Indoor gardening is not that simple. Though LED light for indoor plants will allow you to grow different kinds of plants in any climate all year long. This growing light is specially made as an alternative to natural sunlight to offer the right color spectrum and stimulate the photosynthesis process so that your plants can flourish.
However, not every LED light is created equal. Some have more characteristics and strength than others. This is why it’s necessary to narrow down to the following details to ensure you choose a good one.
1. Choose the Kind of Light You Want
A few kinds of grow lights emit different types of light for various stages of the growing process. The cool or bright light can be perfect for your plants because it may encourage bushy growth, while the red one is good for the looming stage, as it produces a hormone, which stimulates the growth of flowers.
Orange light developed by a few grow lights normally emits heat. However, some may as well establish a spectrum of light without generating any heat.
2. Determine the Size of Grow Space
The size of the grow space will determine the number of LED units you buy. As with the rule of thumb, a good LED grow light has 32 watts per square foot for flowering medical or large plants. For instance, if your growing space is around 16 square feet, you will need to buy a 500 or 550 watt grow light.
Though low light plants, including lettuces and herbs, will need 12 or 18 watts per square foot. This may depend on the preferred light level and crop.
3. Check the Cooling System
Plants may not be able to thrive in a place with extreme heat. This destroys the environmental balance for them. Therefore, when choosing a grow light, ensure your device has the right heat sink.
The best option is to always go for LEDs, which have a metal core printed circuit board (MCPCB). Such LEDs are developed pieces of technology, which devices that run at high temperatures use. They basically have fans that help to cool off the environment.
4. Go for Quality
Durability is among the things you must look at when choosing good LED lighting. Lamps made of quality materials may last for ten years or so. This is a very long time, so you may not worry about making changes to the whole setup.
To get a quality setup, you may go for the US-made lights, which abide by the industry standards and use the best production methods and components.
5. Consider Programmability Feature
LED lighting has different features, which might or not be helpful to users. The best type of grow light offers a programmability feature. It is effective since you may adjust them depending on your needs.
You may also set schedules of where your light needs to go off and on. This means you won’t have to do it manually.
Pay Attention to the Product Warranty and Return Policy
A reputable LED light manufacturer, like CaliforniaLightworks, offers a warranty and the team provides clients with guidance. Basically, grow lighting is durable equipment, and any problem you may encounter will act up after a few years.
That means a warranty covering your grow light for less than five years is not used mostly. Some models even have a special warranty covering separate pieces and parts, along with a free return policy option.
6. Evaluate Reflection
No matter what kind of bulb you choose, it may be vital to incorporate reflective devices when it comes to your design. This is because normal grow lights fan out the light they make, leading to a lower lumen reading at the bottom when compared to that at the top.
A good LED lighting will reflect the escaping light back to your crops and maximize the intensity of light they get.
7. Look at the Spectrum
When choosing your LED lighting, you may need to ensure that the light has the correct spectrum. The kind of light, which your plants get from the sun is usually full of color, though most lights that some individuals use indoors lack the correct spectrum. However, the range of colors will be based on your goals. For instance, a color range of 5k to 7k may promote vegetative growth, while 3.5k to 4.5k will support flowering and fruiting.
Regardless of your goals, growing light, which has a full spectrum, costs a lot of money. Therefore, if you cannot afford one, you may combine a warm spectrum light with cool spectrum one so as to offer your plants maximum benefits.
8. Prioritize the Yield
Whenever farmers sow seeds, they anticipate getting encouraging yields. For you to achieve this as a farmer, you will require preparation and the right light.
When getting a LED light, make sure you will guarantee a high yield. You may learn about the yield that different ones can produce by reading reviews.
9. Compare Brands
The industry is full of numerous brands, with every brand offering LED lights with a slight difference. This makes choosing a good LED light a challenging process. In case you’re stuck between choosing different lights, which have the same costs and appearance, allow brand names to be a tiebreaker.
Companies with a personality preceding themselves and long history of quality are the best. The latter are inclined to offer you quality LED light.
Concluding Remarks!
LED grow lights are made so that they can produce particular colors of lights under a strong intensity to support indoor plants’ growth. Cannabis growers have benefited from this invention. Usually, they have a significant number turned to use the lights to cultivate crops indoors. This is because they help in the production of top-shelf marijuana.
However, it doesn’t stop at that. Most gardeners also consider extending growing seasons by planting leafy vegetables, flowers, and herbs indoors with grow lights’ help. Before, gardeners used fluorescent bulbs to offer light for their plants. However, today people use LED lighting, as a recent innovation, to effectively provide light to indoor plants.
