What type of LED is best for growing plants? 2021 Updated

When it comes to marijuana — there are two types of people in this world. Those who support it and those who are against it. Those who support it can be further divided into those who smoke it and those who don’t smoke it. Those who smoke weed can be divided into those who grow their own weed vs those who buy their weed. Finally, those who grow their weed can choose to either grow it indoors or grow it outdoors. While growing your weed outdoors means you are leaving much to nature, growing it indoors gives you a much higher level of control over the quality of your cannabis, as well as the potency and the strength of your weed! If you want to grow indoor, you need to choose grow lights for weeds.
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​What are LED Grow Lights?
The “LED” stands for Light Emitting Diode. This is basically a light that has a small bulb. In order for it to produce the proper amount of light, different diodes in various colors are used for specific purposes.
The LED grow lights are used as an alternative to natural sunlight for indoor plants or even aquatic plants since the light from the LED are efficient enough to provide the same effect of the sun. A lot of horticulturalists use LED lights for professional greenhouses and indoor gardens since they are more convenient and customizable.
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.

TYPES OF LED GROW LIGHTS
One thing that you need to know before you start growing your weed using LED grow lights is to know how many kinds of LED grow lights there are! Here’s a closer look at the major kinds of these lights.

• Spread Style LED Grow Lights: Basically, in these kinds of grow lights, several small LEDs are spread out over a large area. There are two further divisions in the Spread Style lights — quantum lights and spider LEDs. Quantum boards, which make use of low wattage LED lights and are highly energy efficient and are good for plants which do not require too much of heat. The other kinds of lights are Spider LEDs, which are also low wattage lights but the way they distribute lights is different. They have a main spine out of which several ‘arms’ are coming out which are fit with LEDs. These are slightly expensive but also offer a good result compared to most other style of LED lights used for growing weed.
• Traditional Panel: These are the good old trusted forms of LED lights which have been in use since forever! The basic characteristic feature here is that they use medium wattage lights and are slightly more compact compared to the spread style lights which are spread out. Multiple panels need to be used if you are growing a moderate to large quantity of weed.
• COB Style LED Grow Lights: COB stands for Chip on Board. Instead of having multiple small diodes, COBs usually feature large LED bulbs. They are known for providing intense light and heat and are being preferred by a number of growers of late! These usually come in panels where multiple COBs are put together to provide the best possible light and heat. Then there are also AutoCOBs, which basically are only one bulb.

Carambola 2000W LED Grow Light

Pros:

• Dissipates heat better to extend its lifespan
• Consumes and wastes less energy
• Promotes optimal growth for plants’ photosynthesis
• Releases minimum heat even after working for 17 hours day

Cons:

• The brightness doesn’t last that long
• The light beam is too narrow to cover other plants under it

Tmlapy 2000W Dimmable LED Grow Lights

Pros:

• Energy-saving and more convenient than traditional LEDs
• ETL Certified and made from eco-friendly materials
• Offers a separate switch for the veg and bloom
• Designed with a functional daisy-chain

Cons:

• May increase the temperature a little in grow tents
• Too sensitive with humidity and water

ECO Farm 240W V3 LM301H Movable Quantum Board

Pros:

• Affordable and convenient
• Utilizes 620–660 lamp beads to ensure its efficiency
• Produces different lights that plants need to grow healthy
• Controls each lamp bead’s efficiency to save energy

Cons:

• Not ideal to be installed in a grow tent
• The thermometer could have been better

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.

How to Choose?Now that LEDs are widely used by growers from different parts of the world, different versions arrive in the market. But instead of convincing you to buy from a single brand, we’ll let you decide on the product to buy. So, here are some tips and questions to answer so you can choose the LED grow lights:

• Look for chips

To make sure that your plants will grow, it has to have the right chips. In this case, the LED grow light that you should choose is the one with at least 3 watts. Any LED with less than 3 watts will not give your plants enough light coverage that can help them grow. Thus, every chip in the LED should have 3 watts since a 3 watts chip provides the best lighting solution.
You can notice this in blues, reds, and white LEDs so beware of those that only offer 1 watt each. Using 3 chips with 1 watt just to meet this requirement will not work either.

• Check the total output

Just like any other lighting solutions, you should also check its product description for the total output. Check the total number of units that the lamp has since it can also affect its produced amount of light. Some LED grow lights are built with 300, 400, 600, and even 1,000W. Before you head to the counter, check if it has at least 300W first. The higher the wattage the better since you can compensate for the loss of wattage over time.

• Consider its spectrum

Plants may grow under different kinds of light. However, it requires a specific amount of wavelength and spectrum to help them in photosynthesis. The best LEDs for growing indoor plants can provide a full spectrum that is necessary from their growth.
In this case, it should be able to provide enough amount of blues and reds as well as ultraviolet, and infrared. Depending on your plants’ stage of growth, their needed spectrum may also change to help them during the photosynthesis process.

• Look for its cooling aspects

Generally, LEDs produce less heat so a cooling system is not really necessary on some units. But since you’d be keeping these lamps on for more than 10 hours a day, you better check its cooling aspects. There are units with internal fans to protect the lamp from burning fast as well as your plants. The heat that comes out behind the bulbs should be protected with a cooling system to avoid burning its chips.

• Growing space

If LEDs vary in color, it also varies in size. Thus, be sure to measure the space you want to grow your plants to determine the exact size to buy. You also need to measure the lighting area to make sure that every plant you have is well-lighted. For high-light plants, you should have at least 32W/sq. ft. LEDs while low-light plants should have at least 11–18W/sq. ft.

• Ease of use

One of the most important things to look for when choosing an LED grow light is its ease of use. The best-LED lights for growing indoor plants should not give you a hard time while operating it. It should be flexible so you can adjust its lights depending on the kind of plant you have. At the same time, its growth stage should determine your LED’s placement.
​Final thoughts
LED Grow Lights are becoming more and more popular in all types of indoor gardening. The best led grow lights can help you to grow strong, healthy plants. They can give you a huge yield plus great quality of fruits and flowers. Indoor growing offers many advantages. The biggest benefits are the most obvious! Garden pests can’t get at your plants, and you have total control over the weather.