Are you planning on growing vegetables at home? Setting up a hydroponic or organic garden indoors is a great way to grow fresh veggies to feed your family this year.
Growing indoors means that you don’t have to concern yourself with changing weather conditions. Not to mention, the chances of pests and disease attacking your plants is much lower than in an outdoor garden.
However, growing indoors means that you’ll need to simulate the growing environment using technology. The most challenging part about growing indoors is finding the right grow light for your garden. There are plenty of benefits and uses for indoor grow light systems.
- Grow your plants from seedling to harvest, without any sunlight
- Start seedlings early before transplanting to the garden in early spring
- Use specialized lighting systems for propagating and flowering
- Finish outdoor plants that don’t have enough light left in the season
- Propagate your plants and your root cuttings
- Grow plants inside all year-round
These are a few examples of the benefits of using a grow light and indoor growing system for your vegetables this year. So, what is the best indoor grow lamp for your garden?
This post will investigate everything you need to know about selecting the best growing light system for your indoor growing needs.
Grow Lights – Vital Concepts
Contents
Before you settle on a grow light for your indoor garden, we need to go over a few concepts regarding how light affects plants and growth. Understanding these basic concepts will give you everything you need to choose the right lighting system.
The Light Spectrum
All light waves, both visible and invisible, fall somewhere on the spectrum. Science measures these wavelengths in nanometers, corresponding to the specific wavelength on the spectrum.
The light we’re interested in using for our indoor growing falls on the 400nm to 700nm spectrum. Light waves of this intensity are also known as Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). PAR refers to specific wavelengths that plants use for photosynthesis processes to inspire growth.
Within this PAR bandwidth, there are wavelengths plants use for specific biological functions.
- 400nm to 490nm – This wavelength produces blue light used by your plants during the vegetative state as they grow.
- 580nm to 700nm – This “orange-red” wavelength mimics the sunlight in the later summer and early fall, signaling your plants to start fruiting.
For those that are math geniuses, you’re probably wondering why we skipped over the light waves in the 490nm to 580nm range. The chloroplasts in plant cells reflect light at these wavelengths since its mostly green in the 510nm to 570nm range.
Light Intensity
Now you understand PAR and the types of light required to boost growth and flowering in your plants. The next step is to understand how much of that light we need to use to grow healthy plants and increase harvest yield.
The amount of light produced by the light source reaching your plants refers to its “intensity.” The type of light plays a significant role in the intensity of the light waves. The positioning of your light also plays a vital role. The closer it is to the canopy, the shorter the distance to the light, and the more intense the light waves.
Therefore, the proper positioning of your grow light is critical. Too close to the canopy results in the burning of your crops. Having the light too far away from the canopy means that the plants don’t get the light they need for optimal photosynthesis.
Grow Light Power Consumption
Your grow light draws electricity to operate the ballast and bulb. Grow lights can vary in wattage, from as little as 50-watt NIR bulbs to 2,000-watt HPS or LED setups. Some growers use multiple lights in series, boosting the power capacity of their setup to meet the harvest needs.
Some lights have higher wattages than others. For example, LED lights have lower wattages than HPS or metal halide bulbs. Therefore, these light sources consume more power than LEDs, cutting down on the costs of operating your indoor garden.
Lighting Footprint
Each growing light has a specific design to cover a growing area. Trying to grow outside of this light footprint will produce lackluster results. The wattage of the bulb, and it’s operating height are the two most significant factors to consider when deciding on the right light footprint for your garden.
For example, a 1,000-watt globe operates at three to six feet above the canopy, and it’s suitable for a growing footprint of up to 3-square feet. When setting up your grow light, we recommend you follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for distance from the bulb to the canopy.
You can tweak these settings with small tests during your first harvest. It might take you the entire growing season to find the right setup for your garden. Finding the proper placement to provide optimal heat, intensity, and footprint takes some time and testing.
Plant Photoperiods
The photoperiod of your light refers to how much light you give your plants over 24-hours. If you’re growing outdoors, you have a limitation on the photoperiod, thanks to the sun. In the height of summer, you can get up to 12-hours of light each day, while the wintertime may shorten daylight to 6-hours.
When growing plants indoors, you can change the photoperiod to whatever length you desire. You can run a 24-hour photoperiod with consistent lighting if you want.
Some plants experience a change when they start to experience a shortening in the photoperiod window. This shortening of the photoperiod mimics the days of the harvest season, and the plants begin to flower.
