Finding a suitable grow light is crucial for indoor growers who expect large yields. In recent years, LED grow lights have achieved a high reputation with their full-spectrum coverage, cost-effectiveness, and low heat emission. These features make LED lights stand out from HIDs, HPSs, MHs, and so on. But how to pick up the best or right one from those hundreds of LED grow lights in the market?

Regardless of the price, researching before purchasing is of great importance. To choose the right one, you have to make a meaningful comparison among these hot sale ones.

What's most important when considering a grow light?

Many different points have to be considered, and the first question is where you want to use your grow-light system. For usage in big professional facilities or greenhouses, the protection of LEDs [light-emitting diodes] is important. So you need at least an IP54 protection class. Especially if the grower is working with sulfur, protection is very important, as sulfur can destroy your LEDs.

For sure, the PPF and PPFD values are most important in general. A grower should have at least the same PPF and PPFD readings as with their old HPS system. A few percentage less PPFD can be compensated by the better spectrum, however, over 15 percent less PPF/PPFD will lead to smaller crops. For example, a 600-watt HPS SE [single-ended] fixture has around 840μmol/s PPF, so your LED system should have the same or more PPF to be a good replacement.

The light spectrum is important also, and narrow-banded spectrums with just red and blue LEDs will lead to saturation effects on chlorophyll when used at high intensities greater than 500μmol/m2/s. Such PPFD values are typical for growing plants indoors. Last but not least, a grower has to check for passive-cooled fixtures and the lifetime of the whole fixture's good secondary optics. As the LED technology is rapidly moving forward, a grower would benefit from an upgradeable fixture, saving the grower money in the long run.

ECO Farm SP-400 Samsung Foldable Dimmable Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

Features:
ECO Farm LED grow light is equipped with 1088 high-efficiency Samsung LM281B LEDs. It has a market lighting efficiency of 2.8μmol/J and an output of 2.5g per watt. The average PPFD is increased by 30%, and the actual power is 420 watts. Proven high-yield full-spectrum (lm281b LEDs (3000k+5000k) + RED 660nm + IR 730nm + UV 395nm), with enhanced deep red 660nm. Born for big buds, the plant responds quickly from seed to flowering, which speeds up the flowering time and increases the yield. The relaxed dimming design meets the needs of different growth stages of indoor plants. No fan, no noise. The aluminum light bar can better dissipate heat and keep cool, and at the same time spread the light evenly. Save you a lot of ventilation and exhaust costs. The most powerful daisy chain-up to 100 lights can be connected, the controller can be used, especially suitable for homes, planting tents, planting rooms, greenhouses, gardens, and hydroponics.

Kind LED X420 Grow Light For Indoor Plants

Features:
This Kind LED grow light combines great innovation with a new shape optimized for home growers. The full-spectrum diodes used by the White LED Company were originally designed for home and office use. Kind's Targeted Full Spectrum is specifically designed for plants to maximize harvest weight and plant quality. You can have both ultraviolet and infrared rays, which are essential to increase flower development and increase the production of secondary metabolites, thereby increasing potency and terpenes. The external drive mount of the New X series can also reduce the light height by 60% (more growth space) and reduce the heat output by 25%.

Which spectrums of light do plants really use during their life cycle?

That's not an easy question to answer, as the research for that is at an early stage. In general, my answer is the best spectrum for plants is emitted by the sun. It's possible to design a sun-like spectrum with LEDs, but lifetime and efficacy are not good with today's technology.

Whether or not a spectrum performs well or poorly should be the primary concern along with the intensity at the plant [PPFD]. For low intensities with 50μmol/m2/s to 200μmol/m2/s, narrowband spectrums with just red and blue work fine. Such intensities are used, for example, in greenhouses as a supplement to the natural daylight. If you want to grow short-day plants in an indoor facility, a grower needs high intensities, e.g., 500μmol/m2/s. For that application, a more broadband spectrum works better by preventing saturation effects. We are trailing different spectrums at different intensities continuously, and up to today, our actual spectrum performs best for indoor cultivation at high PPFD readings.

How to Select the Best LED Grow Lights？

LED grow lights have proved to be the best option for indoor plant growing. Since they are the go-to option for many gardeners, several options have been availed in the market. Care should be taken when you are purchasing LED grow lights.
When setting up an indoor garden, you need to ensure that your plants will be healthy and productive. One way you can ensure that this happens is by purchasing the right LED grow lights. This can be a daunting task especially if you have never bought LED grow lights in the past.

It is important to be careful when purchasing grow lights. Buying LED grow lights will be a high initial investment. Although the initial cost may be high, they will offer you efficiency and longevity which in the long run offsets the high cost. Cheap and expensive LED grow bulbs are not the same. Cheap LED grow bulbs are less efficient. Cheap grow bulbs will produce more heat output than high-quality bulbs. The heat produced by cheaper LED bulbs risks heat damage for your crops.

You will also note that the true wattage of cheap LED grow bulbs will differ from the advertised wattage. LEDs don't run at full wattage as this helps prevent diodes from burning out. However, some manufacturers advertise the theoretical wattage that the LEDs are designed to operate on but not the actual wattage that they use. It is important to research and find out the true wattage before purchasing LED lights.

When purchasing LED grow lights, it is important to ensure that the bulb contains all the necessary colors. Red and blue light is the most important for plants. Red light is needed for photosynthesis and plant development. Red light signals that there are no plants above it and this ensures uninhibited growth. Blue light, on the other hand, is essential in the vegetative state of the plant. It is essential in leaf growth and stimulates the production of secondary pigments in leaves. Sunlight which contains all colors appears to be color-free. For artificial light sources, the white light will contain the entire color spectrum. White light is beneficial in grow lights as it will provide plants with all the information they need for growth and development. With the full spectrum, you won't have to worry about switching your lights at different stages of plant development. Full-spectrum white LED grow lights are almost similar to sunlight.

Conclusion

LED grow lights are the latest illumination devices that can effectively provide light to indoor plants. A range of benefits associated with this lighting system makes it an integral part of indoor spaces.

There are different types of greenhouse LED grow lights. Before you illuminate your indoor garden consideration of these types along with knowledge of their related pros and cons can help you make the right choice of the LED lights.