If you're growing in a small grow tent or closet, your grow light needs will differ from those of a commercial grower with a room or several rooms containing rows of plants. What is the best LED grow light for a small grow tent or closet? Many factors determine the answer.

You may need a light with a smaller form, and you may be able to use a light that draws less current, keeping your electric bill low. To safeguard the health of your plants, it's best to avoid a grow light that's too powerful for the space you have, especially if your grow tent is a shorter model and light may end up closer to your plants.

Grow tents are a great place to raise your plants. The walls are reflective to make the most of the light your LEDs emit, and they create a grow environment that, with the right equipment choices, becomes easy to control. Most tents are designed to accommodate accessory equipment you may need, including fans and filters. LEDs are a good choice for enclosed grow spaces because they produce less heat than most other fixtures delivering similar light.

Do LED Grow Lights Use a Lot of Electricity?

LED grow lights are very energy efficient and they do not use a lot of electricity. Traditional HID grow lights consume a ton of electricity, in fact paying for the electricity used to be one of the major costs of homegrown weed. Each HID bulb can consume anywhere from 100 Watts to 1,000 Watts, so it depends on the size of your grow, but switching to LED grow lights can save you 50% to 70% in actual power consumption.

Many LED grow lights are still described in the wattage of their HID equivalent in terms of brightness. As you can see in the list above, though, many brands do not use the exact same wattage equivalent in their naming conventions - Make sure to check the manufacturer's specifications on your grow light before purchasing.

It is a good idea to go by the recommended coverage area for a particular LED grow light as opposed to the HID equivalent, as this measurement is far less subjective.

The calculator tool can help you figure out how much electricity your LED grow light will consume and what the cost will be on your power bill. Just keep in mind you will need to adjust the hours per day based on vegetative vs flowering light schedules.

How Close Should a Grow Light be to Plants?

It would be great if the grow light's position is expendable such that as the plants grow towards the source, you can vary the distance. Fluorescent and LED grow light has lower heat signatures and can be pleased around 12 to 6 inches from the plants. Led lights are usually power-saving y so they cannot cause a burn to the plants. That's why their distance is ok to be closer to the plants.

However, incandescent bulbs use heat to light; hence should always be far from the plants, if possible, up to 24 inches. To minimize such confusion consulting the manufacturer is a very advisable move.

How to Hang a Grow Light

Learning the art of hanging LED light correctly is a tremendous step towards creating a quality environment for your horticulture plants. Before you hand them, consider a position that ensures that there is light uniformity. After calculating the LED light intensity, determine at what height to hang. Finally, following the instruction ensure the installation is correct and effective.

ECO Farm ECO NET 1000W Samsung 301B Chips LED Grow Light

Features:
This ECO Farm LED grow light's cover the full-color spectrum 3000K 5000K 660nm our grow lights are ideal for all growth stages. Perfect for indoor, greenhouse planting, personal and commercial growth. This grow light is designed for the full plant life cycle. The light intensity can be adjusted by the knob. The sun-like light is best for indoor hydroponics and soil cultivation, such as potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, etc. The SMD LEDs used in this LED grow light are professionally customized and produced with the latest technology. Higher light intensity, lower speed of light decay, and higher PAR values than ordinary lamp beads. It provides 2.7μmol/J high efficacy output plant light. Maximize yield and optimal quality. Saving up to 50% energy and 30% cooler than other grow lamps. The latest aluminium radiator has a special surface treatment that doubles the heat dissipation area. IP65 Waterproof. High power, low heat, and low failure rate grow lamp. No fan, no noise.

Lumatek Zeus 1000W Xtreme PPFD LED Grow Light

Features:
Lumatek LED grow light is designed for 1.5 x 1.5m coverage with Supplemental CO2 for optimal efficiency and results. The higher specification Lumatek Zeus 1000W Xtreme PPFD CO2 LED is a linear multi-light bar fixture producing extremely high levels of PPF of 2925 µmol/s and a Photon Efficacy (fixture efficiency) of 2.9 µmol/J. Lumatek full spectrum horticultural LED solutions balance light quality (spectra) with light quantity (intensity and duration) ensuring an even light distribution and uniform spread. The use of CO2 with this fixture is not mandatory, but to run it without it, then we recommend a longer canopy distance to the light, ensuring the optimal PPFD levels accordingly to the grow stage. Supplementation use of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in your controlled environment can significantly improve the yield of your crop if used correctly. The new line of Zeus is built using high-quality Lumatek drivers and the latest generation top bin LEDs from Lumileds and Osram, generating a full-spectrum light source ideal for veg and flowering cycles.

Buying An LED Grow Light: What To Consider

There is no need to make buying a grow light a complicated process. By considering a few factors you can get the perfect light for your needs.

Let me show you how:
Think about the space you have available and where and how the light will fit.

Also, think about how much you intend to grow and the wattage of the grow light you need to purchase (you can use the grow space chart listed above to work out roughly how many watts you need).

Then you need to consider the light spectrum.

Think about it this way:
If you want to grow your plant right through from seedling to flower you will need a full spectrum light.

But if your plant has already germinated you might just need the blue or red spectrum - to help with growing and flowering respectively.

You might also want to check the PAR output.

This is where things can get a little confusing.

PAR is one of the biggest factors in the yield you might get from your grow light. It stands for Photosynthetic Active Radiation.

In simple terms:
It is the amount of light produced that is usable to plants, ie light wavelengths that can be used for photosynthesis (ie within the range of 400–700nm). Try and look for a light with high PAR readings.

And remember:
You are likely going to have your grow light on for a long period of time so you might want to consider how much energy it uses.

LED lights use less energy than traditional lights but it is always worth checking the energy consumption of the light you intend to buy.

Soon you will have your plants growing like never before!

Conclusion

With LED strip lights, you can choose to use strips that provide a specific light for your plants or a full spectrum. Even though they provide a highly effective light, they work best as supplementary lights boosting the grow light you already have in use.

You can install them anywhere and in any position that best suits your plants. Since they do not emit a lot of heat, you can position them next to your plants. They are better than fluorescent lamps since they can last longer, emit less heat, use less space, and consume less power saving you on cost.