Best Selling Indoor Grow Lights
- 【5 Heads Plant Grow Lights & 150 LEDs】This plant growing lamp consists of 150 efficient grow LEDs (100 red and 50 blue). 5 head plant grow light provide a wider lighting range than traditional 2, 3, and 4 head plant light and increase the intensity of light by up to 50%, allowing your plants to receive more energy.
- 【3 Spectral Modes & 10 Brightness Levels】Full spectrum led grow light has 3 spectrum modes(Red, Blue & Mixed Spectrum). 10 brightness settings ranging from 10% to 100%, we can be switched at will, free to choose the most suitable brightness and spectrum for our plant growth. Makes plants grow 5 times faster than natural plants.
- 【Auto Cycle On/Off & Timer Function】Designed with auto circular memory timing function and there are 3/9/12H timer setting options for your choosing. Plant grow light will turn on/off by itself every day as your setting. Even you're on the travel, these grow light strips will still take good care of your plants every day!
- 【Strong Clip & Flexible Gooseneck】This 5 head grow lights have a strong clip and bracket support that can be stably placed and arbitrarily clamped anywhere. The indoor grow lights have a 360° independently adjustable gooseneck design, which can be rotated to any angle for your requirements, which provides a wider and more flexible range of light.
- 【Designed for Plants Growth 】This indoor grow lights are perfect for seed starting can meet the different needs of plants for sunlight in different growth stages. The excellent heat dissipation performance ensures the lamps are more durable and the service life is up to 80,000 hours. Widely apply to greenhouses, herb garden, indoor garden, flower bed, succulent seeds, bonsai tree, especially plants, seeds & herb.
- 【6000K White Light】Equipped with 10 Red + 74 White LEDs, this mini growing light is similar to the full-spectrum sunlight at noon,that is professionally designed for indoor garden plants.Moreover, its color rendering index is as high as 95, the light is soft and flicker-free, which is very suitable for reading lamp
- 【Timer Function & Multiple Settings】The indoor seedling light offer the circular memory timer function with 3 options-4h/8h/12h. When keeping power, it can automatically turn on and off every day according your settings, no more manual operation for you.【Also You Could Operate One of Them Separately,And Support 5 Levels of Dimming.】
- 【Easy to Install】with flexible Gooseneck & strong clamp,it allows you to place the LED plant lighting fixture in any direction to provide the best lighting angle for your plants，meet the cover around the plant.Powered by USB or AC Power Plug (adapter included )
- 【High Efficiency LED Lamp】as for LED power draw this mini succulent lights just comsume about 10watt and is equivalent to a 50w halogen bulb.Estimately monthly cost roughly $2 in electricity (12 hours a day). It is a great gift if you growing some desktop small plants.
- 【Multiple Use】 GooingTop artificial light is suitable for germination/seedlings/seed starting,house-plants,potted plants,succulents,cactus,especially when the plant needs extra light when raining,snowing,dark indoor,etc.
- 【Floor Grow Light with Adjustable Stand】Equipped with stable, durable tripod stand and can be adjusted from 15” to 63”, suitable for more differents size house plants. Widely apply to family balcony seeding/breeding, gardening, flower show, potted plants, especially tall and large plants.
- 【Highly Efficient Red Blue Spectrum】This Plant Light allows us to actually provide plants with ample light, effectively supplementing the lack of natural sunlight and promoting plant healthy growth. And it can provide red, blue, or mixed spectrum to meet the light conditions your plants need most in different stages.
- 【3 Spectral Modes & 10 Level Brightness】4 Head Full Spectrum LED Grow Light has 3 light modes(Red Light, Blue Light & Mixed Light) 10 brightness settings ranging from 10% to 100%, we can be switched at will, free to choose the most suitable brightness for our plant growth. Plants grow about 5 times faster than natural.
- 【Auto Cycle On/Off & Timer】Designed with auto circular-memory timing function and there are 4/8/12H timer setting options for your choosing. The grow light will turn it on by itself every day as your setting, Even you're on the travel, these grow light strip will still take good care of your plants every day!
- 【Designed Specifically for Plants】Grow lights has a 360° independently adjustable gooseneck design, which can be rotated to any angle for your requirements, which provide a wider and more flexible range of light. The excellent heat dissipation ensures the light more durable for a 50000-hour long life span.
- 2021 Upgraded Design - Adjustable tripod stand extendable from 15 inches to 48 inches , just set it at desired height for your preferred use, you can stand it on the floor and adjust the gooseneck at the desired angle according to the needs of the plant.
