Best Commercial LED Grow Lights Reviews & Buyer's Guide 2021

The best LED grow light you choose can have a significant impact on the speed of your growth and the energy you use getting there. There are hundreds of grow lights on the market with a considerable variety of wattages, yields and light spectrum.



What Specifications To Look For In The Best Cheap LED Grow Lights:



1. Light intensity:


The best cheap LED grow lights will provide a light intensity that’s enough to grow your plant from seedling to harvest. That means 20 to 40 moles of light per day.


In order to hit the 40 mole level for maximum yield, you want a grow light that emits between 600 uMols (for 18 hour veg) and 925 uMols (for 12 hour flowering) PPFD of light.


As long as you have sufficient light intensity, you don’t need to worry about wattage which is not an accurate indicator of performance when it comes to grow lights. You can read more on this topic here.


2. Good Spectrum:


The best cheap LED grow lights will have a balanced spectrum. Some of the worse performing lights have too much blue or too much red, which leaves you hanging for the Veg or Flowering stage of growth.


Spectrum isn’t a settled science yet, so some grow lights will vary slightly. But generally speaking your LED grow light should use a white spectrum or a balance of blue and red (purple looking). You can find that out by viewing the spectrum chart of each light.


3. Coverage Area:


The best cheap LED grow lights will cover the area you need covered for a good price. Take coverage area claims on lower priced lights with a grain of salt.


Most lights in the “best cheap” category won’t cover beyond 2x2 feet sufficiently.  If you need a larger space covered, consider multiple units, or check out my article the Best LED grow lights for 4x4 grow tents to find lights that cover a larger space.



 ECO Farm Samsung LM281B 220W Quantum Board



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Pros




  • Can be daisy-chained together if you buy multiple Galaxyhydro systems

  • High-quality 3w Epiled chips

  • UV and IR function to stimulate plant growth and inhibit bacterial and fungal growth

  • Balanced red and white wavelengths provide an ideal growing environment



Cons




  • You must purchase all accessories

  • You don’t have control over the color spectrum

  • The 600-watt label doesn’t mean that this light produces 600-watts worth of lighting



 Vivosun VS1000 LED grow light



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Pros




  • Trusted, well-known brand that offers cultivators a varied selection of different products compared to their competitors

  • They’re of mid- high end build quality and offer some good specifications for their lower priced models

  • Certain models also offer UL certification, excellent par output and options to switch from full spectrum

  • Excellent customer service

  • Full spectrum lighting which provides plants with all they need, in all stages of growth, from veg to flower



Cons




  • Blown Bulbs

  • Reports of running hot


 



Why Are You Buying an LED Grow Light, Anyways?



You need to remember why you’re doing this in the first place. It’s crucial that you remember that you aren’t willing to pay the high price of electricity due to HID lighting.


LED grow light technology is new, but it’s been proven by the agricultural industry. When you consider it, the high price of electricity makes your cannabis cultivation endeavors null because you’re essentially paying more rather than if you paid the retail cost of cannabis products at a storefront dispensary.


Now’s the time to produce cannabis on your own time, all while paying less and becoming self-sufficient.



How many watts per plant do I need?



When comparing the power of various grow lights, look at the “actual power draw” or “actual power consumption” in watts. Generally speaking, grow lights should use 32 watts per square foot of grow space at the absolute minimum, though 50 to 80 watts per square foot is ideal.


The actual brightness of LED lights is measured in lumens rather than watts, so that’s another way of measuring light intensity. Vegetables typically require 2,200 lumens per square foot, while other plants generally need approximately 1,375 lumens per square foot.



Conclusion



Grow lights containing mercury should be professionally discarded in a way that requires extraordinary consideration following a few years because of the shorter time span of usability. LED grow lights can keep going quite a while and after that be discarded after very nearly ten years of utilization without worrying about hurting the earth simultaneously.


The last thing that emerges about LED grow lights is the way that they don’t need to be supplanted all the time. Numerous grow lights that individuals utilize are supplanted inside a short measure of time since they destroy decently fast.


In correlation, the majority of the best cheapest LED grow lights can keep going for more than 50,000 hours, which means they should be supplanted following 7-8 years at the most punctual.


The cost can dismiss a few people from utilizing them, yet once the length of their life is considered it is anything but difficult to perceive how much cash can really be spared after some time.