can you use a lcd panel as a grow light quotation

Firstly, I"ve been reading through the forums for a while, but rarely post. I want to thank the posters for the wealth of information that you provide.

Would an LCD or LED TV or monitor (32-37") provide enough to use as a light source for a small indoor grow? LCD and LED TVs are dropping in price, and wouldn"t get nearly as hot as some other sources of artificial light (I know they do heat up, but I don"t think it would heat up a small room too bad).

Would switching from veg to flower be as simple as changing the hue of the screen from a whiter light to a more yellow light? I am semi-experienced, and familiar with the basic concepts involved with indoor hydro growing. Any information you could offer would be appreciated. Thanks!

This website is operated by HS Supplies LLC. Throughout the site, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to HS Supplies LLC. HS Supplies LLC offers this website, including all information, tools and services available from this site to you, the user, conditioned upon your acceptance of all terms, conditions, policies and notices stated here.

By visiting our site and/ or purchasing something from us, you engage in our “Service” and agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions (“Terms of Service”, “Terms”), including those additional terms and conditions and policies referenced herein and/or available by hyperlink. These Terms of Service apply  to all users of the site, including without limitation users who are browsers, vendors, customers, merchants, and/ or contributors of content.

Please read these Terms of Service carefully before accessing or using our website. By accessing or using any part of the site, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the website or use any services. If these Terms of Service are considered an offer, acceptance is expressly limited to these Terms of Service.

Any new features or tools which are added to the current store shall also be subject to the Terms of Service. You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time on this page. We reserve the right to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and/or changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.

By agreeing to these Terms of Service, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site.

You may not use our products for any illegal or unauthorized purpose nor may you, in the use of the Service, violate any laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws).

You understand that your content (not including credit card information), may be transferred unencrypted and involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. Credit card information is always encrypted during transfer over networks.

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any portion of the Service, use of the Service, or access to the Service or any contact on the website through which the service is provided, without express written permission by us.

We are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete or current. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information. Any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk.

This site may contain certain historical information. Historical information, necessarily, is not current and is provided for your reference only. We reserve the right to modify the contents of this site at any time, but we have no obligation to update any information on our site. You agree that it is your responsibility to monitor changes to our site.

Certain products or services may be available exclusively online through the website. These products or services may have limited quantities and are subject to return or exchange only according to our Return Policy.

We have made every effort to display as accurately as possible the colors and images of our products that appear at the store. We cannot guarantee that your computer monitor"s display of any color will be accurate.

We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the sales of our products or Services to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any products or services that we offer. All descriptions of products or product pricing are subject to change at anytime without notice, at the sole discretion of us. We reserve the right to discontinue any product at any time. Any offer for any product or service made on this site is void where prohibited.

We do not warrant that the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you will meet your expectations, or that any errors in the Service will be corrected.

We reserve the right to refuse any order you place with us. We may, in our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities purchased per person, per household or per order. These restrictions may include orders placed by or under the same customer account, the same credit card, and/or orders that use the same billing and/or shipping address. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we may attempt to notify you by contacting the e-mail and/or billing address/phone number provided at the time the order was made. We reserve the right to limit or prohibit orders that, in our sole judgment, appear to be placed by dealers, resellers or distributors.

You agree to provide current, complete and accurate purchase and account information for all purchases made at our store. You agree to promptly update your account and other information, including your email address and credit card numbers and expiration dates, so that we can complete your transactions and contact you as needed.

You acknowledge and agree that we provide access to such tools ”as is” and “as available” without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind and without any endorsement. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of optional third-party tools.

Any use by you of optional tools offered through the site is entirely at your own risk and discretion and you should ensure that you are familiar with and approve of the terms on which tools are provided by the relevant third-party provider(s).

We may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall also be subject to these Terms of Service.

Third-party links on this site may direct you to third-party websites that are not affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third-parties.

We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party"s policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.

If, at our request, you send certain specific submissions (for example contest entries) or without a request from us you send creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, "comments"), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any comments that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (1) to maintain any comments in confidence; (2) to pay compensation for any comments; or (3) to respond to any comments.

We may, but have no obligation to, monitor, edit or remove content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, pornographic, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Service.

You agree that your comments will not violate any right of any third-party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, personality or other personal or proprietary right. You further agree that your comments will not contain libelous or otherwise unlawful, abusive or obscene material, or contain any computer virus or other malware that could in any way affect the operation of the Service or any related website. You may not use a false e-mail address, pretend to be someone other than yourself, or otherwise mislead us or third-parties as to the origin of any comments. You are solely responsible for any comments you make and their accuracy. We take no responsibility and assume no liability for any comments posted by you or any third-party.

Occasionally there may be information on our site or in the Service that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to product descriptions, pricing, promotions, offers, product shipping charges, transit times and availability. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).

We undertake no obligation to update, amend or clarify information in the Service or on any related website, including without limitation, pricing information, except as required by law. No specified update or refresh date applied in the Service or on any related website, should be taken to indicate that all information in the Service or on any related website has been modified or updated.