- Full Spectrum - Compact grow light with high quality super bright LEDs, full spectrum 390nm-730nm, including White(3500K&6500K)Red&Blue. Plants can get the spectrum they most desire from this grow light. It's suitable for all stages of growth such as seedling, germination, vegetative flowering.
- Energy Efficient - 30w power draw replace 150W HPS or HID grow light with only 30W consumption, saving your electric bill. Good for indoor use.
- Easy to Install - Within just one minute! Screw up the tripod, gooseneck and the plant light, adjust the height and angle, done!
- Widely Used - Widely apply to family balcony seeding/breeding, gardening, flowering, potted plants, especially tall and large plants. 12 months warranty plus 30 days satisfaction or return guarantee, 100% money back. Contact us first if any issues and we will make it OK.
- Full Spectrum - Barrina LED grow lights 2ft provide indoor plants with full-spectrum sunlight replacement. It provides the most reasonable grow light wave based on the ratio of the absorption of the plants
- Super Bright and High PPFD - Consuming only 144W with 576 LEDS totally, replace 800w general plant lights. Over 95% light energy can be absorbed by plants. The light efficiency can be increased by 17~20% with reflector. The shell of our light was made of 100% aluminum which provides the high-efficiency heat dissipation. Ensuring the longer service life of the led chips
- Easy Installation - With included tape, clips and cable ties, you could install the lights by yourself in minutes. Plug and play, and you could link up to 12 led grow light strips in a series, saving your installation cost and time
- Eyes Protection - This grow light are suitable for planting plants in any indoor application. Sunlight white color temperature makes your eyes feel comfortable. It works extremely well for your plant grow tents, plant grow shelves, seedling cultivation, succulents, hydroponic rooms, greenhouses, etc
- What You Get - 2 years warranty. Please contact seller if you have any problem. 6 x Barrina LED Grow lights, 3 x Power cords with ON/OFF switch, 5 x Connecting Cords(48''), 6 x Small Connectors, 24x Installation Clips, 12 x Tapes, 24 x cable ties
What are the Types of Indoor Grow Lights?
Now that you understand the basics of indoor lighting, it’s time to discuss the types of grow lights available. This topic is confusing for many indoor gardening newbies. Understanding the difference between the lights helps you choose the right light to match your needs.
Fluorescents
Fluorescent bulbs are a popular choice for starter gardens. The blue-white spectrum of the light is ideal for starting seedlings and growing young plants. Best of all, these fluorescent globes are cheap to run, using hardly any electricity.
CFL bulbs are an excellent choice for vegetative gardens, and there’s no chance of this light spectrum burning your plants. You can leave the bulbs within a few inches of the top of the canopy, and the tips of your young plants won’t burn.
The CFL bulbs don’t put out much heat, and if the leaves of your plants touch the lamps, it won’t result in a burn. Both commercial and hobbyist farmers use fluorescents to start plants before moving them into the flowering phase.
Some plants, such as leafy greens like spinach and kale will do well under these lights, and they don’t require any transition to another light source for additional growth. T5 bulbs are the most popular type of CFL bulb available.
You’ll need several of these lights over one growing area, and we recommend packing in as many as you can fit.
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
LED grow lights are the new gold-standard in indoor growing. These lights were the next evolution from the high-pressure sodium and metal halide globes. However, LED costs a fraction of the price to operate when compared to HPS and MH globes. LEDs produce less heat and consume less electricity.
The early stages of LED technology were skeptical, and many growers were hesitant to use them due to the technology’s unproven nature. However, over the last 10-years, LED technology has made remarkable progress, and todays LED lighting systems are as effective as HPS or MH, without the sizable energy bill.
Some LED models also feature dual-spectrum output. You can start your plants on a vegetative light spectrum, and they turn them to flowering with the click of a switch. These lights are typically more expensive, but the dual operation comes in handy.
- 【"V-shaped" Housing Design】 Professional T8 grow Light Strip has two rows of high-quality full spectrum LED chips. Compared with the grow light fixture with single row of chips, it has a wider beam angle and higher PAR value. Perfect for plant seedling, growth, flowering and bear fruit.
- 【Full Spectrum】 Monios-L LED grow light Strip is providing indoor plants with full-spectrum sunlight replacement at 400nm-800nm. Meanwhile, Monios-L small "V-shaped" housing design is up to 24w each light, so you can install more lights in the same space to get more PPFD( photosynthetic photon flux density ), which is effectively promotes the chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis.
