EYE Hortilux CMH 315W Light System vs ECO Farm CMH 315W Reviews

If you are into growing indoors or are seasoned growers, you must have known CMH grow lights - one of the modern light technologies that stir the interest of a number of hydroponic growers recently. Choosing a Best CMH Grow Light can help you more.

First, let’s clear up a point of confusion. I’m sure you’ve seen (even just in this article), several different terms and abbreviations.

Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH), Light Emitting Ceramic (LEC) and Ceramic Discharge Metal Halide (CDM) all refer to the same thing. CMH is the most common term.

Another point of confusion concerns their relationship to metal halide lights.

CMH grow lights are a variation of MH, but they are quite different. Instead of using a quartz tube, they use a ceramic one, similar to an HPS bulb.

This allows a higher arc tube temperature, which in turn allows a better mix of gases to produce a more optimal spectrum (more on this below in the sections comparing CMH to MH and HPS).

The light produced by a CMH bulb is much closer to natural sunlight than either metal halide or high pressure sodium (with a CRI of 96). It is, for practical purposes, a perfect combination of MH and HPS in a single bulb.

The CMH light spectrum combines the red-heavy HPS spectrum with the blue-heavy MH spectrum in one bulb, making it the perfect light for all stages of growth.

With a high CRI, it is extremely close to natural sunlight, which is great for your plants and for your eyes (plants look more natural, making it easier to spot any discolorations or other issues).

Ceramic metal halide gives you a much higher PAR (the amount of light that is usable by plants) per watt than any other type of lighting, apart from the most expensive LED fixtures.

The CMH light spectrum also contains UV light of all type. Since UV-C light is harmful, the lamps use a glass filter to block that range.

This leaves only UV-A and UV-B light, which many feel is beneficial to yield quality. There is no need for supplemental UV lights when using CMH grow lights for indoor growing.

CMH grow lights run much cooler than their MH and HPS counterparts. This reduces (or eliminates) the need for additional cooling equipment. They run hotter than light emitting diode lights, though.

CMH bulbs last much longer than other HID or fluorescent lights. The standard rule of thumb for HPS or MH bulbs is to replace them after 10,000 hours of use. Good ceramic MH bulbs last over 20,000 hours.

Moreover, they still retain 80% or more of their initial light output after 20,000 hours. HPS and MH lamps deteriorate much more quickly.

EYE Hortilux CMH 315W Grow Light System

You get an all-in-one hood reflector, which means it contains the ballast needed to power the lamp.

The bulb socket is at the top of the hood, so the bulb hangs vertically. This makes for a more even light spread than a horizontal bulb.

The inside of the hood is 98% reflective German aluminum with 95% reflective textured corners.

This ensures optimal output and uniformity, meaning you are losing as little light as possible from the reflection and there are no hot spots that can burn your plants. It gives you a coverage area of 4 by 4 feet.

Along with the quality hood, the kit also includes a Philips Master 315W CMH bulb.

The kit linked to here includes the 3100K bulb, but there is also a kit available with the 4200K bulb instead. The 4200K bulb is better for vegging, so some growers use it if they are getting a light for the whole grow cycle.

ECO Farm CMH 315W Grow Light Fixture

Simply put, they emit far less heat than comparable HPS and MH grow lamps, greatly reducing the need to cool your grow space.

The grow bulb we’ve linked to in this review has a 3100K color spectrum, which is our preferred bulb to use for all stages of growth. It is a flowering monster and does well in vegging too.

There is a 4200K version available as well, the Elite MW 4200K Master Color CDM Lamp, for indoor growers who plan on only using it for vegging or for those who prefer a full-cycle bulb with more blue spectrum light (to me, flowering performance is the most important).

Light Spectrum refers to the range of colors present in the light being emitted.  Most LED grow lights are comprised of several different colored LED diodes providing a broad spectrum of colors.  As you may have guessed, some have broader spectrums than others.  So the question is, what spectrum is best?

Science has shown that plants, in general, require more blue light during the vegetative phase and more red light during the flowering phase.  That’s why you see many LEDs on the market emitting a purplish light, combining red and blue LEDs.  However, it’s believed that a broader range of colors, including, the invisible to the naked-eye, UV light (in small quantities) have beneficial effects on plant growth, although most LED lights don’t offer UV light, primarily because UV emitting LEDs are expensive relative to other colors.

Well, since LED grow lights do possess the two primary spectrums that a plant is required, obviously it can be utilized for the vegging stage of your plant.

Therefore it also can be used for various vegetables to grow indoors.

In fact, some studies say that LED grow lights’ blue spectrum, which is responsible for effective vegging growth of the plant, is most efficient compared to the other type of Grow lights such as HID, HPS, MH, and so on.

If a particular plant gets some good amount of quality light without excess heat being generated at the same time by the grow light, the plant would then grow more effectively because no unwanted elements such as unnecessary heat would be involved.

In addition, because the blue light spectrum of LED grow lights is of better quality than the other kind of grow lights, it will give more emphasis on developing the leaves of certain plants.

Due to that, if a plant has some blooming, vigorous, and vibrant leaves, the process of photosynthesis which is primarily involved in the development and growth of the plant, then, of course, it would produce a great number of quality yields.

Now,

Some of you might be asking about the heat that is generated by LED grow lights, whether it is more beneficial than the other type of grow lights.

And the answer is yes!

In fact, LED grow lights are more known because they don’t generate that much heat since their bulbs don’t really focus on the great amount of illumination that is being produced instead it is the quality of the light that is more being more emphasized.

Meaning, LED grow lights don’t produce much light and thereby, less heat. And of course smaller expenses due to electricity bills!

When it comes to what brand of light you’ll ultimately decide to invest in, no one can make that decision for you. ECO Farm CMH Grow Lights is best recommended.

The best thing you can do would be to research as much as possible.

Make sure you understand the environment you intend to grow in and what that environment will require.

Sizes, watts, the number of lamps – these things all depend on how many square feet you’re trying to cover.

What other gear you’ll need will also depend on what your light is already capable of providing for you.

Thorough research and comparison are the best tools you have. In the long term, it is definitely smart to look for a solution that is among the best led grow light for the money

Always use them to the fullest to make sure you’re buying the right light the first time, and you understand how to use it.

It’s not worth it to blow up to thousands of dollars on a gamble, so do your reading on any of the best led grow lights you choose to use.