47:07 +0000

Not so long ago led grow lights arrived on the market, low yields and small fruits were the cry from the general growing community but nowadays the humble led grow light has started a growing renaissance with large yields and large fruits easily achievable.

The new led grow lights on the market now offer comparable results to High Pressure Sodium (Hps) lighting but at a fraction of the running costs of Sodium , so how has led grow light technology evolved to now provide a led grow light to rival Hps in both terms of yield and fruit size. The development of high power led diodes and advanced heat dissipation systems now allow the led diodes to run at higher voltages than ever before, the newest led grow lights pattern suitable for explosive growth in both vegetative and bloom cycles of plant growth.

These new led grow lights now have the power to rival the light output of Hps however the introduction of specialised wavelengths and ratios combined with the high power led diodes are what makes the new led grow lights so effective. The first grow lights came with a limited spectrum namely Blue, Red and occasionally Orange, the new wavelengths and ratios available now cover the entire spectrum and include Ultra Violet, Blue, Red,Orange, Infra Red, 2700K-7000K white.

These range of wavelengths can now be tuned into very specific ratios to provide increased yields and large fruits, the ability to tailor the individual wavelengths in the ratios allow complete control over the grow lights performance which enables the new led grow lights to be tailored exactly to the growers requirements such as higher yield or increased flavour etc.

These two important areas of the led grow light have transformed the led grow light industry, further improvements in led diode wavelength tuning and optical lens technology will provide very fine tolerances in the led wavelengths. The led diodes used in high quality led grow lights are typically tuned to within 5nm(nanometres) and whilst these provide exceptional results in the future it will be possible to tune the led diodes to the plants exact light reactive points requirements.

The humble led grow light is now here to stay and with the further advancements in led technology due over the next few years the future for led grow lights is very bright indeed, High Pressure Sodium lighting has dominated the grow light market for many years however the crown is now slipping and led grow lights might just find the crown is a perfect fit.

Many companies provide high quality led grow lights that provide awesome results , one such company is http://www.ledgrowlight.co.nz who provide New Zealand with high quality led grow lights.

The Controversy Surrounding LED Grow Lights

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 09:08:31 +0000

Anytime a new product is introduced on the market, there can be a bit of controversy surrounding it based on whether it actually works as marketed. Such is the case with LED grow lights. Although there has been some disagreement over how well the bulbs work for growing plants indoors, research indicates that the controversy is not founded.

Some have speculated that one of the benefits of LED grow lights may also be a drawback: case in point is the fact that LED grow lights run very cool and produce very little excess heat, unlike other lamps such as HPS lights and MH lights. It has been said that plants grow more leggy under LED grow lights than other grow lamps such as HPS lights. Light is not the only item that plants need for proper growth. Bottom heat is needed to get seeds to germinate, and warm conditions are usually optimal for fast plant growth. Since other grow lights such as 1000 HPS lights put off more heat, it can contribute to warmer growing conditions. This may mean that a heat source might be needed for use with LED grow lamps to bring on equal growth results.

Another area that some claim as controversial is that additional blue spectrum is needed for stocky stem growth in plants than is given by LED lights. NASA has performed some testing by its Astroculture Flight Unit, where they determined that LED lamps with eighty percent red spectrum and twenty percent blue spectrum produced better growth than HPS lights and other HID lights, yet neither produced better growth than sunlight.2 If you want to boost the bloom cycle, you may choose to add additional blue spectrum LED lights to mimic summer sunlight and the resultant productivity of plants in response. Some of the latest LEDs also allow you to adjust the amount of each spectrum, so you can adjust them for optimal plant growth.

There are many benefits LED grow lights. They require less equipment to operate than both HPS lights and MH lights. Unlike these traditional lamps, the LED needs no ballast, fans or reflectors to operate at optimal levels. LED bulbs also last longer, up to five to eight years longer than HPS lights.

How to choose the suitable grow light for your greenhouse

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 13:43:21 +0000

There are many kinds of Grow lights for your chosen in market, that might be a headache to a new grower when make a choice. I list all of them below that hope to make clear:

The least expensive lights to purchase cost around $30. These incandescent lights work well for specific plants where the light is placed a minimum of 24" from the plant. These lights get extremely hot so they must be used with care. Spot grow bulbs, color corrected incandescent lights, install easily and are good for use with a specific plant or a small grouping of plants. Most spot incandescent bulbs last less than 1,000 hours. Some light fixtures come with a clip handle so you can put them exactly where they're needed.

Florescent grow lights are a common choice for homeowners. Florescent lights are reasonably energy efficient and relatively easy to install. A typical florescent bulb will last approximately 20,000 hours. Florescent light is typically on the blue end of the spectrum. Blue light encourages bushy compact growth which makes them perfect for seed starting. The blue light is also cool to the touch making it possible to place lights within just a few inches of the seedlings.