In addition to other prohibitions as set forth in the Terms of Service, you are prohibited from using the site or its content: (a) for any unlawful purpose; (b) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (c) to violate any international, federal, provincial or state regulations, rules, laws, or local ordinances; (d) to infringe upon or violate our intellectual property rights or the intellectual property rights of others; (e) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, national origin, or disability; (f) to submit false or misleading information; (g) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious code that will or may be used in any way that will affect the functionality or operation of the Service or of any related website, other websites, or the Internet; (h) to collect or track the personal information of others; (i) to spam, phish, pharm, pretext, spider, crawl, or scrape; (j) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (k) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of the Service or any related website, other websites, or the Internet. We reserve the right to terminate your use of the Service or any related website for violating any of the prohibited uses.

You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, the service is at your sole risk. The service and all products and services delivered to you through the service are (except as expressly stated by us) provided "as is" and "as available" for your use, without any representation, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, durability, title, and non-infringement.

In no case shall HS Supplies LLC, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of the service or any products procured using the service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the service or any product, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the service or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the service, even if advised of their possibility. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless HS Supplies LLC and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, officers, directors, agents, contractors, licensors, service providers, subcontractors, suppliers, interns and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms of Service or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party.

In the event that any provision of these Terms of Service is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, such provision shall nonetheless be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and the unenforceable portion shall be deemed to be severed from these Terms of Service, such determination shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions.

The obligations and liabilities of the parties incurred prior to the termination date shall survive the termination of this agreement for all purposes.

These Terms of Service are effective unless and until terminated by either you or us. You may terminate these Terms of Service at any time by notifying us that you no longer wish to use our Services, or when you cease using our site.

If in our sole judgment you fail, or we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any term or provision of these Terms of Service, we also may terminate this agreement at any time without notice and you will remain liable for all amounts due up to and including the date of termination; and/or accordingly may deny you access to our Services (or any part thereof).

These Terms of Service and any policies or operating rules posted by us on this site or in respect to The Service constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between you and us and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior or contemporaneous agreements, communications and proposals, whether oral or written, between you and us (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Service).

These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of 8650 Genesee Ave, Ste 214, San Diego , CA, 92192, United States.

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check our website periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to our website or the Service following the posting of any changes to these Terms of Service constitutes acceptance of those changes.

In this article, I’ll show you 4 grow lights I have personally used with satisfactory results. I’ll share my thoughts on what makes them a good choice, which plants would benefit from them, but also why you might look for an alternative.

Disclaimer: this article contains affiliate links from Amazon. A portion of sales goes to support the work of House Plant Journal. I’m also pleased to present some brand partners who I’ve selected because I’ve been very happy with their products. The SANSI 70W Daylight LED Grow Light was generously provided by Sansi. The Aspect grow light is from Soltech Solutions.

If you’re confused about how to choose a grow light, it’s because the manufacturers are throwing lots of specifications at you AND trying to get you to understand what they mean AND trying to convince you of what’s important…the burden shouldn’t be completely on them!

Do yourself a favor and get a light meter (measuring lux or foot-candles), otherwise you won’t have any concrete way to even roughly* compare your natural light with the strength of a grow light. It would be like buying an oven and not being able to set a specific temperature – guessing won’t cut it!

*I say “roughly” because light from the sun is different from all artificial sources when you look at their spectral distribution – that’s for another blog post! For now, if you’re just growing plants for fun, being able to measure lux/fc will suffice – it’s WAY better than trying to judge with only your eyes!

In order to really see what’s inside the light, my friends at Soltech Solutions let me borrow their Spectromaster C-700, which is normally used by the film industry to get very precise color information about any light source. I’ve been having a blast analyzing the spectral distribution all kinds of light sources – I’ll do a separate blog post on it!

While I can already hear the horticulturalists saying “you should be using a PAR meter!” – you don’t get to see the spectral character of the light with a quantum meter. So for this article, I’ll just use the Spectromaster C-700 to measure foot-candles and spectral distribution.

Thoughts: if you don’t mind the pinkish glow, then a few of your very small, low-light plants would benefit from having them on this winter like small ferns, pothos, philodendrons, zz plant – I stress *small* because the coverage of these lights is very limited. Don’t expect to light anything in a 6″ pot or larger. And if your plant requires direct sun, skip this light – it’s much too weak!

I have 2 of these hanging above my couch to light the plants on my grid wall. Since these lights have a pleasant white color (I got the 5000K version), they are more suitable to also light up my living room. With two lights, I measure 700-800 fc quite close to the lights (about 6-12 inches below); farther away, I’m getting 200-300 fc at the lowest part of the shelf. I’m quite happy with the coverage all around the shelf.

Thoughts: the lights come with mouting brackets that you’ll need to screw into the surface where you want to mount the lights. The fixture itself is quite minimal so the effect is like a bar of pure light, which could be cool if you’re going for that look. If you put your plants no more than 3-4 feet away from these lights, you’ll get good results for “bright indirect light” type of plants. You might be able to support a few sun lovers right up close to the lights or if you put 4 lights together.

This array of LED lights by SANSI measured in at over 3000 foot-candles about 1 foot away. At this intensity, you could keep succulents and cacti quite happy if you ran the grow light on for about 12 hours. Further away, even though the intensity is much less (300-500 fc at 4 feet away), your coverage area is wider – you could use this as a supplemental light by turning it on say, at 4pm and off at 9pm (5 hours), which would be an excellent boost for most tropical foliage plants.

Thoughts: I’m a fan of mounting options – the SANSI 70W LED comes with hardware to mount the panel in several differt ways: suspended by an adjustable wire or mounted directly into an overhead surface. The look is rather utilitarian, which would be fine in a grow space in your basement but may not look as nice in the living room. Overall, this is a very powerful grow light at a good price.

