What makes a good LED grow light?

All green plants require light to perform photosythesis, during which special cells convert the energy contained in the light into sugars. In the process, plants give off oxygen.

Plants vary widely in how much light they need to thrive — from low-light houseplants, such as dracaenas, to fruiting edibles, such as tomatoes, that need much brighter light.

You should know that a grow light contains intensity、duration and color three items.

Intensity describes the amount of light that reaches a surface at given distance from the light source. A super-bright bulb that’s 12" from a surface might, for example, provide the same light intensity as a dimmer bulb that’s 2" from the surface.

Duration describes the number of hours of light a plant receives in a 24-hour period. We can control it by turning lights on and off or, more easily, with a programmable timer.

Color describes the visual appearence of light. Most grow lights provide full-spectrum light. Most of the light plants use is from the blue (“cool”) and red (“warm”) ends of the spectrum; they use little yellow and green light. Blue light stimulates vegetative growth (foliage and roots) while red light stimulates plants to produce flowers and fruit.

The quality of these three items must first be guaranteed.

And then a good LED grow light need to measure from 6 aspects.

Wavelength output

When shopping for LED grow lights, the wavelengths emitted are critical. An LED light sold for a shop light or lamp (for human lighting) was designed to work well for human vision, not to emphasize the blues and reds that we know plants need or necessarily include the whole PAR spectrum.

Electricity Output & Consumption

Your LED grow lights will have to operate for at least 10–11 hours each day, which in turn will lead to increased electricity bills.
Making an informed choice and reading the detailed product description can save you troubles in the future, therefore you should always check how many units is the total output. The options go up to 1,000W but you shouldn’t settle for anything less than 300W. Have in mind that the higher output helps compensate for any wattage loss.

Quality Semiconductor Chip

This is one of the most important things when choosing LED lights, as it contributes to two main factors — plant protection and durability.
The lights are in constant proximity to the plants and having low heat output guarantees that there won’t be any damage but also enables for a smaller distance between the lamp and the plant.
Also, a light with higher heat output would burn out more quickly and will need to be replaced sooner. Well balanced low heat output LED lamps let off less energy as heat and have aluminum heat sinks attached.

Understanding Watts

Watts tell us how much energy input a light requires. When most all lighting was incandescent bulbs, then Watts were a useful measure because the electricity input was directly related to the total light intensity output, which is measured in lumens.

Consider What You Are Growing

The lighting you choose must be suitable for the type of plants you’re growing. All LED lights will do the job to some extent, but certain models are made to address specific plant needs, as plants needs different kinds of wavelengths during each growth stage.

For example, if you are growing heavy crops like tomatoes, you will need a different light to maximize its growth than if you were growing flowers. Also, do you need lights only for vegetative cycles, flowering or is it a complete growing process?

Plant Growing Space

Space availability is a vital factor when purchasing lighting as it determines the amount and size of lamps you need.

The first thing you need to do is measure the exact size of your garden. Then you need to find out the lighting area size of the lamps you’re considering in order to determine the exact number you need.

The general guideline most growers use is that you need 32 watts of actual power per square foot if you’re growing high-light plants like tomatoes. Low-light plants like lettuce need somewhere between 11 and 18 watts per square foot.

There are some key components that have to go in to setting up a successful indoor grow operation, such as choosing a good grow light and ensuring your girls have enough light, but unfortunately people often don’t know how to choose a grow light and make a bad result in planting, so i want to introduce you some trusted brand, like phlizon newest 1200w led plant grow light which with Thermometer Humidity Monitor, with Adjustable Rope, Double Chips Full Spectrum Grow Lamp for Indoor Plant, also spider farmer sf-4000 led grow light is a good choice you can consider. viparspectra p1000 as a products with a high return rate, may be suit for you.

If you pay attention to our suggestions in this article your indoor grow operation should be an overwhelming success.