When starting an indoor garden or trying to grow plants inside, you need the right gardening tools to such grow lights to keep your plants happy and healthy. A grow light is essential to indoor plants where there is not enough sun indoors to keep plants thriving.
But with so many types of grow lights on the market, it can be difficult to find the best product for your indoor setup. There are a few features to keep in mind when looking for a grow light:
- Sun spectrum
- PAR intensity
- Efficiency
- Number of watts
Sun Spectrum
Sun spectrum refers to the wavelengths of light produced by a light source—like the sun—that promotes plant growth. Controlling the light spectrum of a grow lamp significantly impacts the growth of plants including how plants flower and the flavor and compactness of crops.
Read More: How to Start Your First Indoor Garden?
PAR Intensity
Photosynthetic active radiation, or PAR, or the spectrum of light wavelengths needed for photosynthesis. Plants need a range of around 400-700 nanometers of light to thrive, but some plants require wavelengths outside of this range. A grow light should accommodate to the PAR intensity your particular plants need.
Read More: Indoor Gardening the Feng Shui Way
Efficiency
Photosynthetic efficiency is the best range where plants will grow. While you might think a grow light just needs to mimic sunlight, not all plants will thrive in sunlight alone. Studies show that a range of light including red and blue light is critical to photosynthesis.
Number of watts
It can be difficult to decide how much wattage you need for your indoor plants, but as a general rule you want a grow light that will accommodate 20 to 40 watts of light per square foot. With a 1000-watt light, you can properly light between 25 and 50 square feet of your indoor garden.
Now that we have explained the features of most grow lights, now to choose what type of grow light is the best option for your indoor plants.
Best HPS Lights For Indoor Growing
High-pressure sodium vapor, or HPS, lights are a specific type of light that contains metals that are evaporated into the gas within the glass bulb, creating light. This type of HPS light has been used since the early 1930s as a reliable light source that can efficiently light large spaces.
For hobbyists, one of the best HPS grow lights is the Sun System HPS 150W Fixture with Ultra Sun Lamp. Best for growing in small areas, it is an efficient, inexpensive option for those who are just starting out.
Commercial growers tend to gravitate toward lights like the Gavita Pro 1000w E-Series Slim Line DE Fixture HPS grow light, which comes in a variety of voltages and covers a wider footprint.
Read More: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Indoor Gardening
Best LED Lights
Today more and more indoor gardeners are turning to LED lights for their plants.
There are many LED lights to choose from but of all the LED grow lights on the market, the Pro-Tech 645w LED light is the best quality and value for your indoor garden. Its foldable design makes it compact and flexible and easy to install. It also consumes 37 percent less energy than HID lamps, making it the most sustainable option on the market.
The Pro-Tech 645w LED Grow light balances power and efficiency by allowing you to maximize your lighting system without breaking the bank in energy costs.
Best used for larger-scale horticulture operations, Pro-Tech is often used for indoor, warehouse operations, especially multi-layer cultivation systems because of the short light spread distance.
- 🌹[Classical Full Spectrum] Compact grow light that puts out the needed light, includes 163pcs (620-660nm)+58pcs blue leds(450-460nm) +4pcs white leds (6500k), which is good for all kinds of indoor plants seeding growing and flowering at all growth stages.
- 🌹[Easy Set-up] This led grow lights are lightweight and very easy to use with the upgraded hanging brackets, system can be built in sturdy condition within one minute. Built in 59’’ power cord could really stand another two feet of length though and make your plants happy.
- 🌹[Low Heat] ABS plastic material molding hydroponic grow lights panel , excellent Heat control, runs cool and quiet, no harm to your plants. Square shape design maximizes the beam to cover 3ft by 3ft area of plants, recommended to hang at around 6-10 inches for seedling.
- 🌹[High Efficiency] Plants grow fuller with much stronger and straight stems with these led grow light bulb. Most of the seeds are germinated and sprouting in 2 weeks. Low power consumption save your electric bill, 2 pack design are value for the dollar.
- 🌹[Worry-Free Warranty] We offer 12 months warranty plus 30 days satisfaction or return guarantee for this grow light kit. Please contact us first if there’s any issue, we promise to response within 24 hours.
Read More: Advanced Platinum Led Grow Lights Review
What is Best? LED or HPS?
