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Best LED Grow Lights in 2021: Top 5 Reviews & Buyer's Guide

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LED grow lights have become increasingly popular over the last several years and anyone investing in a personal indoor garden or larger commercial grow operation wants to choose the best LED grow light for their needs. LED grow lights are considered some of the best indoor grow lights available, but with hundreds of models making hard to sort through claims that they’re the best flowering or vegetative grow light, the best full spectrum grow light, or the top rated grow light of the year, you need reliable information from Best LED grow light experts to make a decision about what grow light is best for you..

WHAT ARE LED GROW LIGHTS?

Light-emitting diode (LED) grow lights are some of the best on the market. They provide a high light output across the full spectrum, including visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. Recent developments in technology have seen LED’s become more affordable and effective, making them perfect for an indoor garden.

Here at The Hippie House we absolutely love LED grow lights. Despite higher upfront costs, LED’s are far more efficient than other types of grow lights, saving on power and electricity costs – some run for as little as 30 cents per day.

Because of the full spectrum of light produced by LED’s, they yield exceptional results in both vegetative and flower cycles. The normal life-cycle of an LED bulb is about 50,000 hours, five times that of a fluorescent bulb, so you’ll get years of use without any need for replacements or upgrades.

Before You Buy

LED stands for light-emitting diodes. LED lighting systems produce very little heat, come ready to plug-and-play, and can produce high yields with incredible energy efficiency. LED grow lights do not require a reflector and ballast like HID lights and LEDs can last for decades, where HID bulbs may have to be replaced yearly as they begin to lose Lumens.

But one of the main reasons LED grow lights have become a standard for serious growers is the spectrum of light they produce.

Full spectrum LED grow lights will make a huge difference in helping your plants grow to their full potential and yields. Red & blue spectrums are important, but infrared and ultraviolet spectrums can be essential depending on the growth stage of your plants. The light’s power is also an important factor, but different wave lengths are needed to be taken into consideration to ensure maximum growth.

You’ll also want to take into consideration the amount of space you need to cover with your LED lights. Every LED grow light will have a range of space that it effectively can cover, so it’s important to measure your grow space down carefully. Then you can research and read reviews for LED lights can actually cover your grow space efficiently and effectively.

Another factor when choosing the best Samsung LED grow light for you is durability and electrical efficiency since an LED grow light will typically operate for 12-18 hours a day. Remember, when researching LED lights you’ll want to note the total output. The more light your new LED light actually gives off, the bigger yields you should get, so choose the most powerful LED grow lights (within reason) for your grow space.

ECO Farm 650W Osram Chip LED Grow Light Bar OS Series

  • Uses triple-chip LED lights
  • Supports daisy chaining
  • Large coverage area
  • Long warranty of 4 years

HYPHOTONFLUX HPF4000 LED Grow Lights

  • Great for those who have larger growing needs
  • Very energy efficient – saves almost 80% electricity compared to HPS lights
  • Three phases of light intensity
  • Wide 120-degree angle of illumination

Mars Hydro FC 6500

  • Amazing heat dissipation system
  • Full-spectrum light, good for all growth phases
  • Easy to set up
  • Really long lifespan (100,000 hours)

Loriflux 630W Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

  • Larger size spreads of light, better than more compact LED lights
  • Weight makes the product easier to hang
  • Ten band light spectrum provides excellent attention to growth stages
  • Durable construction allows the light to be used for a very long time
  • Modular design allows for an easy upgrade
  • Penetrates plant’s canopy effectively
  • Comes with power cords and hanging equipment
  • Bright light
  • Affordable
  • Well-built design

ECO Farm ECOY 600W LM301H Movable LED Grow Light Bar

  • Great heat dissipation
  • Good value when you look at lumen/PAR output
  • Good 5 year warranty period
  • Full spectrum support for veg/bloom phases

How do LED Grow Lights Help You Succeed In Growing Marijuana Indoors

LED lights are useful in helping you succeed in growing marijuana indoors because of the fact that they are basically acting as a replacement to the sun! While this sounds like a rather difficult thing in theory, but in practice, when you consider this, it is actually quite simple. The sun acts as a source of two basic things that your weed plants need to grow: light and heat. 

