The LED grow light is a major topic when people talk about the leading farming technologies. It receives mostly positive reviews from farm growers, especially for indoor farming. Really, what are the advantages of LED grow lights?
LED grow lights have high flexibility and efficiency to assist the growth of plants. They are easy to install and maintain to save hassles in your farming. Your plants will also get a sunlike spectrum for faster harvest cycles. Not only that, LED grow lights have modular designs and are eco-friendly.
In this post, you’ll learn about the top 7 advantages of LED grow lights. Let’s get started!
What is LED Grow Light?
LED grow light is an alternative to sunlight that provides a Sun-like light spectrum needed by the plants. It is commonly used for indoor gardening, plant propagation, horticulture, food production, etc. Both industrial and household growers can use it for plant cultivation.
Yet, grow lights are high-consumption farming equipment for growers. The harvest yield is directly proportional to the time it is switched on. That is why it is crucial to find an efficient grow light.
In this case, LED grow light is your answer, being the game-changing technology in the farming industry. These lights are customizable to different temperatures, colors, light intensity, and spectral outputs. You can also adjust the luminous efficacy depending on the plants’ type and cultivation stage.
| Light type | Spectral characteristics | electro-optical conversion efficiency | spectral photosynthetic efficiency | Luminaire photosynthesis energy efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incandescent light spectrum | The proportion of blue light in the light is very small. The red light is mainly infrared light, 80%-90% of the infrared mainly acts on the plant surface for heat generation. | 10%-18% | 10%-20% | 1%-3.6% |
| Fluorescent light spectrum | The light is more blue than 45%, less red than 15%, more yellow and green than 40%. | 20%-25% | 50%-60% | 10%-15% |
| High Pressure Sodium Spectroscopy | The spectrum of blue light accounted for less than 10%, yellow-green light accounted for up to 50%, red light accounted for 40% of which infrared accounted for 40%, more heat production. | 25%-30% | 45%-55% | 11%-16.5% |
| LED | The red and blue light is adjustable, and the light can be converted according to the demand of the value. | 25%-60% | 60%-90% | 15%-54% |
Advantages of LED Grow Lights
1. Sun-Like Spectrum
Sunlight is an important energy source for plants. Green plants carry out photosynthesis by getting energy from the Sun to produce food. However, we could not ensure full sunlight coverage for plants at all times. It could be due to shaded areas, climate change, a country’s latitude, or other factors.
LED grow light is an all-rounded solution for you. It can produce a full spectrum which is very similar to Sunlight. On top of that, it has a balanced wavelength and proportions. These factors are crucial, impacting plants’ growth rate, stretching, and photoperiodism.
You’ll also find wide ranges of spectrum choices to provide the right amount of light for plant growth and harvest. In fact, LED grow light has better and more quality color rendering than the HID lights. You can learn about more technical specifications of LED grow lights in this article.
The sun-like spectrum of LED grow lights are customizable to produce sufficient UV and far-red for your plants. It is beneficial in promoting plant germination, flowering, and harvest. The taste and smell of the crop will improve. You can also enhance the resin production, branching, and root mass.
2. High Efficiency
LED grow lights consume 50% less power than HID lights in converting energy to lights. They can convert around 40 – 60% of energy to usable light, while HID can only make 20 – 40%. You’ll get the exact light amounts as HPS and HID (High-Intensity Discharge) lights, yet lower watts are required.
Besides, LED grow lights have 60 – 90% spectrum photosynthetic efficiency, much higher than HID of 45 – 55%. Its light photosynthetic efficiency is 15 – 54%, the highest of all grow lights. As a result, LED grow lights save more energy thanks to their high efficiency.
Too much heat for plants will slow down the growth and maturity of plants, causing a shorter lifetime. It will not happen with LED grow lights as they have a thick real heat sink that is 25% cooler. These lights can convert electricity to light directly with lower temperatures and less heat.
Also, LED grow lights are cold light sources compared to traditional plant lights. You can place them near the plants. It does not produce as much heat as other grow lights, hence a cooler temperature for plants. There will be minimal damage to plants, and it could yield a greater harvest, whether you plant in water or sand.
Furthermore, LED grow light releases lesser energy, thus able to save more electricity bills for plantation factories. It differs from the traditional plantation method where the plants convert energy from electro-optical to get lights. You’ll get absolute advantages from the longer lifespan, and higher radiation efficiency of LED grow lights.
3. Fast Harvest Cycle
Sun will set but LED grow lights won’t. The rising and setting of the Sun could cause inadequate sunlight for quick harvesting. With LED grow lights, you could ensure sufficient lights for plants to increase the growth rate vastly. These lights could run 24hours a day, allowing several harvests in one season. You can also adjust the flowering time for faster harvest cycles.
One common problem in farming is the extreme heat and Sunlight for plants. The excess UV and IR rays might be too much that causes drying up and burning of plants. You’ll see browning leaves or less healthy plants without timely watering and care.
With LED grow lights, you can control to ensure the right amount of heat and zero harmful wavelength for your plants. The proper energy and ventilation will give optimal conditions for the fertility and growth of plants. You’ll find minimal wittering, dying, slow-growing, and straining crops. As a result, you can save more time and effort in unnecessary extra plant care.
