One of the very best ways to set up and develop a great hydroponic garden is to use the right lighting to grow your herbs, vegetables, and fruit throughout the year. While some people prefer to use natural sunlight, those who want indoor gardens know that their best option is hydroponic LED grow lights. In addition to the fact that they can be controlled (provided that you get the right ones), these lights are both efficient and cost-effective, and will not just have a positive effect on your plants, but on your pocketbook as well.
While 90 Watt hydroponic LED grow lights may not match the lumens emitted by a 400 Watt HID light, the fact of the matter is, they are equal in terms of the useable light for the plant they emit. Although Lumens have been the benchmark for measuring the brightness and strength of light for decades, in actuality, they are only measuring the brightness that can be perceived by the human eye. Plants however generally respond the most to lighting that is beyond the ranges of human perception, and studies have shown that as much as 80% of the light emitted by powerful HID lights is not used in photosynthesis. Beyond that, LED models produce only a small amount of the heat needed for HID sets (thus alleviating the need for cooling fans), and they only use 20-30% of the electricity as well.
Benefits Of LED Grow Lights
As a function of these characteristics, LEDs have a wide range of different benefits. A few of them are as follows:
- They facilitate faster growth rates for the plants.
- There are no troubles associated with excessive evaporation, or burning due to too much heat.
- There is no ‘waste light’ due to the fact that it shines directly on the plant, and all of the light is within the spectrum used by plants for photosynthesis.
- They facilitate larger blooms, increased yields and provide greater vegetative growth over the HID equivalent.
Types Of LEDs
Of all of the types on the market, the UFO is currently the most popular. The standard UFO is red and blue, however these days Tri-band lights that give the plant the key spectrum of orange, red and blue are also widely available and popular. This is because they give the plant the correct wavelengths necessary for growth at all stages.
As a function of the success of the Tri-band lights however, 5-band lights have also become available. These are similar to the Tri-band lights in that they offer the spectrum of orange, red, and blue, but they also feature 2 distinct bands with each of the red and blue spectrum.
How To Choose Your Lights
In order to correctly choose the best LEDs for your plants, you must first know the needs of your garden. What kind of plants are you growing? Are they leafy and short, or are they tall and flowering? How much grow space do you need? Do you want an all-in-one, or is it better to keep your color panels separate, so that you can tweak them during particular stages? After you have answered these questions, your next step should be to check out an LED grow light review or two to see which models and makes tend to fair best.
Keep in mind that those that advertise high lumens should be avoided as this has little to no relevance to photosynthetic usability, and will generally do little to help your plant grow. Cheap models should also be avoided as they are usually seriously underpowered, and what money you may save in initial investment, you will quickly lose in much lower yields. After checking out a hydroponic LED grow lights review to see which makes and models are best, you should also search to see if you can find plant grow lights for sale at a discount (making sure that they have the kind of power necessary to properly grow your garden). As one 180 Watt LED is enough to cover about 25 square feet of space, plan your purchases accordingly.
Although finding and choosing the correct lights for your hydroponic garden may seem difficult or arduous, in actuality, it is simply a matter of knowing what to look for. While the best one for the job may have a higher initial cost, it will more than make up for it in the money you save on cooling costs, and electricity over time, as well as higher yields.
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