Everything You Need to Know About Grow Lights 2020 Updated

For thousands of years, the growth of vegetation had to happen outdoors. Your options were: plant outside, in the dirt, on your knees, while the sun roasts you to a crisp, or die of starvation. Your choice.

Since then, things have changed. Thanks to the advancement of grow lights, we now have the ability to adequately grow basically any plant indoors. In fact, it’s now quite a bit easier to grow indoors; we have complete environmental control of our gardening area. 

This advancement is not just a matter of power and energy use, modern indoor grow lights output the correct color spectrum necessary to quickly grow at an affordable price point.  

There are three different categories of grow lights that you need to know about:

• Fluorescent Grow Lights
• HID Grow Lights
• LED Grow Lights

Fluorescent

Like its name, a fluorescent bulb or tube uses fluorescent to give visible light. It works by passing electrodes positioned on both ends of the bulb. As the electric current moves, the mercury inside the bulb take up energy and produce a short-wave light that causes a phosphor coating inside of the lamp to glow. 

Fluorescent does not emit as much light as HIDs. So they are often used for seed starting, rooting cuttings, and early to mid-stage plant vegetative phase. 

Fluorescent lights come in many form factors, including long, thin bulbs as well as smaller spiral shaped bulbs (compact fluorescent lights). Fluorescent lights are available in color temperatures ranging from 2700 K to 10,000 K. The luminous efficacy ranges from 30 lm/W to 90 lm/W. 

High intensity discharge (HID) lights

Fluorescent lighting was formerly the most common type of indoor grow light but HID lights have surpassed them. High intensity discharge lamps have a high lumen-per-watt efficiency. There are several different types of HID lights including mercury vapor, metal halide, high pressure sodium and conversion bulbs. Metal halide and HPS lamps produce a color spectrum that is somewhat comparable to the sun and can be used to grow plants. Mercury vapor lamps were the first type of HIDs and were widely used for street lighting, but when it comes to indoor gardening they produce a relatively poor spectrum for plant growth so they have been mostly replaced by other types of HIDs for growing plants.

All HID grow lights require an electrical ballast to operate, and each ballast has a particular power rating. Popular HID ratings include 150W, 250W, 400W, 600W and 1000W. 600W HID lights are the most electrically efficient as far as light produced, followed by 1000W. A 600W HPS produces 7% more light (lumen-per-watt) than a 1000W HPS. 

LED (Light Emitting Diode)

LED came to the market later compared to other lighting types. It was met with skepticism by home users and as well as growers initially. However, LEDs soon prove its worth by performing efficiently and displaying some discernible unique advantages that other grow light types cannot have.

Led grow lights are in popular use nowadays either by hobby growers and commercial greenhouse farm. This is because LEDs are energy-efficient, don't give off much heat, and don't require much maintenance. Especially quantum boards LED gorw light which run much cooler than other LED panels, so the fixture doesn't even need fans. Passive cooling is all you need. Not only does that mean silent operation, it also means a longer lifespan. 

People can customize the LED diodes to emit a specific light wavelength they want. Full spectrum LED grow light provides plants in all stages from veg to flower with everything they need in the natural sunlight. 

 The output of wattage will vary dependent on the light source.

However, to give a visual picture of a rough estimate, typically you need a minimum of 30 watts per square foot. But 50 watts each square foot is optimal.

Now, calculate the lighting needed for the area you grow. 

Let's say if you light up a growing space of 8 square feet, you need at least 30 x 8 = 240 watts for the area. The optimal light power is 50 x 8 = 400 watts. 

Different types of light will produce different wattages. So, a CFL that gives off 400 watts may be equal to 200 watts HPS lights. Room set up, growing style, reflector, surrounding environment may also affect the lighting needed.

Be sure to observe plants' growth and adjust the light power respectively.

Below we have a convenient list for growers to use in checking how far apart they want their plants and lights to be positioned from one another. Make sure temperature never exceed 80 degrees.

One thing to remember in regards to light and positioning is that you want each plant to receive the maximum benefit possible from the lights. That means smaller or shorter plants should be put closer to a light source than big ones so that they receive equal amounts of light. Although this seems simple, it’s a common oversight for new growers (and sometimes old ones.)

Utilizing this technique also offers a grower the advantage of keeping smaller plants out of the shadows of the larger ones, an issue which would compound the lack of light. If your plants are of similar sizes, it’s not a bad idea to move them or the lights around periodically to help ensure that they are all getting equal shares of the bright stuff.

In essence, if your budget is small and you are limited in the growing space, go with CFL bulbs. They are inexpensive, easy to set up and replace. Yet, CFLs still bring decent results which have been proven over the years. 

You could also use HPS lights alone or better in combination with MH, CMH or CFL bulbs. They are also very affordable and give reliable results. But since HPS are high in temperature when using, so be ready to cool it.

If you are looking for an efficient grow lights device for a long-time use, then LEDs are the excellent option. Their price is high but they make the best of your money with cool operating, highest lifespan, little electricity consuming. And best of all, it produces great yields.

Regardless of whether you choose to grow your cannabis indoors or out, you are going to need a good source of light. More light means more weed. In nature, plants use the sun. Light is the force which makes photosynthesis possible, converting that energy into usable glucose and oxygen. Photosynthesis splits hydrogen from oxygen and then combines with oxygen and glucose.

Glucose is the fuel of the plant, the chemical that powers the basic building and growing functions that carry Cannabis from seed to smoke. Your plants use a lot of light to produce it, and, in general, the more, the better. The important thing to remember is to keep the rest of the environment balanced with whatever amount of light you’re applying. You need to monitor the temperature, humidity, and levels of carbon dioxide in the air. Beyond that, your plant requires adequate nutrients and plenty of water.

Your eventual goal as a grower is a high-quality yield of buds, and this will be determined in great part by the amount of light your plants receive. Cannabis is especially receptive to heavy lighting, and the quality and size of your flowers will be determined in part by all those lumens!

In general, you want a minimum of 30,000 lm per 10 square feet in your grow room. With the proper balancing of the environment, you can go all the way up to 80,000 lm per 10 square feet. Don’t do this unless you are planning on devoting a lot of time, energy, and money into making sure that the environment is constantly getting the necessary tweaks.

Unless you know your houseplants need only very low light or are definitely getting enough natural light from your windows, a grow light is a great investment. There are enough options out their to suit every space, budget, garden, and style. Pick the lights that work best for you and shine a little love on your indoor garden.