- 【Efficient Heat Dissipation】 Monios-L T8 led grow light with aluminum housing provides the high-efficiency heat dissipation, ensuring a longer service life of the led chips. The 24W double-row led chips with high brightness and low light decay, 2900K color temperature makes it look more comfortable.
- 【Easy to Install】 Could connect up to 6 tube lights together with seamless connectors or connector cables by the extendable design. It is suitable for various application such as plant shelves, plant tents, hydroponics growing rooms, greenhouses, etc. Excellent choices for commercial growers and home gardeners.
- 【Quality After-sales Service】24 months unlimited warranty 100% money back. Simply email us for a quick and easy replacement.
- TOP QUALITY COMPONENTS & HIGH OUTPUT: Equipped with market leader Samsung LM301B & Osram deep red diodes (total 1,272 pcs), HPF4000 draws 480 watts, powered by MEANWELL driver, it delivers PPF Efficacy up to 2.7 μmol/J and an average PPFD 1300 μmol/s @12" in 4'x4' coverage, harvest 2.5g/w easily!
- MAXIMUM YIELD FULL SPECTRUM & DIMMABLE: Proven high-yield full spectrum (3000K warm white, 4000K white, deep red 660nm) with higher red diodes ratio. Good for veg bloom and provide plants with enough light from seedling to flowering, born for big buds. Easy dimming design meets the needs of indoor plants at different stages of growth
- ENHANCED PASSIVE COOLING & DETACHABLE DRIVER: 6 pcs pure aluminum light bars (each bar's width is 90mm/3.54'', wider than any other led light bar) for better heat dissipation and cooling, it saves a lot of expenses at the exhaust, ventilation, and cooling devices. Besides, DC extension cords (sold separately) enable the driver (ballast) to be installed outside the grow tent where will become even cooler
- EASY TO SET UP & DAISY CHAIN: Folding design, simple and easy installation, plug and play, no assembly required, maximum 80 lights can be daisy-chained through a 0-10V controller, discreet packaging for protecting your privacy, especially beneficial both for home growers and commercial growers, suitable for grow tents, indoor warehouse, vertical racks, hydroponic and soil growth
- WORRY-FREE AFTER-SALES SERVICE: All HYPHOTONFLUX products are ETL certified, FCC listed, and IP66 waterproof. 11 years of LED lighting manufacturing experience allow us to provide a product of well-built quality at a reasonable price. We provide 3 years warranty and U.S.-based after-sales service, email us if you have any questions before or after purchasing and we will answer you within 24 hours
Metal Halide (MH)
MH lighting is a favorite choice for indoor gardeners during the vegetative phase. This light produces the growing spectrum, providing plenty of power and intensity to supercharge the growing period.
However, these lights consume plenty of power, making them an inferior choice to CFL in terms of value for money. MH produces the blue light plants that need to grow, and they are suitable for wattages up to 2,000-W
High-Pressure Sodium (HPS)
The HPS bulb produces light in the red range between 600nm to 700nm. This spectrum mimics the waning days of summer and spring, and the daylight hours start to get smaller. If you’re growing vegetables that rely on changes to photoperiods to flower, turning on your HPS bulb after the vegetation cycle will induce flowering.
These lights push out plenty of heat, and you’ll need an external ballast you can set up outside the growing area to keep the temperature down. HPS is an intense light and comes in power ranges from 400-watts to 2,000-watts.
These bulbs are notoriously expensive to run. Many growers decided to leave their HPS systems in favor of LEDs in recent years.
