Top 4 Things to Know About LED Grow Lights

While technology advances things can quickly become confusing with new terminology and new methods of doing old. The same can be said for growing indoors with LED Grow Lights.

If you’ve dabbled in the sector, but haven’t really gotten your feet wet, you may have come across terms such as PPFD, PAR Efficiency, spectrum, coverage recommendations and much more. While some of this may be self-explanatory, others will definitely require a bit of research to make an educated decision.

Luckily, we’ve done the research for you and combined with our extensive knowledge of LED Grow Lights, we’ve compiled a list of the top 4 things you should know when buying LED Grow Lights.

Let’s get right into it.

1. Know Your Spectrum

Knowing what spectrum you need before you purchase is extremely important to maximize the quality and yield of your grow. To know exactly spectrum you’ll need usually means you’ll need to know what type of grow you’re looking to undertake. Will you be doing a small, personal grow that you’re looking to complete in the easiest way possible? Are you a commercial grower with a massive operation looking to make the best use of your space? These are important things to consider when choosing your spectrum.

There are three different spectrums you need to be aware of: Veg (or Vegetative, sometimes referred to as Growth), Flower (or Flowering) and Full Spectrum. While Veg and Flower have their own specific purposes, Full Spectrum is a more general light. Let’s take a look at each.

Veg & Flower

These two types of light spectrums have distinct differences and use cases. First are LED grow lights with a Vegetative spectrum. These lights have more blue spectrum and are made for use when your plants are in the growth or vegetative stage. Alternatively, the flowering lights have a higher emphasis on the red spectrum and are

This is extremely beneficial for those with a large commercial grow who want to separate, for example, their vegetative plants from their flowering plants and make the best use of their space as possible.

Full Spectrum White Light

LED grow lights that are advertised as having the full spectrum provide just that – the entire width of the spectrum. This allows you to take your plants from seed all the way to flowering with a single type of light with little to no changes needed throughout the process. Additionally, full-spectrum white light also includes green light that allows the light to further penetrate leaves and aid in photosynthesis – something that both red and blue light is not capable of.

Full Spectrum White Light LED grow lights are beneficial to both personal and commercial users who are looking to maximize their yields with a more hands-off approach to lighting. You will be able to hang the light when your plants are seeds and the same light will see them all the way to harvest.

2. Plan Your Coverage

While it’s imperative that you know the type of grow you’re looking to undertake to select the correct spectrum of light, knowing the same can help with determining what type of coverage you need as well. This is due to the fact that each LED grow light is rated for a certain area of which they will cover. If you choose an LED grow light with a smaller coverage area than your plants, some of your plants on the outsides of the coverage area will suffer and not product as big of a yield as they may be capable of. Alternatively, if you get a light with too high of a coverage area you will be wasting money on not only the initial cost of the light, but on ongoing electricity costs as well. That’s why planning in the early stages of your build is so important that we often suggest seeking professional advice when undertaking large commercial grows.

3. Determine Your Wattage

Knowing your coverage and spectrum is important but knowing your wattage and estimating your ongoing electricity costs is equally as important. It’s a general rule of thumb that modern, energy efficient lights are capable of producing enough light per square foot with 32 watts – but this is not only the case. You may find that the simple equation square feet X 32 = estimated total wattage but LED grow lights do differ quite a bit. In best case scenarios you should be looking for lights that are rated at the maximum coverage area while requiring the fewest number of watts. The reason being is the LEDs themselves are not the only things that will draw power as modern LED grow lights include things like drivers, fans and other cooling devices.

4. Budget Wisely

Perhaps the most important is determining your budget. Undergoing a commercial or even personal grow will require start up capital and like any other process, you WILL accrue some unforeseen expenses throughout. However, budgeting doesn’t mean being cheap – the quality of components during your grow will play a big part in determining the quality of your final yield. In short, don’t skimp on LED lights – buy the best lights your budget allows.