New full-spectrum florescent lights provide the red spectrum as well to encourage blooming. Combining the lights in a fixture makes for even, all around growth. The next generation in florescent lighting includes the new T-5 lights. These new lights have extremely high output but are energy efficient and long lasting. The T-5 lights triple the light output of normal florescent lights without increasing the wattage. Plants absorb a high percentage of T-5 lighting because the fixtures function well very close to plants. High output bulbs require a high output fixture to operate, so the bulbs and normal florescent fixtures will not work together.

Some commercial growers use High Intensity Discharge lights because they have extremely high output and cover a wide area. HID lights hang high above plants (hanging height determined by the wattage) so the light works well for large growing areas. Operating HID lights require a ballast to deliver power to the lamp and fixture for the light. Most fixtures have a reflective hood which directs light back towards plants. HID lights emit high heat, so they must be placed away from plants to avoid burning the leaves. There are two types of HID lights, Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium.

Metal Halide produces blue light that most closely resembles natural light. This would be the preferable light if used as the primary lighting because plant growth most closely resembles plants grown outdoors. This type of lighting is excellent for areas that do not get natural sun.

The second type of HID lighting, High Pressure Sodium, is excellent for supplemental lighting in a greenhouse because the red light enhances flowering. The bulbs also last substantially longer than Metal Halides. Used as supplemental lighting, the orange-red light does not create leggy growth. It is interesting to note that plants do not appear as healthy under the reddish light as the blue because our eyes do not adjust well to the color. High Pressure Sodium bulbs have a long life; however, they should be replaced according to manufacturer's instructions. Bulbs continue to light beyond their useful life, however, the energy draw increases dramatically and the output lowers significantly.

Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium lights generally do not use the same fixtures, however, some fixtures are convertible. With convertible fixtures, bulbs swap easily. A simple flip of a switch converts the fixture after changing the bulb. This is a good option for serious growers who want the benefits of compact growth, blooms and energy efficiency. The start up cost is not insignificant. However, the combination offers a tremendous amount of control in the greenhouse.

The newest type of grow lights use LED technology. One major advantage to the LED grow lights is the small size. LED grow lights are only a few inches in diameter and are easy to mount. In some greenhouses, LED grow light may be the only practical light option. Hanging most grow lights requires a strong greenhouse structure and a place to hang the lights. LED grow light weigh a fraction of other lights and are easy to configure where needed. According to LED manufacturers, LED grow light maximize blue and red light to provide and excellent balance for plants. They do not have much green-yellow light. Since humans see green-yellow light best LED grow lights appear dim to our eyes. And the most important advantage is that LED grow light is green technology which don't contain any harmful substance like HID or other traditional grow lights, and it can save 70-80% electricity bill than using HID lamp. This is newest technology used for plant growing now and becoming more and more popular.

Try the method of indoor grow for your plants and see the difference with hydroponic products

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 10:03:54 +0000

Hydroponics has been converting farmers and commercial farming has also been trying out this novel method.An indoor grow method is possible with just a container of water and the addition of specific nutrients and minerals that the plant will need.No soil for these indoor grow plants means that maintenance is reduced and even the use of pesticides and chemicals for weeding and for pests is reduced.These plants require just the right amount of sunlight and heat and grow beautifully in greenhouses.People with small spaces can make use of any tiny space to create a garden for themselves by even having hanging or wall mounted containers.For those growing plants for commercial purposes there are many products available that help in larger scale gardening and all of these are now easily available. This method conserves water as a large supply of water is usually needed to water a large crop and with timers available for the grow tents these help to control the amount of electricity that is consumed.The growing tents also control the temperature inside and this helps the plant in producing a better yield.

There are many sites online from where one can buy these hydroponics products easily. With the growing popularity of the method there are specific hydroponics sites that have all the required products to help you to grow any kind of plants easily.From grow tents that control humidity,temperature, light and heat these are available for both buds as well as for larger plants, LED grow lights to provide controlled lighting and even hydroponics kits.These kits have carbon filters and other odor controlling substances. All orders placed online are delivered home. Browse though the many sites specializing in these products and find out what you require even to start this method.By buying online a buyer has the option to compare the rates, products and services of many companies and can then make an informed decision on the best site to buy from.

www.ledgrowlight.co.nz Everything required to grow plants hydroponically is available here and one can browse through their detailed site to find the required product.There are grow tents, led grow lights and even kits to choose from.

Indoor Grow Lights Help Your Plants Flourish

Thu, 02 Jan 2014 08:44:15 +0000

All plants, because of their need for photosynthesis, require appropriate light in order to ensure their proper growth and maturation. Indoor gardeners use indoor grow lights to supply the illumination necessary. There are a wide variety of indoor grow lights available, including LED grow lights, HPS grow lights. There are some differences among indoor grow lights, so it pays to do a little research before you invest in them.

