In areas with high altitudes, high latitudes, water scarcity, poor land, and high urbanization and dense population resulting in limited land for plant cultivation, the effective light duration, heat intensity, humidity and other aspects of plant growth factors are affected, and climate change makes the outdoor growth of plants face many difficulties.
This is why the natural photosynthesis of plants may not meet the growth expectations.
So, this is why you should use LED plant growth lights. First of all, LED grow lights are environmentally friendly and the most important advantage. Quick start, low power consumption, and no flash are advantages for saving energy.
Similarly, if LED plant growth lights are used, then the photosynthesis of plants will be enhanced. If conventional lighting cannot do it, the growth rate of plants will increase. For example, the growth of spinach and radish will be improved, and the morphological indicators will also be improved.
Similarly, if your country is located in an area where winter is dominant, then LED plant growth lights will be very beneficial.
There are more advantages to using it. Here, I discuss with you how to use LED plant growth lights and other aspects of it. If you are facing these problems or want to know about them, please stay with me.
What is LED plant light?
Without knowing what LED grow lights are, you can’t realize the idea of using one. So, LED grow lights are lights that are mass-produced. They are energy-efficient and space-saving grow lights. There are several applications for LEDs.
Previously, LED lights were only used for supplementary lighting. Growers could use HID grow lights, but to get more power, if the plants need extra light, we need to use LED grow lights.
As LEDs improve, larger LED panels can provide light for the entire grow room. While other lighting systems require large ballasts as well as cooling systems, LEDs don’t. You can hang panels in round or square or any other shape above the plants.
Features of LED grow lights
When you use LED grow lights, you should understand its features. So, here are some basic features of LED grow lights:
Precise wavelength output
Some people claimed that plants cannot grow under LED lights. But now, with the advancement in the field and the discovery of blue LEDs, this view has changed.
For plants, specific wavelengths of light are necessary for photosynthesis and growth.
Scientific experiments determined that red and blue wavelengths are the most important wavelengths. Workshop lights or traditional LED lights do not emit blue and red light, which are essential for plant growth. These have specificity for human vision.
Understanding Power (Watts)
Watts are a measure of the energy input required for light. The output of LED lights depends not only on the function of watts, but also on the quality of other components and design. These components are:
LED chip quality
Density of lamp beads
Optical design
Heat sink
LED driver power supply
Increase in power reduces LED efficiency due to the increase in temperature in the electronic circuit board. Therefore, when LED manufacturers claim that watts are a measure of plant growth ability, it is questionable. Therefore, you need to have a lot of knowledge about wattage and PAR and must depend on the manufacturer's information.
Light intensity
If you have access to a light meter, you can measure the light source at different distances. You will then see that the light intensity drops as the distance between the light source and the meter increases. You can understand the relationship between the laws of physics between light intensity and distance to the light source.
Manufacturers can set the position of grow lights higher above the vegetation and illuminate a larger footprint. Then, if the LED light is designed to be closer to the plant, the output will be higher. The light intensity is lower at the edges.
Leaf tissue can touch a well-designed LED because they run low enough that the tissue does not suffer any harm. Therefore, you can keep these lights close to the plant. Although, light intensity is a limiting point because too much can burn the plant tissue.
LED chip quality
The diodes should have certain specifications to emit the actual wavelength. Reputable manufacturers use a complex process that the diodes they produce will emit the correct wavelength of light. Also, some other manufacturers produce cheap LEDs to attract budget-conscious shoppers.
Cheap LEDs may not emit the specific wavelengths that plants need and the light intensity may vary. Customers should be aware of these facts.
LED Lenses
The quality of LEDs depends on the lens attached to them. The optical lens affects the size and output. If the required footprint and the proper intensity are not provided, the health of the plants will not be up to par. This is how you measure the quality.
Why Use LED Grow Lights?
Knowing the benefits of using something will enlighten you on why you should use it. Let’s look at the benefits of using LED grow lights:
Longer Lifespan
This is a significant benefit of LED grow lights. These have an extended lifespan of 50.000 to 100.000 hours, which means why you should use LED grow lights for five years or more of continuous use. Before buying, check the specifications of the model and buy one with a lifespan of at least 50.000 hours.
These lights have a lower energy consumption than regular lights. The most unique thing about LED grow lights is that they give a warning before they lose power. At maximum lifespan, some chips will dim and some will give less bright light.
This gives you time to replace them. The device offers models for replacing individual chips.
Flexible Features
You can use LED grow lights in any way that does not stop clapping. You can take advantage of these lights. Therefore, all gardeners prefer to use LEDs. Place the bulbs and panels near the plants so that they have maximum brightness.
Increase Brightness
Normal plant lights give off more heat than light. Both are essential for the growth of plants, but in a limited ratio. LED grow lights provide you with a balanced ratio of heat and light.
Because they are designed in such a way that they can provide more light and less or optimal heat. In this regard, you should know that too much heat can affect the growth of plants.
Efficient for Growth
When plants get optimal light, their growth will be faster. Adjusting the daylight duration will further increase the amount of growth. The results are remarkable in the field of horticulture.
No Ballast and Reflector Required
Since LED grow lights do not require ballasts, they are lighter than normal grow lighting systems. You can fit them into normal fixtures and you won’t face any issues. Since LEDs have their own reflectors, no additional reflectors are required.
