Last update on 2023-06-02 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API
Our plants will have to rely on artificial light until scientists develop convenient little mini Suns that we can keep inside our homes. Fortunately, in terms of efficiency and efficacy, those sources of illumination have come a long way.
LED technology has enhanced everything from televisions to smartphones, but it can also benefit your plants. These LED arrays can pump out the photons plants crave, whether you're trying to baby your indoor plants, nurture some seedlings that will eventually go out into the garden, or simply please an outdoor plant that needs to spend some time inside.
However, you cannot simply point an LED flashlight at your prized plants. To make your indoor garden thrive, you must choose the appropriate power, color, and size. That can be tricky, but no matter what your flora looks like, these picks can provide the perfect illumination.
1. MARS HYDRO TS-1000 Led Grow Light
The MARS HYDRO TS-1000W LED grow light is a panel light that has 342 small LED lights. This energy-efficient light has a PPFD of 743 micromole/m2/s at a distance of 18 inches, consuming just 150 watts of actual electricity. It emits white light with a complete spectrum and can promote plant growth at all stages of the growing process. The lights are dimmable and equipped with daisy-chain technology, allowing for the connection of up to 15 units utilizing only one electrical outlet.
Use one lamp to cover 2.5 square feet for the flowering stage and 3 square feet for the vegetative period. This grow lamp has no fan, ensuring quiet operation, because it maintains temperature internally.
2. LED Grow Light, Roleadro 75W Grow Light
Roleadro LED Grow Light is full-spectrum. The brand's patented spectrum gives indoor plants with 460 to 465 nm, 620 to 740 nm, and 6,000 to 6,500 K light. This helps tropical plants flourish and blossom year-round, even the most delicate ones. Winter, spring, summer, and fall are good times to cultivate vegetables and herbs.
This 75-watt grow lamp contains an aluminum cooling plate to disperse heat on high. It has hanging brackets so you can put it wherever in your home, making it ideal for covering dozens of plants.
Our tester found this panel optimal for seedlings after using it on succulents and seed trays. It was great for a seed tray and offered well dispersed light, earning it 5/5 for efficacy and brightness. Setup and instructions got 3/5. Hanging the element was challenging because you require hooks.
3. LEOTER Grow Light for Indoor Plants
If you're curious in trying out LED grow lights but don't know where to start, this LEOTER choice is a great place to start because of its low cost and high performance. Eighty light-emitting diodes (36 red, 16 blue, and 28 full-spectrum) are housed in a gooseneck frame, giving you a wide range of customization possibilities for your plant's vegetative growth. Users may choose what works best for their plants by experimenting with the device's three light-spectrum options and 10 dimming modes.
The timer allows the light to stay on for 3, 9, or 12 hours without the need to constantly remember to flip the switch. While it may not provide as much coverage as other lights, this one is straightforward for beginners to use and has 360-degree rotation and a gooseneck style with four lights.
Over the course of more than two weeks, our testers experimented with a wide variety of grow lights in a variety of environments, including their kitchens, bathrooms, greenhouses, and more. They evaluated every alternative based on how simple it was to set it up, how well the instructions were written, how well it worked, how attractive it looked, how bright it was, and how much it cost in total. This list is the result of our editors and writers conducting independent research in addition to the insights provided here.
How long should plant lighting be on?
Depending on where you live, the time of year, and the type of plant, the grow lamp should be on for eight to sixteen hours per day to properly simulate the sun's natural light. If your plants receive some natural light, they will normally require less artificial light, as opposed to a plant that receives no natural light, which may require the full 16 hours.
What type of chip does my LED grow lamp contain?
The semiconductor chip is the component responsible for converting electricity to light. The chip itself will have a wattage rating, with three watts being sufficient for satisfactory light output.
What are the advantages of LED grow lights versus HPS?
The energy efficiency of LED grow lights is greater than that of high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights. In addition, they produce less heat, which reduces the need for temperature adjustment.
What distance must grow lights be from plants?
Depending on the wattage and light wavelengths, grow lights should be positioned at least 2 feet from indoor plants to prevent overheating. However, LEDs and fluorescent lights often produce less heat, so they can be placed closer together.
The creation of this guide required years of experience covering home and garden products as well as intensive product research. Before making our suggestions, we examined more than twenty-five options for LED grow lights and assessed a variety of pragmatic factors.
Different types of plants require different color frequencies of light in order to thrive, thus we chose grow lights with full-spectrum white LEDs as well as alternatives with specialized color frequencies for specific plant needs. To provide shoppers with variety, we decided to offer classic, spread-style, and chip on board (COB) lighting options. To ensure low energy expenses and minimize excessive power consumption, we prioritized the incorporation of LED grow lighting with a low real power demand.