HPS Grow Lights

HPS grow lights, referencing high pressure sodium, are a type of HID, or high intensity discharge, light. Although a compact light bulb, they are capable of producing a lot of light, and thus their appeal to indoor gardeners. HPS lights give off light in the red to orange color spectrum, making it the lamp of choice for helping to coax your mature plants to bear fruit or flowers. HPS lamps need to be used in conjunction with a ballast, a piece of equipment that controls the flow of electricity to and through the lamp. The lamps are popular because they last a long time and are efficient to run.

LED Grow Lights

Light-emitting diode, or LED, grow lights are wildly popular among indoor gardening enthusiasts, and for good reason. These indoor grow lights are tiny and thus extremely lightweight, making them easier to use in overhead situations in a greenhouse. They also do not generate heat, thereby needing less in terms of auxiliary equipment to keep the grow room at the appropriate temperature, and do not require ballasts. LED grow lights are very efficient to run, and will save money on electricity when compared with many other types of indoor grow lights. They also provide any color spectrum of light that you might wish to use with your plants.

Why do gardeners need indoor grow lights?

Plants need light for photosynthesis, and thus if you are growing plants indoors, you need to compensate for the lack of sunlight. What you are trying to do is recreate sunlight for your plants, and this is where grow lights come into play. Of course, grow lamps are not as bright as sunlight, so indoor gardeners typically leave the lights turned on the plants for a longer length of time than natural light might occur outdoors. Without appropriate light, plants will quickly die. If you are trying to start new plants from seed, the seedlings will become weak from trying to stretch up and reach what little light there is. Instead, the light should be ample and placed close above the seedlings to ensure sturdy stems and good growth.

Consider the types of plants you want to grow indoors, and where they are in their life cycle, in order to determine which grow lamps will be best suited to your needs. buy led grow lights in New Zealand, please visit: www.ledgrowlight.co.nz

Led Grow Lights: Outstanding Technology for Indoor Plant Growing

Sat, 02 Nov 2013 13:37:35 +0000

As some may know, Led Grow Lights are a type of product that has revolutionized indoor plant growing in many ways, thanks to its impressive features. The consequence is that led grow lights have become astonishing products, especially for people who must grow plants for a living or for those who absolutely love plant growing. This article's intention is for you to understand what makes Led Grow Lights for plants such amazing products, and to show you what useful features they include.

First of all, an important difference to take into account is that led grow lights have the ability to emit light belonging to different bands of the spectrum, according to very specific needs for a plant's maximum growth. Other products, such as fluorescent and high energy discharge lamps and incandescent light bulbs don't include this outstanding feature. Fact is plants contain a molecule called chlorophyll which allows them to produce their own nutrients and minerals through a process called photosynthesis, which at the same time lets them Plants can only absorb light from certain bands of the spectrum, meaning that the rest of the light is useless to them. Thus, providing plants with the specific type of light they need is essential for successful plant growth.

In addition, indoor LED grow lights are also remarkable at preserving energy. While other light-emitting products waste a lot of energy and eject lots of heat that do a lot of harm to the environment, LED grow lights manage to consume a much smaller portion of energy and also eject less heat, allowing for a greener atmosphere. As many people have said, helping starts at home!

Another fact to take into account is that they are much smaller than older products, so they can be considered portable tools as they are also considerably lighter. And, they come with batteries that last much longer than normal, minimizing costs even more.

Overall, LED grow lights offer a much lower cost than other products, since they consume substantially less energy and come with long-lasting batteries. Moreover, they are very practical, they allow for excellent indoor plant growing, and they also let the user configure the specific spectrum of the light they want to emit for maximum performance and plant growth. What else do you need for outstanding indoor plant growing? LED grow lights certainly are the right way to go! buy led grow lights in New Zealand, please visit: www.ledgrowlight.co.nz

LED grow lights VS tradition lamp

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 15:17:56 +0000

In this article we provide an overview of three main grow light technologies: indoor LED grow lights, Fluorescent Lights and HID lights. We do not cover incandescent light as these are no longer regularly used for grow lights indoor gardening, only for garden lighting. The best grow lights are able to mimic the precise wavelengths of light that can be used by plants in their photosynthesis and thereby provide the energy for plant growth, flowering, seedling and so on. So lets get started on the three grow light types.

LED grow lights are a popular and cost effective choice for the indoor gardener. Studies have shown them to use around 60% of the energy required by HID lighting systems. Their lifespan is also far longer, with the diodes typically lasting between 50,000 and 100,000. The vast majority of the light that is emitted is in wavelengths that can be absorbed by plants and used for photosynthesis with little wasted either as heat or non usable visible light.