4. Flexible Settings
Most LED grow lights come with versatile and flexible controls. They are adjustable to fit the needs of your plants.
The dimmable function allows control of plants’ brightness, temperature, and exposure to heat. You can adjust it to 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0% brightness to turn it off. Different grow lights might have different dimming control, like knob dimming or app dimming. With controllable brightness, growers could customize light intensity based on the growing phases of plants.
Besides, you can also find spectrum control on LED grow lights. The color options are red, blue, and white. The spectrum’s choice depends on the strains requirement and growth stage of your plants. You can read more about how to use LED grow lights for indoor plants at this link.
Another practical control is the scheduling control in LED grow lights. This function allows you to do settings on the dimming and spectrum schedule. It can automatically change the light intensity and spectrum at different day hours.
Some manufacturers produce LED grow lights with wifi and remote operation function. Growers can make remote control on the lights even from far. It is an advanced function to save your hassles, time, and energy in controlling the lights.
5. Easy Installation & Maintenance
You do not need to worry about troublesome installation and maintenance. LED grow lights come as all-in-one packages that make them easy to install. You only need to plug in and mount it, and it will start working! Make sure to allow good airflow and stable temperatures to increase its longevity. There is also no need to worry about hanging the reflectors or overheating problems for your grow space.
Not only that, LED grow lights have relatively simple maintenance compared to other grow lights. It is due to the 50,000 hours of long lifespan, allowing at least five years of continuous use. LED grow lights’ high efficiency and low energy use also contribute to their durability.
Even after five to ten years, these lights will not stop functioning suddenly. They will slowly reduce their brightness, so you know it’s time to change it. You’ll find that modifying or changing the components only requires simple steps. Less need for replacement means fewer maintenance hassles, time, and costs to buy the parts.
6. Environmental Friendly
More people and businesses are more prone to using green products today. They are concerned about the environment and prefer reusable, durable, less toxic, and less resource-intensive goods. Eco-friendly products also give peace of mind in using for they are safer for the people and the environment. And yes, LED grow lights are environmentally friendly lights.
LED grow lights do not contain mercury. Hence, it is safe to throw or recycle. Many prefer LEDs over HIDs as HIDs produce a lot of harmful mercuries when it is burned. Unlike HID lights, there is no release of toxic materials or vapors even when you accidentally break the LED grow lights.
Besides, the small LED bulbs in grow lights also minimize the risk of breaking. That is why it is safer for growers and plants. The low temperature ensures that it will not burn out fast and ensure no risks of fire hazards.
Not only that, LED grow lights have a longer lifespan of around 50,000 hours, whereas HIDs only have 10,000 – 19,000 hours. They can also reduce the use of pesticides and chemical treatments. But, make sure you check the certification of the LED grow light supplier to verify their product quality and safety.
7. Customizable Designs
LED grow lights are available in various adjustable shapes, sizes, types, and designs to fit your areas. They are aesthetic and functional, improving your space design while supplying lights for plants. You can customize these grow lights according to space, use, and plant types.
In general, the LED grow lights on the market are in 400, 600, and 1,000 watts. They can cover the square area of 4+, 9+, 16+ square feet. You can also use rectangular-shaped LED grow lights if you have a rectangular space. Some growers prefer placing their square lights side-by-side too.
You also have the choice of LED grow light bars for vertical gardening. It is helpful for spaces that are hard to light. You can also place it on the bottoms of the shelf to supply light for small plants and seedlings.
DARKLESS Has Additional Purchasing Advantages
1. Safety Performance
Prevention of Electric Shocks
- LED grow lights have a unique connection protection design for the electric circuits. There is also a leak-proof ground connection to prevent electric shock.
Prevention of Fire Hazards
- The metal casing protects the LED grow lights against fire hazards. You’ll also find a heating control to limit the power supply below 60 degrees Celsius.
Prevention of Smash Injuries
- The overall weight of our LED grow light is dispersed. Its installation points are fully reinforced to avoid unwanted injuries.
Prevention of Cuts
- There is a process to make smooth edges on the exterior of our LED grow lights to prevent cuts.
2. Lifespan
- LED Grow lights passed the light decay tests.
- Power supply components are from manufacturers with controllable quality.
- Cables are made of certified materials.
- LED Grow lights have high durability and stability.
3. Costs
- We have a stable supply chain for quality raw materials.
- Skilled staff conducts mature assembly processes.
- We create reasonable product designs.
- Darkless LED Grow lights have overall good quality and competitive price.
Final Thoughts
LED grow lights are beneficial for growers to yield better harvests. It is especially helpful during the winter season and for the Northern region countries, where the plants don’t get enough sunlight.
Most LED grow lights cost about or higher than $100. Though not cheap compared to fluorescent or HID lights, you can see that the values of LED grow lights outrange the price. Make sure you do thorough research to find reliable suppliers and choose a suitable LED grow light.
I hope this article tells you the in-depth advantages of LED grow lights. Visit Darkless LED and talk to our customer service for free quotes today!
