![]() There’s a bit of a learning curve for all of us, though. They use a fraction of the energy, stay much cooler, and they’re super bright.Īll of this makes them a solid option for home gardeners and houseplant enthusiasts looking for an inexpensive grow light option that doesn’t take up a ton of room and won’t kill your energy bill. However, LEDs work very differently than our old school incandescent bulbs. And this worked great as long as we were using Edison’s handiwork to light our homes. The higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb. Most of us have spent our lives choosing lightbulbs based on their wattage. Watt are you talking about, LED? Wattage just doesn’t translate to LEDs very well. I know, right? I, too, am shocked that manufacturers would lie about a product to boost their sales. Or worse, their claims are just made-up fluff to sound impressive. And as they aren’t regulated, some of the claims manufacturers make about their lights are pretty hard to prove. However, one of the most important things to keep in mind going forward is that inexpensive LEDs vary wildly from one manufacturer to the next. In a nutshell a light-emitting diode is an incredibly tiny electrical arc. As the technology has developed, LEDs or light-emitting diodes have dropped in price significantly, making them a great choice for the budget and energy-conscious gardener. LED Grow Lights Are Where It’s At, the ISS Says So ![]() These grow light setups were pricey both to purchase and to run. Blrple, yup, that familiar glow from a plant light actually has a name. And you could tell what neighbor was into plants by the strange purple glow or weird orange glow coming from one of their windows every evening. Old School Grow Lights Bulky and tough on the electric bill, these old grow lights have now been replaced by LEDs.īack in the day, grow lights consisted of large setups with heavy ballasts that took up a ton of space. Everything you need to know about LED Grow Lights Make a cup of tea, and meet me back here in five. But hey, I did it, so you don’t have to I’ll share what I’ve learned so you can make the best decision for your plant growing needs. Spoiler alert – I ended up more confused than when I started. ![]() And that orchid is a lovely plant even if it never blooms.īut I gritted my teeth and decided to dig into LED grow lights to see if I could make some sense of all these terms because I knew my Rural Sprout readers depend on me. Or maybe you’ll just grow vegetables that do well in the shade. LED grow lights? Full-spectrum? PAR? PPFD? What’s the big deal with red and blue light? 9W all the way up to 3000W? Infrared? Ultraviolet? Huh?Īgain, if you’re anything like me, you’ll decide you don’t really need a grow light after all, right? Those spindly little seedlings on the windowsill will catch up eventually. If you’re anything like me, you’ll do what I did – go straight to Google, type in grow lights, and be immediately overwhelmed by the search results. Or maybe you have a finicky orchid that won’t bloom because it needs more light than your windows can provide. Maybe you want to get a jump on the gardening season and produce some exceptionally hardy little seedlings. At some point in your gardening or houseplant journey, you’ll find yourself wondering if you need a grow light.
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