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5 Best Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights For Indoor Growing [ 2020 Reviews ]

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hydroponics led grow lights ECO Farm

Indoor gardeners didn’t use to have as much choice in artificial lighting as they do today. In fact, it used to be sunlight or nothing. After incandescent came fluorescent. Others followed, but the one that’s really making waves is the LED. You can find full spectrum LED grow lights at affordable prices, and they have much longer lifespans than their predecessors. Unlike other artificial lighting, LEDs don’t run hot at all – and even the big, powerful ones typically include heat sinks (like your computer or laptop) that help absorb any extra heat. On top of all those pluses, LED grow lights are also energy efficient, and kind of cool looking.

WHAT DOES “FULL SPECTRUM” MEAN?

When you’re a serious indoor or hydroponic gardener, you likely have done all the research from the best setup, soil, nutrients, and lighting to help your plants grow big, strong, and healthy. Many growers prefer to use a variety of lights to help their plants through each cycle – from vegetative to flowering. To prevent you from having to go out and buy a ton of equipment and different types of lights, you should look into full spectrum LED grow lights.

Full spectrum is exactly what it sounds like. Plants require different colors of light to help the photosynthesis process. Aside from the obvious reds and blues needed (green is simply absorbed by the plant, which is why plants often appear green), they also need some ultraviolet and infrared lighting. A full spectrum lighting system gives your plants all the light wavelengths they need.

You’ll notice that LED full spectrum grow lights have a purplish or pinkish glow to them. That’s because you’re getting all those blues and reds together, along with a little white light, ultraviolet, and infrared. Put all those together and you get a bright purple hue.

ARE LED GROW LIGHTS REALLY EFFECTIVE FOR INDOOR GARDENS?

It used to be that LEDs were only used for remote control devices. Initially, they were used to transmit infrared only, which is what makes a remote control work. They were almost always red. Then they made the leap to digital clocks, which were also almost always red – and huge in your dark bedroom. As technology improved, so did LEDs and their use. Now you’ll find LEDs are used for household lighting, in monitors, televisions, headlights, camera flashes, and more.

One of the most recent uses for LEDs is artificial lighting for indoor gardens. It’s become especially useful with the legalization of cannabis in several states in the United States of America. Now growers, amateurs and professionals alike, can set up an inexpensive full spectrum LED grow light over their little green plants and wait for harvest time. There’s no need to switch out lights, add fluorescent or incandescent lighting, and electricity bills stay reasonable.
In fact, many growers have seen impressive results from full spectrum LED lights. And because there’s no need to swap out lights, and the cost to run a system is so low, it has increased profits and yields for many users. All you really need to do is reduce the amount of time your plants are exposed to light to mimic the change of seasons. So, give your plants a big drink of artificial LED sunlight for 18 hours per day during the vegetative stage, and then reduce it to 12 hours during the flowering stage. Then get ready to harvest!

 

TOP 5 FULL SPECTRUM LED GROW LIGHT REVIEWS

GROWER'S CHOICE TSL PFS SERIES LED GROW LIGHT - 4 UNIT COMBO

Grower's Choice TSL PFS Series Horticultural LED grow light is perfect for plant seedling, flowering, growth and bearing fruit. Its ultra-lite and lightweight design makes it a great replacement for bulky T5 fluorescent lamps. This light is an ultra-low profile (1.5") thin light. It includes an extraordinary power for the growth of the plants and is assembled with high-quality LEDs. The total output energy comes with a system efficiency of 2.5 μMol/J. You can save up to 60 percent more energy by using this LED ROI- E680 grow light. The lamp requires up to 60% less HVAC, cutting down your energy costs compared to HID. IP65 Waterproof rating makes this LED grow light suitable for a wide range of grow environments, including hydroponics, commercial growing, greenhouse project, and many more.

MARS HYDRO TS LED Grow Light

Day-light spectrum lights, such as this, are a great way to get a crop going but tend to lack some of the punch of other lights when it gets to the flower stages. This is because issues with them not putting out much light outside our visual range. The good news is that this light runs very cool, is virtually silent, and still can handle some serious large plants. It still isn’t ideal though, so should be considered best in small, stealth grows or nurseries. There also seems to be a few structural issues with the support on the Mars Hydro, the ratchets are a poor-quality plastic that may lead to issues in the future. It works well out of the box, though, and the price is very reasonable.

THINKGROW MODEL-V 350 WATT LED GROW LIGHT

ThinkGrow Model-V 350 Watt LED Grow Light is a high performance LED grow light for the horticulture cultivation. It is designed for high PPFD cultivation practices. Full spectrum design covers each critical phase of growth from vegetative to flowering. An independent Far Red 730nm channel is designed to target Phytochrome Far Red in photomorphogenic lighting applications. Base on research, introducing far-red light after the lights have been turned off can lengthen the dark period to encourage the flowering process.

CALIFORNIA LIGHTWORKS GH PRO 340 LED GROW LIGHT

California Lightworks GH Pro 340 LED Grow Light is specifically designed for supplemental lighting in greenhouses. It features a very small shadow effect yet covers a large area. The GH 340 is chainable and as many as 10 lights can be run from a single power drop to save on installation costs. It also features wireless two-channel spectrum control and integrates with a wireless photo sensor for automated dimming depending on the amount of sunlight available. The GH 340 uses passive cooling with no fans and has an IP rating of 65. Draws 340 watts max with up to 3.0 μmol / joule efficiency.

VIPARSPECTRA V900 LED Grow Light

VIPARSPECTRA’s 900w LED is a cool and quiet grow light ideal for small enclosed environments, though lacks a bit of power compared to others in the price range. That’s not to say this won’t grow a couple of medium-sized plants into flowering stages, because it will, but for the price, we have seen brighter. Don’t discount the quality of life that a very cool and quiet running system can offer though, if you are already facing ventilation issues then this may be a great choice as it doesn’t add much heat to the system.

Conclusion

There is no better way of boosting your indoor cannabis growing than using a good quality full spectrum LED grow light.

Unlike traditional fixtures, full-spectrum lights ensure your plants receive all the useful wavelengths from UV to far-red.
Modern designs come with two modes of operation: vegetative and bloom. A true innovation in indoor lighting for optimum growth and higher yields.
The best of these lights have both the full spectrum and higher nanometer ranges of color for all growth stages.
The result is a light source that can enhance the photosynthetic properties of chlorophyll greater than even natural light.

If you are growing cannabis for the first time, full spectrum fixtures are what your cannabis plants need!

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