LED lights help make growing marijuana indoors quite easy for you by providing light and heat to your plants. The more concentrated the light is, the higher the heat is – basically, the closer the lights are to your plants, the hotter the heat levels are. Hence, depending on the stage of growth your plants are, you can actually adjust your lights to provide appropriate light and heat for them. For those wondering what the plants do with the light and heat – they generate energy and pigments which help them with their growth. 

Furthermore, there’s another great benefit of these LED lights – they do not produce so much heat that can be adverse to the growth of your plant. Unlike traditional lights, which can often end up burning your plants, that risk is much lower when it comes to LED grow lights. In addition to that, using them is more economical as well because they do not consume as much electricity and can provide the same output as those of traditional lights with a higher wattage! LED lights are also simple to set up and non-toxic in nature as they do not contain chemicals which can harm you or your plants in case there’s a breakage.

Why Choose Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights

Here, let us take a closer look at what full spectrum LED grow lights are and the reasons as to why they are great for you if you plan to grow marijuana indoors. We also take a closer look at some of the advantages of making use of full spectrum LED grow lights. 

A common grow light is basically made up of lights of two spectrums – red and blue. You can figure that out by looking at these lights as they emit a reddish-blueish hue and while many of them offer a fair mix of the two, you can figure out the dominant color in these lights if you look long enough. The process of photosynthesis happens perfectly between these two light spectrums and this is why most lights come with reds and blues. However, there’s more to plants than just photosynthesis and there’s more to grow lights than just the reds and blues. This is where full spectrum LED grow lights come into the picture! A full-spectrum LED grow light consists of all wavelengths including infrared and ultraviolet lights. Basically, the final output of the light here would be a white light. 

In the simplest of terms, using a full spectrum LED light allow you to imitate the light of the sun in the closest possible manner which is good for the growth of your plant allows photosynthesis to happen in the best possible manner as well as boosts the generation of all the various types of pigments that the plant needs for a healthy growth. Furthermore, the concentration of light and heat can allow you to tweak the flavor of your plant as well which is something that weed growers love to do! Let us now take a look at what are some of the advantages of using a full spectrum LED grow light as opposed to a regular LED grow light.

  • Compared to the LED grow lights that function only on  a mix of red and blue lights, full spectrum lights tend to generate more quantity of photons which are great for the growth of the plants.
  • This is the closest you can get to replicating natural sunlight in a controlled environment and the plants can benefit a lot from the various wavelengths.
  • These lights are cooler in comparison to traditional lights and you do not require to set up extra heat dissipation systems such as additional fans.
  • Reds and Blues are for specific phases of growth but a full spectrum grow light is basically your one-stop solution to all growth phases of your cannabis plant.
  • These lights neither flicker nor do they require a stabilizer and are hence a great option for anyone looking forward to grow weed indoors as they provide a consistent and constant light.

What is the right distance to hang a grow light?

This will vary with other types of lights. Some lights need to be placed farther from the plants to prevent scorching, or heat damage that can do severe damage to your plants.

LED lights can generally be placed a lot closer to the plants without causing any damage because they run much cooler.

How long do LED grow lights last?

Generally, the minimum lifespan of an LED light is 50,000 hours, though most people find they can run one for up to 60,000 hours without an incident.

This is about fifteen years’ worth of grow time!

Some LED grow light brands boast that their lights can last up to 100,000 hours, which is several decades.

However long yours lasts, you won’t have to replace it often.

What is a light cycle?

You’re trying to imitate the sun for your plants. A light cycle is more or less artificial day and night. Your plants will require different light cycles for different phases of their growth.

Generally, they’ll need about 18 hours of light a day while they’re growing, and 12 hours of light a day while they’re budding.

Leaving your light on constantly will seriously damage your plants, and not providing enough light will stunt their growth.

Final thoughts

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.

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