- Buyers must peel off the inner blue protective film before using; 6" Air Cooled Reflector: Over 90% high reflectivity aluminum ensures soonest flourish of your plants
- UL Listed 600W Dimmable Ballast: Runs on 120~240V power supply, comes with 8ft 120V power cord
- HPS Grow Light Bulbs: High PAR value (Photosynthetically Active Radiation), superior quality & optimized spectrum to promote growth
- 24 Hour Plug-in Mechanical Timer Switch: Automates your lighting needs; Brings convenience & encourages productive growth with consistency of lighting; 15-minute On/Off, 24 hours settings; 125V, 15A, 60Hz, 1/2HP, 1875W Heavy duty construction; Timer mode can be turned off; ETL listed ensures top security & stability
- US Patented 1/8" Rope Hanger (1 Pair): 8-ft long & 150lbs/pair weight capacity, solid braided polypropylene rope & reinforced metal internal gears to ensure top-safety
- 600W Digital Dimmable Electronic Ballast: Support 120V/240V Input; Dimmable Options: 50%, 75%, 100%; 8 Feet heavy-duty power cord included; Stable power output ensure flicker free light
- 1 x 600W Super HPS Bulb 2100K; 1 x 600W MH Bulb 6000K; Optimized spectrum and high PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation) to promote healthy plant growth and soonest flourish
- 1 x Pair of 8-ft adjustable Ratchet Clip Hanger Rope: hold up to 150 lbs; 24-hour Plug-in Mechanical Timer: 15 minutes increments
- 19-inch Wing Reflector: up to 4' x 4' light coverage; Built-in 15 feet heavy duty lamp cord with E39 Ceramic Mogul Socket and standard Hydroponic S-Plug; highly 95% reflective textured German aluminum maximizes the light reflected to the plants
- CAUTION: This system will generate too much heat to be used in an enclosed area without ventilation. Adequate ventilation is required for all iPower grow light systems. We recommend the use of an iPower inline fan
Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)
These globes offer indoor growers the best of HPS, and MH roiled into one platform. These lights have a balanced spectral output, providing a mixture of red, orange, and blue light. As a result, you can grow with one bulb year-round without the need to switch to different spectrums.
Plasma
Plasma bulbs are the new evolution of LED. These systems are gaining traction with growers due to the efficiency claims around the power consumption of these models. They offer the same one-size-fits-all growing spectrum, but they are considerably more expensive to purchase than most LED systems.
- 🌻🌱🌵Upgrade Grow Light with Stand--Stable tripod (extendable from 15in to 60in) with functional lights and 360-degree flexible gooseneck, solved the trouble of setup and inflexibility of traditional hanging grow light, and also provide a much wider coverage area than clip grow light.
- 🌻🌱🌵Great Efficiency Full Spectrum--FEEL SHOW 4-head plant lights provide 3 supplemental light modes: 1--Red(660nm)+Blue(460nm): promote photosynthesis, rooting, germination, blooming, fruiting. 2--Warm White, 3000k high uniform light, similar to natural sunlight. 3--Red+Blue+White (380nm-780nm), universal full spectrum grow light for plant indoor grow, succulents, rose, hibiscus, petunia, clematis, strawberry, lettuce, butterfly orchid, lemon tree, etc.
- 🌻🌱🌵Dual Control & Multi-Functional--Both line-in controller and RF controller (protect your eyes from looking at the lamps directly). Support 3 light modes, 10 dimmable levels, 4 lights independent control, auto on/off every day after setting the 4H/8H/12H timer. 80 effective LED Beads, provide brightness of 80W fluorescent lamp, consumes only 15W of electricity.
- 🌻🌱🌵Scientific Heat Dissipation Design--Our indoor plant growing lamps are backed by an aviation-grade heat sink and excellent aluminum shell. This improved design will protect the grow lamp bulbs not very hot, which is important to reduce light loss and extend bead life to more than 50,000 hours, and aslo without burning plants.
- 🌻🌱🌵✅Buy with Confidence--12 months warranty, 90 days return/refund guarantee with FCC, CE, RoHS certified support. Our Plant Grow Light Kit is perfect for flowers and vegs especially when raining, snowing, cloudy days and dark indoor. You'll also get a detailed User Manual with Operation Approach and advice on how to grow plants, useful product for planting enthusiasts!
- 【6000K White Light】Equipped with 10 Red + 74 White LEDs, this mini growing light is similar to the full-spectrum sunlight at noon,that is professionally designed for indoor garden plants.Moreover, its color rendering index is as high as 95, the light is soft and flicker-free, which is very suitable for reading lamp
- 【Timer Function & Multiple Settings】The indoor seedling light offer the circular memory timer function with 3 options-4h/8h/12h. When keeping power, it can automatically turn on and off every day according your settings, no more manual operation for you.【Also You Could Operate One of Them Separately,And Support 5 Levels of Dimming.】
- 【Easy to Install】with flexible Gooseneck & strong clamp,it allows you to place the LED plant lighting fixture in any direction to provide the best lighting angle for your plants，meet the cover around the plant.Powered by USB or AC Power Plug (adapter included )
- 【High Efficiency LED Lamp】as for LED power draw this mini succulent lights just comsume about 10watt and is equivalent to a 50w halogen bulb.Estimately monthly cost roughly $2 in electricity (12 hours a day). It is a great gift if you growing some desktop small plants.
- 【Multiple Use】 GooingTop artificial light is suitable for germination/seedlings/seed starting,house-plants,potted plants,succulents,cactus,especially when the plant needs extra light when raining,snowing,dark indoor,etc.
