LED grow lights and the lighting technology behind them has changed a lot since the first consumer grow lights appeared on the scene.
There are a wide variety of LED grow lights for indoor plants to choose from.
Prices Are Coming Down
While the price for these lights is still quite high, their effectiveness has increased exponentially and the prices continue to come down as more and more people adopt the technology.
It used to be that a grow light (such as HID Grow Lights) gave off so much heat that it would heat the room it was kept in. This created a fire hazard and racked up electricity costs.
Also, some kinds of these lights emitted harmful light waves which could burn plants and human skin. When you consider the high cost of replacing bulbs every few months, (and how much energy they used) you really had a problem on your hands.\
LED Grow Lights Are Better?
Fortunately, LED grow lights for indoor plants changed all that.
Unlike conventional lights which are quite inefficient, LED grow lights are built to apply just the right amount of light without waste.
They do this by isolating light spectrums which are most beneficial to fauna. Individual bulbs of specific colors are grouped together as one to create a single light fixture. Super efficient LED bulbs create a degree of plant growth that is truly surprising. You can also find mixed spectrum grow lights too.
How Do You Use Them?
All you need to do is set the light over the top of the plant and watch the action.
LED grow lights are equipped with mounts which can be used to fix them to walls or suspend them in the air. Their lightweight nature makes them easy to handle. There are of course some other indoor plant growing tips that you can follow to get the best results.
Even if dropped accidentally, the LED bulbs will not crack or break like a fluorescent grow light will.
How Long Do They Last?
LED grow lights have a lifespan of many years. Much longer than HID lights or even fluorescent ones.
Chances are, the fixture itself will expire before the grow lights do. Many of these lights are rated at over 50,000 hours of continuous use. Some quick math on that figure will tell you that they will last nearly six years if you never turn them off.
Other units are quite small and are about the size of a regular light bulb. These smaller light kits are often the best choice to test the waters of the field without spending a whole lot. Many of the smaller bulbs are rated to last just as long as the larger arrays and work well for individual plants.
How Much Do LED Grow Lights Cost?
A full spectrum (12 watt) LED grow light bulb costs around $20 from many online stores.
Size is an important factor in the cost of these lights as is the type of light spectrum(s) that they emit.
A single light bulb type LED with multi spectrum may cost around seventy dollars, while a larger LED light set up (pictured at the top of this page) that covers only the blue and white spectrum can be purchased for around thirty dollars ($30) at online stores like Amazon.com.
A quick look at one online LED distribution shop shows some of the more popular and larger LED multi spectrum lights with over 200 individual lights in them cost more than five hundred dollars ($500) as of this writing.
Final Thoughts
Another thing that is nice about using LED grow lighting is that they don’t consume nearly as much power as any of the other competing lights available. They are very efficient at using the power they do consume too, which means they give off very little heat.
LED grow lights are becoming the most popular choice whether someone is using hydroponics, aeroponic, or regular ‘ol dirt to grow their plants inside. They are a good choice for the DIY grower as well as for larger commercial operations.
While the initial cost to buy these lights might not be cheap, the money that is saved from lower electrical bills and not having to replace your light bulbs so often more than makes up for the investment.
