Using Led Grow Lights For Indoor Plants

Novice hydroponics gardeners might find that LED lights are one of the easiest and most economical choices of any other grow light.

If you’re just getting started, one of the first decisions you’ll make is about the kind of lighting that you’ll invest in. Your range of options includes the LED grow light, HID, Metal Halide, fluorescent, sodium lights and others. At first all of these choices can be a bit overwhelming.

Many long-time gardeners have been using HIDs, which are high-intesity lights, for years and they plan on sticking with them over the long haul. If you already have a system in place, and it works well for you, there may be no reason to tear out the equipment you’ve already invested in and replacing it with a different kind.

For those just launching their garden, the LED just might make the most sense, however. If you purchase LEDs designed as grow lights, not merely designed for illumination, you can put in place a powerful system that will work well with immature plants. Ideal lighting for this phase of growth have a large glue spectrum, like natural sunlight.

You’ll find that LEDs can be found in lots of different color spectrums, and if you’re a savvy grower you can match the spectrum to the needs of the plants you’re growing. Select the proper spectrum that will best support the kinds of plants you’re raising and the growing phase the plants are in, as well as other factors that will lead to healthy plants.

Lights other than LED may be available only in certain specific color spectrums, and if you’re not an experienced grower, your might not know which spectrum is the one that will suit your garden best.

An additional advantage to LED lighting is that unlike other kinds of lights, LEDs virtually throw no heat at all, as opposed to high intensity and other kinds of lighting, which throws a tremendous amount of heat. Heat from grow lights dries out plants and soil, and requires that you use heat elimination equipment such as fans and ventilation ducts. You’ll also need equipment to control the humidity in your grow space to prevent plants and soil from drying out and stunting plant growth.

With LEDs, you won’t have to worry about heat elimination equipment or humidity producing gear, because the lights don’t produce enough excess heat to create problems associated with other kinds of lighting.

If you’re used to high intensity lighting and you switch to LEDs, however, be aware that you’ll have to change some of your standard procedures, otherwise you’re likely to over-water your plants.

If you do choose LED lights, the energy savings you’ll enjoy over he course of years will end up saving you a great deal of money that you would otherwise have spent using high-intensity lighting. That makes LEDs quite a good deal.

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