The first thing to note is the elegant design! Both the black and white versions blend in nicely to most interior themes, which means you can keep a plant alive and well anywhere indoors. The other thing that struck me was the power of this light – it’s the most powerful consumer-focused grow light I have ever measured. At one foot away from the light, I measured over 8000 fc – but you definitely should NOT use it this close to a plant (there must be good air flow around the fixture so heat can dissipate – this applies to all grow lights). Using this light at 4 feet away, I measured 500-800 fc, which would make most “bright indirect light” plants very happy. If you had a small collection of cacti and succulents, putting the large Aspect 2-3 feet away would be a great light boost during the winter months.

Thoughts: because the Aspect turns on immediately when plugged in (i.e. there is no switch on the fixture), you should use it with a timer, which is included. Soltech Solutions also includes some mounting hardware that allows you to run the wire against the wall and over the ceiling above your plants. If you’re looking for a very powerful grow light that you can proudly display in your living room, the Aspect is an elegant solution.

In Part 2, I’ll use the latest version of Apogee’s full spectrum quantum sensor (a present to myself!) to make some super accurate measurements and we’ll discuss how this relates to DLI (Daily Light Integral).

This article aims to help you understand the light spectrums needed for plant growth and how full spectrum LED lighting is now widely used for crop production. We’ll address what broad-spectrum lighting is, how different grow light spectrums affect different stages of plant growth, and its effect on Cannabis production.

Grow light spectrum refers to the electromagnetic wavelengths of light produced by a light source to promote plant growth. For photosynthesis, plants use light in the PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) region of wavelengths (400nm-700nm) measured in nanometers (nm).

Nanometers are a universal unit of measurement but also used to measure spectrum of light – humans can only detectvisiblelight spectrum wavelengths (380-740nm). Plants, on the other hand, detect wavelengthsincludingour visible light and beyond, to include UV and Far Red spectrums.

It’s important to note light spectrums affect plant growth differently depending on things like environmental conditions, crop species, etc. Typically, chlorophyll, the molecule in plants responsible for converting light energy into chemical energy, absorbs most light in blue and red light spectrums for photosynthesis. Both red and blue light are found in the peaks of the PAR range.

LED grow lights are energy-efficient lights used by indoor and greenhouse farmers and Cannabis growers too. Used as either a sole light source (indoor) or supplementary (greenhouses), LEDs help plants grow using full-spectrum lighting at a lower cost than traditional HPS lamps (1).

Many growers take advantage of LED lights to help scale plant production due to their full light spectrum capabilities, low heat waste and maintenance, and extended lifespan. And given a plant’s physiology and morphology are strongly affected by specific spectrums, LED grow lights can efficiently promote growth in crops (2) at specific times in the growth cycle. With the ability to closely monitor quality, energy output can be easily evaluated for scaling crop production.

The above chart shows the PAR range – the spectrum of light plants use for photosynthesis. Grow light spectrum charts like this include both the PAR range and other spectrums as it’s been discovered that wavelengths outside of the PAR range are also helpful for plant growth.

The peak of photosynthetic efficiency (light absorption) falls in the red light and blue light spectrums of the PAR range. Red radiation (around 700nm) is considered most efficient at driving photosynthesis – especially in the flowering stage for biomass growth (important to Cannabis growers). Blue light is essential for both the vegetativeandflowering stages of plant growth, butmainlyfor establishing vegetative and structural growth.

The ideal grow light spectrum for plants depends on several factors. These include how specific plants use PAR-spectrum light for photosynthesis but also the wavelengths outside of the 400-700nm range. This light can help accelerate flowering, increase nutrition, speed up rate of growth, etc. If the light source is sole (indoors) or supplementary (greenhouses) also affects which grow light spectrums should be used.

Generally, photosyntheticefficiencyoccurs at the red and blue peaks which means plants absorb these spectrums most when growing. You might think the ideal grow light spectrum is equal to sunlight – after all, it’s had millions of years of experience – however, it’s more detailed than this.

Sunlight produces a lot of greens, yellows, and oranges – they’re the most readily available spectrums of light. In fact, studies (3) tell us how green light, while not absorbed by chlorophyll as well as red and blue (hence why most plants appear green), it’s absolutely critical for photosynthesis.

Light spectrums outside of blue and red wavelengths are used least by plants to grow as reds and blues are where most photosynthetic activity occurs – a big reason why full-spectrum grow lights are incredibly efficient because a grower can get very specific.

Broad spectrum lighting – often referred to as full spectrum lighting, means the complete spectrum of light given by sunlight. This means wavelengths of broad spectrum lighting include the 380nm-740nm range (which we see as color) plus invisible wavelengths too, like infrared and ultraviolet.

One advantage of LED grow lights is they can be set up to produce certain wavelengths for specified periods during the day or night. This makes it ideal for plants because growers can isolate specific spectrum colors depending on crops and growing conditions. Full spectrum lighting can also speed up or slow growth rate, enhance root development, improve nutrition and color etc.

The grow light spectrum for Cannabis varies when compared to other plants as growers are focused on maximizing yields, controlling levels of THC and other cannabinoid production, increasing flowering, and to maintain overall uniformity.