Cooling and Heating Effects
One of the byproducts of running indoor growing lights – is heat. CFL bulbs and LEDs put out very little heat during operation. As a result, you’re not going to notice any changes in your indoor growing temperatures.
However, MH and HPS bulbs do produce significant amounts of heat. As a result of the light intensity produced by these bulbs, you might notice that the temperature inside your growing room may increase by up to 12-degrees. The increase depends on the size of the lamp and your growing conditions.
To mitigate this effect, you’ll have to install fans or an air-conditioner to lower the heat back to reasonable growing temperatures.
How Do You Maintain Your Grow Lights?
There are a few basic principles you can follow to maintain your lights. In most cases, the ballasts will only require some minor cleaning, and you might have to open the ballast once a year to blow out the dust.
Watch Out for Bulb Light Degradation
All grow bulbs will start to lose efficiency and power over time. A degraded bulb doesn’t produce the necessary amount of light to create the best crop effects. As a result, you’ll need to swap out bulbs at least once a season to prevent degradation.
However, different types of bulbs provide different service life, depending on the type, wattage, manufacturer, and use in the garden.
T5 Fluorescent Bulb Degradation
Fluorescent light degrades the slowest out of all the options you have. These bulbs will lose around 10% of lumen capacity for every 20,000-hours of working time.
LED Bulb Degradation
LEDs degrade the slowest. For example, an incandescent bulb using filament, lasts for around 6 to 9-months, depending on your frequency of use. In contrast, a LED will last you between 15 and 20-years.
Most manufacturers will rate LED systems at 50,000 to 100,000-hours of operation before the diodes require replacement.
When Do I Replace My Bulbs?
You’ll have to replace your bulbs sooner or later, and we recommend sooner than later. Replace MH and HPS bulbs after they reach 50% degradation – we recommend after each harvest season, or every 8 to 10-months.
Indoor Grow Light FAQs
Do you have a few more questions about using indoor grow lights? Check out this FAQ for the answers you need.
How much light do indoor plants need to thrive?
Some plants are different than others. We recommend you run your lights for 16 to 20-hours on vegetative crops. You can use an MH or CFL bulb for this purpose. If you’re flowering vegetables or fruits, you’ll need to drop the photoperiod to 12-hours on, and 12-hours off.
Try to avoid running your lights for 24-hours; plants need time to rest and recover – just like you. We recommend you buy a timer and link it to your lighting system. You can use the controller to nominate your lighting hours, without the need for manual intervention.
How close can fluorescent bulbs come to my plants?
CFL bulbs won’t damage your plants. Even if the foliage ends up sitting on the lamp directly, you shouldn’t notice any burning or damage to the leaves or flowers of your plants. However, we recommend that you always keep the lights around 2 to 3-inches away from the top of the canopy.
Don’t move them any higher than that, or you’ll start to experience a slowdown in your plants’ growth. As mentioned, change your CFL bulbs at least once a year to avoid bulb degradation and keep your garden thriving.
How often must I replace HID lighting like HPS and MH bulbs?
It depends on how often you use the light and the duration of the photoperiod you’re trying to emulate. As a good rule of thumb, we recommend replacing MH and HPS bulbs after each season for the best results.
HPS and MH bulbs are expensive, so you’ll need to account for the costs of the bulbs in your gardening budget. Ceramic metal halide bulbs last a bit longer than the other HPS and MH variants. You might get away with two growing seasons before you notice severe bulb degradation occurring.
Is growing under LEDs worth it?
Many indoor gardeners swear by LED systems, while others steer clear of this tech. When selecting your LED grow light, make sure you look at the PAR, lumens, and the wattage of the light before finalizing your purchase.
Follow the directions and guidelines for growing under these lights, placing the light too close to the canopy results in the burning of the plants. For seedlings and sprouts, we recommend you keep the light at least 24″ to 28″ above the canopy. You can drop the lights to 18-24″ overhead during the transition phase, and 12″ to 18″ during the flowering cycle.
Wrapping Up – Get Professional Advice
If you’re thinking about starting an indoor garden this year, you need to get the best advice possible. We recommend signing up for a forum.
You’ll find plenty of experienced growers willing to give you some advice. Get recommendations on the best equipment brands and avoid making the same mistake novice gardeners make in their first season.
There are dozens of grow lights out there to choose from. However, only a select few provide the best light for your garden. Make sure you select a device that suits your gardening needs and your budget.
