LED Grow Lights: The Best Choice for Indoor Plants & Gardens

As our society becomes increasingly sustainable and environmentally-conscious, LED lighting is fast becoming the most popular choice for both individual and commercial indoor-growers, as well as homeowners alike. Their low energy consumption is not only good for the earth, but for many growers’ bank accounts as well. An outrageously long life-span also provides owners with lower maintenance and replacement costs. As the popularity of LED lights grow, their cost steadily decreases, making them more financially accessible to the general population.

Benefits of LED Grow Lights

1. Reduced Energy Costs

In short, LED lights are extremely energy efficient, even more so than CFL’s, the previous king of efficiency. This isn’t to take away from fluorescent lighting, as it is still an energy efficient choice. The problem therein lies in their short lifespan. LED’s can last for decades, whereas CFL’s can last for only a few years.

Eco-Friendly LED Light BulbWhile you still may be saving on your monthly energy bills, the shorter lifespan of CFL bulbs means you have to spend more on replacement costs than you ever will with LED bulbs. It is common for growers who switch from other lighting sources to LED to experience energy savings in the range of 40% or more in just a very short period of time. Using LED grow lights for your indoor gardening is a great way to save money and live more sustainably at the same time.

2. Unrivaled Longevity

Simply put, LED lights have the longest life-span of any indoor lighting source currently available on the market today. These lights can provide up to 11 years of continuous lighting, so growers hardly ever have to worry about changing bulbs. Unlike fluorescent lights that immediately stop working, LED grow lights slowly become lower in intensity over time, signaling to owners that it is time for a change. When you use LED grow lights for indoor gardening purposes your plants or vegetables will never be compromised by a sudden outage.

Especially quantum board LED grow light which run much cooler than other LED panels, so the fixture doesn't even need fans. Passive cooling is all you need. Not only does that mean silent operation, it also means a longer lifespan.

3. Choose Your Desired Wavelength

Plants grow differently when exposed to different wavelengths of light. Some grow better under longer wavelengths, while others prefer shorter wavelengths. LED lights are the only indoor grow lights that allow owners to choose a specific wavelength. Other lighting systems can cause slow or sub-par growth since they lack this function. But choosing LED lighting for indoor gardening can allow gardeners to select the ideal lighting conditions for their plants. The red and blue light emitted by LEDs deeply stimulates root growth in plants.

Buying Guide

Before you buy a LED a growing light, you should check things such as space, plant varieties, growing style, and budget. These factors will help you to decide the type of grow light you need. But what are the key features to look for in a LED growing light?

1. Color Spectrum

The sun emits all the electromagnetic spectrum frequencies, and so plants growing outdoors receive all these frequencies. Well, indoor plants also need a full electromagnetic spectrum to satisfy all growth stages.

2. Cooling System

LED lights require a quality cooling system, although they are cooler than their HPS and HID counterparts. It should have a sink that dissipates the heat produced by the lights and clear it from your plants and the lighting system.

3. Programmable

It is good to get a programmable grow light because it reduces the possibility of mistakes and forgetting. Some of the best grow lights in the market offer a range of programmability, such as customizing spectrums, altering intensity, and scheduling lighting.

The Best Choice of LED Grow Lights

VIPARSPECTRA XS4000

VIPARSPECTRA XS4000 LED grow light adopts the latest high-quality LEDs technology-Samsung LM301B diodes, high energy efficiency with 2.7 umol/J, generates more usable lighting per watt and provides better light canopy penetration.

Consists of 3000K warm white, 5000K white, 660nm deep red, and 730nm IR light, which providing your plants with excellent full spectrum led grow lights. The red and IR light are particularly useful during bloom, which can speed up bloom time and enhance high yields to obtain the ideal harvest. An added dimmer knob is featured to manipulate the light intensity at liberty, provides desired needs for plants in all stages from veg to bloom.

No fans zero noise. Large areas of solid aluminum heat sinks help you to achieve the ideal cooling system. Adopts high safety performance MEAN WELL HLG series driver to achieve high PAR output, longer lifespan to speed up plant's grow processes and boost yields while saving you on your energy bill.

Spider Farmer Quantum Board

From its name Spider Farmer to the components, I have fallen in love with this quantum board LED. Aptly named, as it looks very much like a hanging spider in your grow tent, the Spider Farmer SF 1000 is well thought out and a thoroughly tested light. From the deep red diodes to its near-perfect white light, the lamp efficacy is never in doubt with producing high-quality light that your plants will love. A perfect SPIDER FARMER QUANTUM BOARD LED for small indoor grows of 1 to 3 plants.

The efficiency is quite high, with 2,7 umol/J. It only uses 100w but it will generate the same yield as fake 1000W, 1200W blurple led grow lights. Samsung LM301B diodes, provide the highest light output led that you can find currently on the market. They create a better canopy light penetration and will bring you 40% higher crop efficiency with less energy than other red-blue lights.

The process is safer now. There is zero noise, because the design has no fan. It has large areas of solid aluminium heat sink. SF – 1000 has special protective cable covers, waterproof led board and a highly safety MeanWell driver.SF -1000 will lead your plant in an optimum way during all stages, by just adjusting the height and lighting schedule: germination, seeding, veg and bloom.

Mars Hydro FC 4800

Mars Hydro FC 4800 480W LED Grow Light with Samsung LM301B Osram Diodes。 Silent fanless design. No fans zero noise. Built-in large areas of solid aluminum heat sinks, essential for heat dissipation while ensuring long lifespan of the light.

Perfect for 5ft×5ft coverage. Remember to properly adjust the height and brightness accordingly to your plants desired level for optimal growth. Slim design that is foldable up to 180 degrees, making it small, compact, and easy to install.

6 passively cooled bars provide broad-coverage lighting for full-term growth. Reliably sourced components including inventronics drivers.

Final Thoughts

There are many different types of indoor grow lights, each catering to a different type of gardener or horticulturist. Despite this wide range of choices, LED lights seem to be the most energy-efficient and cost-effective, making them perfect for growers looking to live a more sustainable existence. LED lights show the world that it is possible to grow plants indoors while saving energy and money.