Aside from visible colors, Cannabis responds especially well to wavelengths just outside of the PAR range. Therefore, an added benefit of using full spectrum LEDs is the ability to use specific doses of ultra-violet wavelengths (100-400nm), and far-red wavelengths (700-850nm) outside of the PAR range.

For example, an increase in far-red (750nm-780nm) can help stimulate Cannabis stem growth and flowering – something growers want, whereas necessary blue light in minimal amounts, can prevent uneven elongation of stems and leaf shrinkage.

So, what’s the ideal grow light spectrum for Cannabis? There’s no single spectrum since varying light exposure promotes certain plant morphology during different stages of growth. The chart below explains the concept of outer-edge PAR light spectrum use.

The difference with personal vs commercial grow lights for Cannabis can be determined by a number of factors. Firstly, the available light spectrums in commercial LED grow lights will include the full PAR range and beyond – which is particularly advantageous for Cannabis growers.

Commercial grow lights can be wirelessly configured to put out specific wavelengths and intensities at certain intervals in a 24-hour cycle – grow light settings often work in conjunction with a grower’s HVAC systems too.With personal LED grow lights, lumens per watt will likely be lower – which makes them less energy efficient with smaller potential yields. Many are not broad spectrum and may only offer small spectrums of blue and red light. Additionally, while personal grow lights will still be inexpensive to run, other factors to be considered include noisier fans, inferior quality plastic casing, shorter LED lifespans and overheating issues.

In some crops, blue light can benefit nutritional levels and coloring, and a higher red to far-red ratio can help with leaf size and flowering. It’s why today’s full-spectrum LEDs are so advanced – because by selecting the right quantities of red and blue light (4), chlorophyll pigments absorb more light they need.

Cannabis growers – who pay attention to UVB/blue for its various structural and THC-potency benefits, which we’ll get into, are predominantly concerned with leaf size and flowering. Therefore, far-red and red light isrelativelymore important to boost their yields.

Other indoor growers are also experimenting with the controlled use of far-red spectrum, like salad leaf farmers for example. Plants associate this spectrum with shading from direct sunlight, which would happen lower down the canopy, causing leaf & stem stretching as the plant reaches out for sunlight.

This means when used strategically, bigger leaves and flowering can occur without unnecessary stress. So while there is no specific LED grow light spectrum for any particular plant, theratioof red to blue light is very important to maximize growth and the rate of photosynthesis.

For photosynthesis to occur and chlorophyll to absorb the maximum amount of light for plant growth, plants use both blueandred light most efficiently. Other spectrums of light, like greens/yellows/oranges, are less useful for photosynthesis due to the amount ofchlorophyll b,absorbed largely from blue light, andchlorophyll a,absorbed largely from red and blue light.

For growth, blue light is essential to help plants produce healthy stems, increased density, and established roots – all which occur in the early vegetative growth stages. Growth then continues with increased red light absorption, resulting in longer stems, increased leaf and fruit/flowering etc. It’s here that red light plays the dominating role in plant maturity and, therefore, size.

And finally, yield – this comes down to a combination of light spectrums and is often very unique to growers, including growers of several varieties of the same crop (like Cannabis). There’s no one single light spectrum that producesmoreof a crop – optimal lighting is very much a holistic, ever-changing process.

Certain light spectrums trigger growth characteristics in plants. In general, blue light spectrums encourage vegetative and structural growth and red light promotes flowering, fruit, leaf growth, and stem elongation. Each crop type is sensitive to different spectrums and quantities of light at different times throughout a daylight cycle – this directly affects the rate of photosynthesis.

Essentially, we know that controlling grow light spectrum can have a significant impact on areas of growth – like flowering, flavor, color, compactness etc. However, it’s important to recognize that signaling specific growth factors is part of a much larger, complex cycle. Results also vary depending on the environment (indoor or greenhouse), the relative temperature/humidity, crop species, light intensity (lumens per watt), and photoperiod etc.

UV light spectrum, which is not visible to the human eye, is outside the PAR range (100nm-400nm). Around 10% of the sun’s light is ultraviolet, and like humans, plants can be harmed from overexposure to UV light. Categorized into 3 types, UV-A (315-400 nm), UV-B (280-315 nm), and UV-C (100-280 nm).

While the benefits of ultraviolet light use in horticulture are still being researched, UV light is often associated with darker, purple coloring – in fact, small amounts can have beneficial effects on color, nutritional value, taste, and aroma.

Research shows environmental stress, fungus, and pests can also be reduced using controlled amounts of UV. Research has emerged that suggests an increase in cannabinoids like THC (5) in Cannabis can be achieved using UV-B light (280nm – 315nm).

Blue light spectrum is widely responsible for increasing plant quality – especially in leafy crops. It promotes the stomatal opening – which allows more CO2 to enter the leaves. Blue light drives peak chlorophyll pigment absorption which is needed for photosynthesis.

It’s essential for seedlings and young plants during vegetative stages as they establish a healthy root and stem structure – and especially important when stem stretching must be reduced.

Green wavelengths have been somewhat written off as less important for plant photosynthesis given it’s (in)ability to readily absorb chlorophyll compared to red or blue light spectrums. Nonetheless, greenisstill absorbed and used for photosynthesis; in fact, only 5-10% is actually reflected – the rest is absorbed or transmitted lower down! This is due to green light’s ability to penetrate a plant’s canopy

In greenhouses, due to the presence of sunlight, supplementing green light spectrum using LED grow lights would be less important compared to crops are grown solely indoors – like Cannabis or vertical crop farming.

