LED grow lights are a fantastic option for top-up lighting of your plants. Unlike HPS lights, which often require extensive maintenance and repair, LEDs are both energy efficient and offer better spectral coverage. LEDs are also cheap to purchase, make them easy to repair, and provide a high quality, consistent light that plants love. So what makes an LED grow light better than HPS? Let’s find out! In this guide, we’ll go over the benefits and drawbacks of each, and help you find the best option for your needs.
Wattage
Before you choose LED grow lights, determine how many plants you want to grow. Different stages of the plant’s life require different wattage levels. Seedlings, for instance, need different levels of light than flowering plants or fruiting plants. Additionally, the size of your grow space will determine the amount of light you need. A two by two foot grow space will require 120 to 140 watts of light, while a three by three foot grow space will require around 280 to 340 watts. A four-by-four-foot grow space will require a grow light with a 420 to 480 watt rating.
Spectrum
LED grow lights can be purchased with a broad or narrow spectrum. The full spectrum emits a variety of different colors that are useful for plants. The most effective light sources produce a balanced spectrum. The full spectrum emits light in the blue and red parts of the visible light spectrum, and they provide the best light quality for growing. LEDs with a wide spectrum are best for sole-source indoor grows. In the case of a narrow-spectrum grow light, outdoor sunlight should be filtered before planting.
Dimming
There are many advantages of dimming LED grow lights, but perhaps the biggest is that you won’t have to worry about messy electrical wiring. Dimming LED lights are highly adaptable to different types of lighting conditions. They feature IP66 to IP68 protection levels and are lightning-surge-resistant. LED grow lights have a shell structure to minimize the impact of weather conditions and protect their performance. This feature can reduce the cost of replacement and warranty claims.
Power supply
When purchasing a power supply for your LED grow light, there are several factors to consider. First, you must decide what size and shape the power supply needs to be. It should be small enough to fit inside your product or to be placed outside of the product. You should also decide what kind of power supply you want – some power supplies are more efficient than others. A power supply with an efficiency rating of 80 percent or above will be sufficient for most LED applications.
Diodes
LED grow lights should be equipped with high-efficiency diodes to ensure that they provide adequate lighting for your plants. The size of diodes is crucial, as larger ones will generate more heat, which will cause them to be bulkier and less densely spaced. You can check the luminous efficiency of LED grow lights by reading the manufacturer’s manual, or you can read online reviews for different models. Here are some of the differences between LED grow light diodes and fluorescent bulbs.
External drivers
There are two main types of external drivers for LED grow lights. One of these is constant voltage, which is more common for industrial applications. Constant voltage LEDs are more efficient and have higher lumen output than single die SMD LEDs. The second type is dimmable, which lets you adjust the brightness of the lights via a switch. External drivers are generally much more expensive than constant voltage LEDs, but they have other advantages, including their versatility.
Cost
The main difference between standard and LED grow lights is the level of luminous efficiency. In simple terms, the higher the luminous efficiency, the more energy it converts to light. LEDs with high luminous efficiency are better able to transform the energy from the sun into light, using less electricity and power. Also, different lighting angles create different bright areas. LEDs with a large light angle produce smaller amounts of central light, but wider areas.
