To discuss the differences between eco farm grow light and LED grow lights, we first have to explain both light sources in depth. Then we can compare them.
LED Lights
Short for light-emitting diode, an highest yielding led grow light has its own microchip inside. Electrical currents travel to that microchip, providing light to the LED. These bulbs also have a heat sink, where heat goes when the LED gets warm. That’s part of what keeps LED lights generally cool to the touch.
LEDs outperform incandescent lights in many ways, especially when it comes to energy efficiency. Your best commercial led grow lights can save energy at a rate of 90 percent more than incandescent bulbs according to Energy Star. The way LED lighting works is, when you turn your light source on, it’s directional. That means the LED light aims in a certain direction to provide illumination. Compare that to a compact fluorescent lamp or CFL as well as incandescent bulbs, where the light goes in every direction. That cuts down on energy efficiency since some light gets needlessly wasted.
Not only do LEDs make a smarter choice for the environment then, but for our wallets as well. Most led grow lights samsung will last about 50,000 hours. Bulbs.com mentions that, if you were to keep an LED light source on for 12 hours each day and it had a lifespan of 50,000 hours, you’d get over a decade of use out of it. That’s pretty good!
Bulbs.com also says that LEDs last longer than CFLs (eight to 10x more), halogen bulbs (20 to 25x more), and incandescent lights (50x more).
We won’t say that LED lights are the most inexpensive lighting option the market, because that’s not true. However, since you don’t need to replace them nearly as often as other light sources, you quickly recoup that money back.
Next, we’ve got grow lights. These don’t solely have to be LED lights. You may also choose to grow your plants with high-intensity discharge lights or HIDs, fluorescents, and incandescent grow lights.
No matter which you choose, grow lights generate the right amount of light so a plant can photosynthesize. As we covered on this blog, this means of conversion gives the plant energy.
Most grow lights are electric, and all are artificial. Plant owners will use grow lights if a plant needs an extra light source besides the sun or if the plant cannot get access to the sun for any reason. For instance, maybe you grow a plant at work and you’re in a cubicle
Grow lights, although artificial, try to mimic the sun as naturally as possible. In doing this, you typically have a varied light spectrum available for your grow lights. Besides the color spectrum, it’s also possible to have control over the color temperature and the luminous efficacy with grow lights.
What is all that? Good question. Color temperature is a means of defining different light colors and feels. It’s always represented in Kelvin or K. The lowest light temperature is 1,000K and the highest 10,000K. A warm white color has between 2,000K and 3,000K, a cool white is 3,100K to 4,500K, and a blueish daylight tint is 4,600K to 6,500K.
As for luminous efficacy, this refers to the quality of visible light you get from a particular light source. Often, you’ll see luminous efficacy expressed in lumens per watt. Our eyes have a spectral sensitivity that does not necessarily let us see every light wavelength, hence why it’s important to measure luminous efficacy.