Red light is known to be the most effective light spectrum to encourage photosynthesis as it’s highly absorbed by chlorophyll pigments. In other words, it sits in the peaks in chlorophyll absorption. Red light wavelengths (particularly around 660nm) encourage stem, leaf, and general vegetative growth – but most commonly, tall, stretching of leaves and flowers.

A balanced pairing with blue light is necessary to counteract any overstretching, like disfigured stem elongation. It’s important to consider that while red is the most responsive light spectrum for plants, its efficacy really steps in when in combination with other PAR wavelengths.

There are a few ways far-red can affect plant growth – one is to initiate a shade-avoidance response. At around 660nm (deep red) a plant senses bright sunlight exposure. From 730nm and beyond – i.e. a higher ratio of far-red to red light, a plant will detect light “shade” from another plant or leaves higher up the canopy, so stretching of stems and leaves occurs.

Far-red can be very useful to promote flowering, and in certain plants, increase fruit yield (6). In short-day plants like Cannabis, which rely on longer periods of darkness, 730nm can be used at the end of a light cycle to promote flowering. Many growers are experimenting with interrupting the dark cycle with bursts of red light to boost growth and flowering.

There’s a great deal of information and science to take on board as we understand the way plants interact with different light spectrums. Optimizing yield production and consistent quality of plants we’ve learned are attributed to light spectrums used together – much like natural sunlight.

At BIOS we’re constantly developing our knowledge and research of how light spectrums on specific crops and strains work best – and at which time during a plant’s light cycle. Our LED grow lighting systems are designed and developed using detailed scientific research to give growers the control of using the ideal light spectrum for optimizing the yield, quality, and variability of their plants.

(1) Nelson, Jacob & Bugbee, Bruce. (2014).Economic Analysis of Greenhouse Lighting: Light Emitting Diodes vs. High Intensity Discharge Fixtures. PloS one. 9. e99010. 10.1371/journal.pone.0099010.Available:

(2)Darko, E., Heydarizadeh, P., Schoefs, B., & Sabzalian, M. R. (2014).Photosynthesis under artificial light: the shift in primary and secondary metabolism.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 369(1640), 20130243.Available:

(3) Hayley L. Smith, Lorna McAusland, Erik H. Murchie . (2017).Don’t ignore the green light: exploring diverse roles in plant processes,Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 68, Issue 9, 1 April 2017, Pages 2099–2110,Available:

(4) Naznin, M.T., Lefsrud, M., Gravel, V. and Azad, M.O.K. (2019). “Blue Light added with Red LEDs Enhance Growth Characteristics, Pigments Content, and Antioxidant Capacity in Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Basil, and Sweet Pepper in a Controlled Environment.”Plants(Basel), 8(4).Available:

(5) Magagnini G, Grassi G, Kotiranta S. (2018),The Effect of Light Spectrum on the Morphology and Cannabinoid Content of Cannabis sativa L,Med Cannabis Cannabinoids, 1:19-27. Available:

(6) Kalaitzoglou, P., van Ieperen, W., Harbinson, J., van der Meer, M., Martinakos, S., Weerheim, K., Nicole, C., & Marcelis, L. (2019).Effects of Continuous or End-of-Day Far-Red Light on Tomato Plant Growth, Morphology, Light Absorption, and Fruit Production. Frontiers in plant science, 10, 322. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00322. Available:

LED Grow Lights are becoming very popular and they are a good choice if you are buying a new grow light system or upgrading your old florescent fixture. This post about LED grow light myths will save you time and money.

As with any new technology there are many myths about LED grow lights. Some are started because of a lack of knowledge by the general public, but many are started by manufacturers who are trying to sell their product. Some of them prefer to keep us in the dark so they can make outrageous claims, but the better companies don’t do this. We need to do our part and become educated consumers so that we can properly evaluate both the message being broadcast and the product itself.

With incandescent and florescent lights, watts were a good measure of the brightness of a light. A 100 watt bulb was always brighter than a 60 watt bulb. Not so with LED. Lower wattage can produce more light.

The watts rating on a LED grow light tells you how much electricity it will use, and therefore the ongoing cost to run the light, but it tells you very little about how bright the light is, or how suitable the light is for growing plants.

How many watts do you need per square foot of growing area? Consumers want to know, and manufacturers are quite willing to give you a rule such as, seedlings need 15 watts per sq foot. You can find similar rules for other types of plants, but none of them mean very much.

As explained above, watts do not equate to the amount of light. But even more important, watts tell you nothing about the quality of light (i.e. the wavelengths of light). What you really want to know is the PPFD (photosynthetic photon flux density) for a given spot under the grow light.

You will have trouble finding a PPFD value for most lights. LED shop lights will not provide this value because they are not being sold specifically for plant growth. Many LED grow lights will not give you this value because they want to sell you on watts and give you that value instead – don’t buy from these companies.

The other reason you will have trouble finding a PPFD value is that many people equate PPFD to PAR. They provide PPFD values but call them PAR values. They just don’t understand what PAR means – it is a measure of light quality, not intensity.

If the product does not advertise a PPFD value, but does show you a PAR value – you can usually assume they are the same thing. The units should be μmol/m2/s.

The term PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation), when properly used, describes the light spectra that plants use, between 400 and 700 nm. Since plants use more blue and red light these colors get weighted higher than yellow and green.