Incandescent lights are now rarely used for grow lighting purposes. They have been replaced by more cost effective and longer lasting fluorescent bulbs. Higher output fluorescent light bulbs are also available. These are more expensive than the standard bulbs but produce a more concentrated light and are available in a range of colors corresponding to the wavelengths of light that are most used by plants.

Higher Intensity Discharge Lights, and in particular High Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Metal Halide (MH) grow lights are a popular choice among grow light gardeners. Although the set up and running costs are high, they are highly effective at stimulating photosynthesis in plants. HPS and MH plants are often used in combination to ensure that wavelengths of blue and orange lights (the colors that corresponding to maximum chlorophyll absorption points) are emitted.

If you want to buy led grow lights or led aquarium lighting or grow tent, please visit: www.ledgrowlight.co.nz

LED Grow Lights Increase Productivity - Marijuana Grow Lights

Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:53:57 +0000

LED Grow Lights

LED Grow Lights are comprised of multiple low-wattage diodes (normally 1W-5W) that work together to create the complex spectral varieties that marijuana requires to grow properly. LED Grow Lights work almost like a puzzle, with each LED wavelength playing a specific role in determining how the plant will grow and produce. By fine-tuning the wavelengths and ratios of a LED Grow Light properly, up to 100% of the light being produced can be efficiently absorbed marijuana plants. This gives LED Grow Lights a huge efficiency advantage over HID Grow Lights, allowing the end user to consume far less energy to achieve similar or better results.

LED Grow Lights provide many additional benefits that HID lights do not. LED Grow lights contain no mercury or harmful elements, and as such can be fully-recycled. HID bulbs on the other hand, must be changed at least once per year at a cost of $100-$200! LED Grow Lights also consume about 60-70% less energy, putting money back into your pocket with each power bill. LED Grow Lights also operate up to 600 degrees colder than HID Grow Lights, virtually eliminating the need for ventilation and A/C equipment.

LED grow lights --Indoor cultivation of medical marijuana

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 08:02:28 +0000

There have been many reports of people being investigated and busted for marijuana cultivation because their homes were monitored with an Infrared Heat Sensing Device.

It works like this; If the authorities suspect someone is cultivating marijuana, they set up surveillance of the home or building and use an Infrared camera to measure the amount of heat radiating off the structure. They then compare the targeted structure to surrounding buildings or homes to gauge what they think should be the normal amount of heat emitted from a particular structure.

In some parts of Europe, the authorities don't even wait for a lead from an informant to give them the heads up, on a possible marijuana grow operation. They simply take to the air and use their high-tech surveillance camera and scan the roofs and walls of homes in residential areas and buildings. If a home is identified as a possible marijuana grow operation because of the heat radiating off the structure, that home or building becomes the target of further investigation and possibly a raid.

Using HID lamp will emit too much heat that could be inspected by infrared camera. Now, LED grow lights could deal with very well because it is cool light source which make authorities can not find what you do inside. So more and more growers are replacing of their HID lamp by LED grow light. For more information about LED grow light, please visit www.ledgrowlight.co.nz

LED Grow Lights Intensity

Wed, 26 Jun 2013 07:23:34 +0000

In midsummer, near noon on a clear day, full sunlight approaches light intensity of 1000 Wm-2. Since about 45% of sunlight is in the 400nm to 700 nm range used for photosynthesis, plants can only use about 450 Wm-2 or about 2000 micromol m-2 s-1. Similar or higher intensities can be achieved using artificial light sources like HPS,MH, LED grow lights, but this requires considerable costs for both power and lamps.

If we consider a plant, for individual leaves oriented at right angles to incoming radiation, it needs roughly 1/3 of full sunlight (about 150 Wm-2) for photosynthesis. These values would be typical for sun-adapted species such as greenhouse vegetable crops. In shade-adapted species, including many foliage plants need lower intensities of receiving LED grow light. This might lead to a misconception that maximum crop growth can be achieved at only 1/3 full sunlight. For many several reasons, however this is not the case. These are:

• Whole plants are not composed of single leaves exposed to direct sunlight coming in at right angles to their surfaces. In a real canopy, leaves are often positioned oblique to the incoming beam lowering the amount of available light.

• In a shoot canopy the leaves overlap, and the incoming light is absorbed before it reaches the lower leaves. (PS. LED grow light emit enough intensity for overlap leaves)

• Differences in light absorbing pigment contents in different tissues cause variation in absorbing light.

For these reasons, well developed leaf canopies require higher intensities to reach the light compensation point than do single leaves. These considerations help us to understand a relationship accepted by many greenhouse vegetable producers, the "1% Rule": for every 1% increase in light intensity reaching the crop there is a 1% increase in productivity.

More about led grow lights, please visit: ledgrowlight.co.nz