Are LED Grow Lights Any Good?

The short answer is yes!

In the last year or so many indoor gardeners have been turning to LED grow lights due to their advantages over traditional grow lights. Previously the initial outlays for LED grow lamps put potential buyers off, but with rapidly decreasing prices the benefits of using LED lights, now outweigh the start up cost.

Advantages of using LED Grow Lights

Specific Light Spectrum –Plants require different wavelengths of light at different growth stages. They need red light for flowering plants and blue light for vegetative plants. Traditional grow lamps provide the whole light spectrum which is wasteful as plants can’t utilise a large proportion of the light for photosynthesis. LED grow lights on the other hand can supply an exact wavelength of light whether it be red or blue and is therefore much more efficient.

Very Energy Efficient –LED lights consume up to 90% less electricity than some of the other types of grow lamps. This is mainly due to the very low level of heat given off. This saving quickly helps to pay off the initial higher cost. 2 LED bulbs that are equivalent to 250-300w incandescent bulbs will only use 30w of power.

Reflective – Traditional grow lamps required reflective material positioned around the plants, to try and utilise as much of the light as possible, but with LED lights this is not required as they are themselves reflective and a very low level of light is wasted.

Low Heat Emission –Due to the very low power consumption, LED grow lights emit very small amounts of heat. This means that you don’t have to invest in expensive cooling systems for your plant growing area and also the lights can be put closer to the plants without the risk of leaf damage.

Long Lasting –LED grow lamps contain no filament which means that they can last up to 50 times longer than normal grow lamps. There is also no light degradation (which can affect the light spectrum) as there is other lamp types such as fluorescent bulbs.

No Ballast Required –Unlike other grow lights, LED lamps don’t require ballasts, which means they are lighter, easier to place and also there is no cost for replacement ballasts a few years down the line.

Overall, if you can afford the initial costs of LED grow lights then they will make your plant growing much easier and much more cost effective in the long run.