A common misconception of LED lights is that they are 100% efficient at turning electricity into light. Granted they are more efficient than older technology like incandescent and florescent lights, but they are not 100% efficient.

In theory LED lights could convert all of the electricity into light, but that only works in story books. In real life, an LED converts 20% or more of the electricity into heat.

A light fixture containing 100 individual LED bulbs creates a lot of heat. The lights are designed so that most of this heat comes out the back of the fixture, directing it away from the plant. Larger units also contain fans that blow the heat away. This is important since heat shortens the life of LED bulbs.

LED bulbs – the single units that give off the light, are available in various watt ratings. 1, 3, 5, 10 watt bulbs are common. This leads to another myth. It is common to see the claim that a 3 watt unit does not produce as much light as a 5 watt unit – so the 5 must be better. It is not that simple.

Most bulbs are not run at 100% efficiency. Higher wattage bulbs tend to be run at lower efficiency levels since they produce too much heat at higher efficiency. So a 5 watt bulb may be giving the same amount of light as a 3 watt bulb.

Higher watt bulbs are newer technology and generally cost more. They may also have a shorter life. Given the current technology, your best bang for the buck is a 3 watt bulb. It is a good compromise between efficiency, reliability and cost.

A newer technology called COB LED (chip-on-board LED), is more efficient, has a longer life, but is more expensive. At the moment, I think the technology is too new and still has issues. One potential benefit of this technology is that it allows the manufacture to make longer light tracks, similar to a traditional 4 ft florescent fixture. In that configuration it would cover a larger area for home use.  Manufacturers have not taken advantage of this feature, maybe because of higher shipping costs for a larger unit, but there are some DIY systems worth looking into, such as the one pictured here, created by Ichabod Crane on International Canagraphic Magazine.

Plants have evolved under the sun, so we assume sunlight is what plants want. It is not. Much of the yellow and green light in sunlight is not used by plants.

Traditionally we have always grown plants under white light, and outside they grow under sunlight which is a yellow-white. It is natural to think white light is better for growing plants – its not.

The best light is one that produces the wavelengths of light that plants need in the relative amounts plants want. They use more blue and red, and less yellow and green. It does not have to look white.

As light moves away from the source, the light spreads out, and the intensity at any given point is reduced. This follows theinverse square rule, whereby if the distance doubles, the intensity is reduced to 1/4. If you move a plant from 1 ft under the light to 2 ft, it will receive 1/4 as much light.

This rule works for point sources of light, but most LED fixtures contain many LED bulbs, so they are not a point source of light. Therefore the rule does not apply to LED lights.

The other complication is that in the real world the rule only works well right below the light source. As you move out to the sides, the rule is also not valid.

Since it is important to know how much light you get at any point under the fixture, the manufacturer should provide you with that information, as seen in the diagram below

What is the growing area under an LED light? This is an important question since it determines how many plants you can grow and it varies from lamp to lamp.

Manufacturers try to help you by providing a “coverage area value” and say something like, the coverage area is 8 sq feet. That sounds great, but this number means absolutely nothing. If you raise a light up higher it will cover more area, so unless they also provide the height of the light and the light intensity values across that whole area, the coverage area number is of no value.

Lets have a close look at this. The diagram below shows the coverage area for a Viparspectra Par 700 light. You are viewing the growing area from above the light and the numbers are the PPFD values at certain points under the light, with the light hanging at 2 feet above the growing surface.

The specifications for this light suggest a coverage area of “Core Coverage at 24″ Height is 4x3ft“. The reason why this area is longer than wide is because the shape of the light is a rectangle. It makes no sense that the above diagram shows circles and squares for a rectangular light, but lets assume the numbers are correct.

Directly under the light you have a PPFD value of 780, which is lots of light to grow and flower any plant. Assume you want to cover a 3 x 3 ft area, the light at the edges of this growing area have a PPFD of between 30 and 200. That is enough for growing seedlings, but not much more.

Lets look at this from a different perspective. Lets say that after doing a lot of diligent research you decide that you want to provide a minimum PPFD of 300. That reduces the growing area under this light to a 2 x2 ft area, and even then the corners will only be getting about 200 PPFD. So for your requirements (ie 300 PPFD), your coverage area is 2 x 2 ft, not the advertised 4 x 3 ft.

Without seeing this light distribution diagram and knowing the height used to measure the values, the coverage area in the specifications is of little help. At least Viparspectra provides this information; many manufacturers don’t. If they don’t, don’t buy from them.

This one is not really a myth, but it does confuse things. PAR 20 and PAR 30 are lamp size designations and PAR in this case stands for parabolic aluminized reflector. It describes the shape and size of the bulb and has nothing to do with the quality of the light. PAR 20 and PAR 30 are common sizes for bulbs used in the home.

A bit of factual information can easily lead to incorrect conclusions. Plants look green because they reflect green light and absorb red an blue. That makes sense and it follows that if they reflect green light, they don’t use it.

The absorption spectra for extracted chlorophyll shows peaks in the blue and red zones, but no absorption of green light. Again we conclude plants don’t use green light in photosynthesis.

We are wrong. Some green light (around 500 nm) is absorbed by plants, and when we look at photosynthesis in a whole leaf instead of extracted chlorophyll, it is clear that green light does contribute to photosynthesis.

We now know that plants grow best with a wide spectrum that contains all wavelengths including near IR and maybe even near UV. A good LED grow light will provide a wide spectrum which includes some green light.