Accurate Spectrum Ratio
When you grow plants at home or outdoors following greenhouse techniques, conditions need to be checked and controlled.
In research, we saw that when plants have a specific wavelength of light, they absorb maximum chlorophyll at 400-500 nm, while the maximum absorption range is 600-700 nm. LED lights are able to meet this range.
How to Use LED Plant Lights?
Here is given the process of using LED plant grow lights. Follow the steps:
Step 1:
Adjust the height of the light hanging above the plants.
Early plant growth stage – place the light about 300mm above the plants. Thus, it ensures a minimum internode length and provides internodes.
Vegetative stage – now increase the distance between the light and the plant, which may be between 300-600 mm. Plants with a lot of leaves need to lower the light so that the light can reach the lower branches of these plants. Also, if your plant needs a higher lighting level, keep the LED above 300 mm and if we need a lower lighting level, keep the LED above 600 mm.
Flowering, budding stage – Here you can also keep the height of 300-600 mm from the canopy. But 400 mm is a favorable height above the canopy.
Step 2:
Change the way you water. If you are just starting with LED, watering may cause some problems.
The watering guidelines are mainly based on HPS lighting. During this process, evaporation occurs. That is why watering is needed. However, when it comes to LED grow lights, watering or feeding is not a problem. So watering can be dangerous for the plants.
Step 3:
Then the plants need to be fed. But this is not what you want. In the presence of LED grow lights, there are norms for feeding.
You need to provide 30% of the HPS lighting source to your plants. Add Cal-Mag when your plants are growing under LED lighting.
In a hydroponic system, evaporation is reduced, so you have to provide less nutrients.
Step 4:
During the winter, you need to provide more heat in the room. This will promote the growth of the plants. The heat in the growing area is much lower than that of HPS lighting. Therefore, in the winter, this may cause some problems, so if you use LED plant growth lights, you should pay attention to the plants.
Special Tips
Install multiple lights at the same time
LED plant growth lights can produce a targeted light output. This is possible through the use of optical elements. Therefore, you can focus on a specific part of the growth, so you can repeat for each part. If multiple parts are implemented, the plants will be protected. It will maximize the distribution of light and you can save money. A qualified lighting company can help you with this and they will plan everything for you if you ask.
Set up the light cycle
The life cycle is essential for the biological life of the crop. The grower can manipulate it by increasing or decreasing the light time. Greenhouse growers can do this by using blackout curtains and additional lighting. During the vegetative stage, it takes 18 hours of daylight per day. Vegetative crops get 17-18 hours of light per day.
Light Intensity
Sufficient light levels required for flowering are between 400 and 700 uMoles/m-2s. The light should be evenly distributed across the canopy. Since the lighting from LED grow lights is directional, keep an eye on it. Less than 10 inches of light can cause bleaching.
SOG and SCROG techniques will help create a flowering canopy depth between 12”-16” and the light will reach all locations. If any flowers fall below that level, prune at the end of the second week. By the fourth week, remove all large fan leaves so they can be reached. Ensuring consistent light pathways is critical.
Temperature
78F is the optimal temperature that any plant will appreciate the most. The CO2 level should then be 360 PPM. You should monitor the root zone temperature. Air temperatures above 85°F require cooler dark period air temperatures.
Nutrients
As temperatures rise, nutrient concentrations in dry areas also rise. It can create toxic levels in the root zone. Therefore, reduce nutrient concentrations by 25-30%.
Safety Measures
When working with equipment in a greenhouse, wear goggles as some of these lights emit UV rays.
Protect your skin when working under LED lights for any length of time.
If the surface is too hot, increase the distance between the LED light and the surface. For low-power systems, a 2 to 3 foot difference between the light and the top of the plant is fine. High-power systems require 4 to 6 feet.
Keep wires and fixtures away from irrigation systems.
If you prefer to use fluorescent bulbs, choose grow bulbs that do not have any toxic coatings. So, there will be no chemical hazards due to breakage.
Properly mount the lights with protective goggles to minimize the danger of toxic substances such as mercury.
FAQs
Should you leave the lights on all the time?
It depends on the growing stage. During the vegetative stage, 24 hours of light will not cause any problems. But in the flowering or fruiting stages of hydroponic tent FAQs, 12 hours of light is required.
Will regular LED lights produce the same results?
Yes, but it is not a wise decision. After good soil, the quality of the light will be the most important investment.
Can you invest in dimmer lights to adjust the spectrum?
For dimmable lights, there is no need to adjust the height, which is the main purpose of using it. The dimmer series includes vegetable dimmers and generous dimmers.
Final Thoughts
Growing plants is an amazing job in today's climate change. So, you can contribute to protecting the environment by making it greener. Therefore, it is very necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of growth. Moreover, the light intensity may vary from before in a particular season.
Therefore, the plants or crops you produced before must be changed, and the production will be hampered. Keeping all this in mind, LED grow light investment is the best choice. Well, people may not use it wisely, but it will surely become the most used one soon.
If you go through this article, then you will know why. With so many advantages, you will not find other advantages. Using LEDs can save money and intensity. So, if you are a grower, then it is time to invent LED grow lights.