Now that you know some of the best grow lights on the market, which type of grow light is the best for indoor plants? Here is a list of pros and cons for each type of light:
Pros of HPS
- Generally cheaper than LED
- More efficient and longer-lasting than incandescent bulbs
Cons of HPS
- Requires a longer warm-up period
- After the lights are warmed up, they run hot
- HPS lights contain toxic mercury, which can be dangerous to dispose of, and if the bulb is broken
- HPS lights are omnidirectional, which means the light needs to be reflected in order to be efficient. This means more parts are required.
Pros of LED lights
- LEDs last for a long time
- LEDs are very energy efficient
- They are generally low maintenance and cost less to repair
- LEDs can produce a wide variety of colored light without using filters
- LEDs are more directional than HPS
- LEDs are more compact than other light systems
- They also have less warm-up times than HPS
Con of LED Lights
The upfront cost of LED systems can be more expensive; however, the price is continuously decreasing
If you still can’t decide, consider that overall, LED lights are more energy-efficient than HPS grow lights and are more widely used by professional greenhouses either as the sole light source or supplemental light.
LED lights like The Pro-Tech 645w LED Grow light have better efficiency, better spectrum, and higher PAR rating than that of other light systems, making it the best option for indoor growers whether you are a beginner, a hobbyist, or a professional. The Pro-Tech 645w allows you to dial in the right light quality and quantity of light into your space. It is also dimmable which allows you to dial in how much light you need through your plants’ growing cycle.
The Pro-Tech 645w LED light is also built with top-of-the-line components, including high-quality Pro-Tech drivers and premium LEDs from Samsung and Osram, making it the best product in the grow light market.
Read More: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Indoor Gardening
Conclusion
When it comes to your indoor plants, you shouldn’t have to struggle to keep them alive with bad lighting. There are plenty of lighting resources that can supplement your setup, more than just the light of the sun coming through the window.
Now more than ever, there are many technologies that will help your plants thrive in an indoor environment. The Pro-Tech 645w LED light is one of many lights that could upgrade your indoor garden or greenhouse.
There are many factors that make a great indoor garden, but what light you choose is the most important part of your garden’s health and the quality of the crop. Choosing the right to grow light for your garden can be a daunting task, but after choosing the right one, your flowers will be blooming more than ever, crops will taste that much sweeter and your garden flourishing more than ever before you even know it.
- 6000K White Light - equipped with 10 Red + 74 White LEDs, this growing Lamp is similar to the full-spectrum sunlight at noon,that is professionally designed for indoor garden plants.Moreover, its color rendering index is as high as 95, the light is soft and flicker-free, which is very suitable for reading lamp
- Timer Function & Multiple Settings - this growing light offer the timer function with 3 options that is 4Hrs or 8Hrs or 12Hrs, it is based on a 24 hour cycle from the time you set the timer.For example,when keeping power ON, if you select 8 Hrs,it will turns ON for 8 hours per 24 hours.The other two timer settings are the same.
- Easy to Install - with flexible Gooseneck & strong clamp,it allows you to place the growth light in any direction to provide the best lighting angle for your plants，meet the cover around the plant.Powered by USB or AC Power Plug
- High Efficiency LED Lamp - as for LED power draw this seedling lights just comsume about 10watt and is equivalent to a 50W Halogen Bulb.Estimately monthly cost roughly $2 in electricity (12 hours a day). It is a great gift if you growing some small house plants.
- 【365 Days Worry-free Warranty】GooingTop service team offer 365 days warranty and 24h friendly customer service. If there are ever any issues about the product, please feel free to contact us and we will send you a new replacement or full refund.
- 🍒【Adjustable gooseneck & telescopic pole】The flexible gooseneck can be rotated 360 degrees, and the pole can also be telescopic, allowing you to more easily adjust the distance between the plant light and the plant
- 🍒【White & red LED lamp beads】Simulating natural light, especially red light, can make plants better photosynthesize to promote healthy growth
- 🍒【Efficient full-spectrum LED lamps】The plant growing light has 72 LED lamp beads, and vegetables, fruits or plants can be fully cared for and supplied without sun exposure
- 🍒【Designed for plant growth】This plant growth lamp can meet the needs of light in different growth stages such as fruits, vegetables, herbs, etc
- 🍒【Multiple usage】You can put it on the balcony, living room, office, greenhouse, you can use it for indoor gardening, breeding, potted plants have a wide range of uses, especially suitable for growing plants in the dark or when it rains