LED lights tend to produce less heat than older technology, and their light intensity is relatively low. This has lead to the conclusion that you can put plants as close to the lights as you want and you won’t burn them.

The reality is that modern LED grow lights can produce a very high level of light and it can cause photo-bleaching and burn leaves. This depends very much on the plant, but a PPFD of 800 is enough to damage some plants.

This was a myth even with florescent technology but it persists with LED. People using cool white (more blue light) bulbs used to add a few incandescent bulbs (very red light) when it was time for plants to flower. It was believed that red light was needed to initiate the flowering process.

Some of the early LED lights were red and blue and it naturally followed that the blue ones would be best for veg and the red for flowers. There are even lights that allow you to switch between a veg mode ( more blue bulbs on) and a flower mode (more red bulbs on).

The reality is that plants grow and flower best with both blue and red light all of the time. For production you might want to fine tune this at different stages in a growth cycle, but for home use we can ignore it.

Lumens is a measure of light intensity so it logical to think that a grow light with more lumens is better. The problem is that lumens measure intensity based on the human eye, and we see green and yellow light much better than red and blue.

Consider this extreme case where the light is only yellow. People see a lot of light and therefore it gets a high lumen rating. But plants don’t use yellow light very well, so for a plant this light has a very low intensity.

Some of the early LED shop lights did not produce much light and were not suitable for growing plants, except for some very low light level requirements. That has all changed. The newer LED shop lights provide lots of light for seedlings and low level plants like lettuce and African violets.

You can buy complete systems including the reflectors or you can buy 4 ft long LED tubes that replace traditional florescent bulbs, allowing you to continue using the existing fixtures. Even better is that the price of these has come way down.

Florescent tubes and the new LED shop lights measure the color of light using a Kelvin (K) scale. A blue-white has a higher Kelvin value than a red-white. Since Kelvin is a unit of measure for temperature these lights are also called cool and warm.

Light in spring is more blue, and fall light is more red. Some people believe that it is a good idea to mimic this natural shift by using bluer light (6500 Kelvin) in spring and a redder light (3500 Kelvin) in fall.

In northern and southern hemispheres there is a real shift in color because sun light has to travel through more atmosphere in winter, but the change from spring to fall is only 300-500K. That is not significant enough to warrant changing lights with the seasons.

In the world of LED grow lights, Kelvin means very little. It is much better to compare actual spectra, but they can be hard to come by. Some manufacturer do show them on their website.

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

Disclosure: If you buy something through our links we may get a small share of the sale. But it has no impact on your price. They help this site continue to provide valuable information to our readers.

Plants use a photosynthesis process to create food from light. Photosynthesis is the method that plants use to convert light into energy. The plant uses this energy to grow leaves, flowers, and fruits. For photosynthesis to occur, plants need light, water, and carbon dioxide from the air.

While all three elements are essential, light is the most important. Without light, photosynthesis cannot occur, and plants will not be able to grow. This is why it"s important to ensure that your plants are getting enough light.

When it comes to growing plants indoors, people typically use two main types of lighting: grow lights and regular lights. But which kind of light is best for your plants? Let"s take a look at the pros and cons of each to help you decide.

You may have seen grow lights before and wondered what they are and what they do. Grow lights are artificial lights that are used to help plants grow. They mimic the sunlight that plants need for photosynthesis. Grow lights can provide light for plants that receive little to no sunlight. We have compared grow light and sunlight in our previous post. Please read it through this link to get more knowledge.

Grow lights come in various shapes, sizes, and intensities and can be used for indoor and outdoor plants. Also, they can be made from different materials, such as LED, fluorescent, or HID bulbs.

LED grow lights are more expensive than fluorescent lights but last longer and use less electricity. These properties make them ideal for growing plants indoors. Learn more on how to choose the right hydroponic grow light for plants?

Regular lights are the type of lights you typically find in a home or office. They are not explicitly designed for plants but can still be used to help them grow. Regular lights are usually less expensive than grow lights but may be less effective.

A downside of using regular light bulbs for indoor plants is that they produce a lot of heat. This can be a problem if you"re growing delicate plants that require cooler temperatures. If you use regular light bulbs, keep an eye on the temperature and adjust accordingly.

However, you can control grow light much more easily than regular lights. This means you can control the amount of light your plants receive. This is important because too much or too little light can harm plant growth. You can ensure your plants get the right light conditions for optimal growth with grow lights. Before that knowing how does grow light temperature,colors and its distance from the plant matter for the plant growth would be beneficial.

So, which type of light is best for your plants? If you"re serious about indoor gardening and want to give your plants the best possible chance to thrive, then grow lights are the way to go. Know some "cheap grow lights alternatives used in indoor hydroponics".

If you have ever grown plants before, you already know that they do not grow well in dark conditions. Plants need light to grow as much as we need food to survive. Light is the primary source through which plants generate their food, through photosynthesis.

As with everything else, natural light or sunlight is the best source of light that you can provide your plants with. However, not everyone is so lucky as to have a patch of land or a balcony or a porch that is flooded with the blessings of the sun. With advancements in different kinds of artificial lights, it is now possible to grow plants in your home

Among the most recent innovations in artificial lighting is the LED (light-emitting diode) light. You may already have some LED light fittings in your home. But can any LED be used as a grow light for plants?

