How do I choose an indoor grow light?
With so many types of grow lights and systems available, it can be overwhelming to figure out which one will best suit your needs. Don't worry, this article may help you.
Indoor gardening can be rewarding and cost-efficient if you choose the right light for your location and understand the needs of your plants.
Asking yourself these questions can help you make the best choice.
- What types of plants will you be growing?
- Will you grow year-round or just start seeds in spring?How tall will the plants get?
- Where will you put the light — in your living space, or hidden away in the basement?
- Should the light be mobile (e.g. on casters)?
There are many types of grow light, such as HID、Fluorescent、LEDS, etc. I want to recommend you with LEDS.
Why choose LEDS?
Choose to grow with a high-quality LED grow light because your plants will thrive, your electricity bill will not climb, and LEDs are better for our environment than other types of grow lights.
There are some good choice for you to choose.
The VP Series VP1000 and VP2000 models are a nice upgrade from previous Viparspectra grow light models.
The previous Viparspectra grow lights were a bit weak for growing cannabis unless you bought the more expensive models. The Viparspectra Pro Series feature stronger light than the previous models, which makes these a much more attractive option for cannabis growers looking for a familiar brand to grow with.
The Horticulture Lighting Group 260 watt DIY kit is an opportunity to get an American-made LED grow light with extremely high quality components for the price of a much cheaper Chinese brand. The only catch is that you have to assemble it yourself.
These two types are more suitable for home grow, so if you are a commercial growers, you need a commercial led grow lights. You can choose it from Eco farm.
If you want to grow high quality cannabis, you also need a supplemental UV light for indoor plant.
Cannabis responds to the stress and sunburn from UV wavelengths by creating its own sunscreen in the form of trichomes. The more trichome production the higher the THC and CBD levels. So in marijuana growth, trichomes filled with THC is the best natural sunblock for UV radiation. The marijuana plant produces more THC to compensate for high UV light exposure. For this reason, feeding your marijuana plants low levels of supplemental UV light will actually help them and generally result in better crops, as is the case with cannabis.
when you are clear with above problems, you should take more attention to spectrum、intensity and footprint while choosing a light online.
Spectrum
Visible light exists on a spectrum, and specific parts of that spectrum are used by plants. “Blue” light is used by plants primarily during their vegetative phase, and “orange and red” light are used during the fruiting or flowering phase. This is why it’s important to choose the correct grow light and light bulbs – they may not be putting out the right color of light for your plants.
Intensity
A grow light’s intensity refers to how much photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) the light puts out. Remember, this light has to be in the spectrum that plants care about (hence the P in PAR), but once that condition is satisfied, there still must be enough of that light to actually power the plant’s cells.
Intensity is where many grow lights differ due to the technology used to build them.
Footprint
Unlike the sun, whose footprint is most of the Earth during daytime, grow lights have a significantly smaller footprint. Footprint refers to the area that is blanketed in light coming out of you grow light. The further away your light is from your plants, the greater the footprint — but the lower the intensity. The interplay of footprint and intensity is a critical balancing point in a grow light.
Choosing to grow indoor plants with artificial lighting 'grow lights' is crucial for certain types of plants and necessary to achieve desired indoor gardening results.
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