Generally yes, you can use any LED Light to grow plants, especially white LEDs as they have a good mix of different wavelengths plants need. However, regular LEDs typically don’t have sufficient light output or power to help plants flower. Regular LEDs also don’t usually have the optimal light colour spectrums required for growing. It is better to use a specialized LED light that has the best mix of red, blue and other wave lengths your plants prefer. Otherwise, your plants may experience issues such as wilted leaves, lack of flowers, and stunted growth.

Disclosure: Please note that this post contains affiliate links. If you click one of the links and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you! See policy here.

First of all, for the uninitiated (which let’s face it, is most of us), here is how LED works. LEDs consist of two types of material through which electricity flows, emitting visible light in the process.

LEDs are simple to make, cost-effective, and provide energy-saving opportunities. This is why LEDs have become increasingly popular over the last few years.

LED lights were primarily designed for lighting buildings, for humans, so often do not cover the full spectrum required for optimal plant growth. This is done by manufacturers to increase brightness and efficiency.

Depending on the needs of the plants, grow lights come in varying intensities and color spectrum distributions. Although grow lights do not replace the effect of sun, when selected carefully, they can be quite useful for indoor gardening.

Alright, so we have already talked about how LED lights are, in general, better than other lights for their brightness and efficiency. Their simplicity, energy-saving features, eco-friendliness, and long-term cost-effectiveness make them an ideal choice for any household. All of these advantages hold even when using LED lights for gardening.

LED lights can speed up the plants’ harvest cyclefor indoor gardening. This is especially beneficial for growing vegetables, when you want successive harvests more quickly.

They emit less heat than other types of lights. With other types of lights, you must place the lights at a distance from your plants to ensure less heat damage. You may also have to invest in an indoor cooling system or fans. Otherwise, plants may wilt or even die due to excessive heat.

As mentioned previously, the answer to the question can LED lights grow plants, is a conditional “yes”. It is conditional because while any LED can support plant growth, the light source must cover the entire spectrum that is needed for photosynthesis, flowering and growth. Otherwise, your plants won’t thrive.

The color of the light is an important consideration. By color, we do not mean the color of the light that you can see. What the color of light means is the color spectrum that the light covers.

For example, you may buy two LED bulbs, one blue and the other green. This does not necessarily mean that the blue bulb emits the blue spectrum and the green bulb emits green.

It is important to know which color spectrum the light covers. When buying grow lights you will have many different options, and the package will usually tell you which spectrum it covers. In general, the red light of the spectrum is beneficial for flowering plants while the blue light is important for foliage, plus smaller amounts of green and yellow.

Plants not only need the right spectrum of light at different stages, they also need the right intensity of light. Light intensity is the strength or amount of light produced by a specific source. A higher intensity of light promotes faster photosynthesis and quicker growth in plants. Too much will damage the plants.

If space is an issue, or you want to place your plants at irregular angles, LED strip lights may be an excellent option. LED strip lights can be of the flexible kind where you can just stick the strip on a wall with the adhesive that it comes with.

You can also hang the LED strips on top of your plants. No, the light will not damage your plants if you hang them on top, because, remember how we talked about LED lights emitting less heat? So, LED strip lights can be placed anywhere, which means, lack of space is now no excuse for not having an indoor garden.

Okay, so LED grow lights are great for indoor plants. But with so many variations and colors and intensities available, how do you know which one suits the needs of your garden? It all depends on what kind of plants you would like to grow.

When it comes to the light color, pick the ones with red spectrum availability if your garden is full of flowering plants. The violet-blue color spectrum, on the other hand, is ideal if you have more herbs and leafy greens.

If you are looking for affordable options, just buy a grow light bulb specific to your plant’s needs and use an old bulb holder that might be lying around the house, instead of going for modular lighting systems, which look good but can hurt your wallet a bit.

For those who have a larger garden, you might need to purchase different lighting systems for different categories of plants. With LED, there is no one-size-fits-all if you want your indoor garden to flourish.

In this article we outlined that while any LED light can grow plants, it is best to use full-spectrum LED lights to ensure your plants thrive at all stages of growth.

Gardening is fun, soothing, creative, and fruitful. Just because you do not own an outdoor space does not mean you should not experience the pleasure of fresh fruits, herbs or vegetables year round.

Light being the basic requirement for any plant to stay alive as well as thrive, you must take special care to provide the maximum number of useful wavelengths through artificial lighting when natural light is scant.

Thankfully, LED lights are now a reality among grow lights, too and choosing the right one can not only make your plants happier but also lower your total cost of maintenance. All you need is to decide the right spectrum and the resultant LED lighting system will do the rest to give you a happily growing garden for a long time.

On days when you can barely remember the sun, it can be hard to imagine your plants—indoor or out—ever achieving full bloom. Your outdoor plants may manage just fine with the diffused level of light they receive, especially in the summer, but sometimes indoor plants need a little more help to properly photosynthesize.

Enter the grow light. If your indoor space lacks natural light, either in the winter or year-round, these specialty lamps or light bulbs can provide your indoor plants with the type of light they need to grow and thrive.

If you are new to cultivating indoor plants—and sometimes even if you aren’t—it can be hard to tell what ailment your plant is suffering from. You will be able to tell if your indoor light is insufficient for your plants if they exhibit some or all of the following symptoms:

Pale colour or lack of variegation on new growth—be careful though, for shade-loving plants such as Calatheas, pale