How to Use LED Grow Lights for Indoor Plants

Whether you’re raising a rare species flower or simply growing herbs and greens for the dinner table, LED grow lights can help you cultivate a variety of plants indoors.

Growing indoors gives you several advantages over outdoor gardening. The most obvious is that you can better control the temperature. Most plants will have a narrow range of temperatures under which they will produce blooms or fruit.

Another factor you can control in an indoor growing environment is the humidity level. While some plants love moist, humid air, others are prone to disease under those same conditions. Alternatively, many succulents and cacti prefer a dry environment, which you can provide in an air-conditioned space.

Outdoor gardening, however, has one distinct advantage over indoor gardening, and that’s a surplus of the necessary sunlight that so many plants require to thrive.

Fortunately, LED grow lights can provide all the light your plants need — efficiently and inexpensively.

What Are LED Grow Lights?

LED (light emitting diode) grow lights offer an energy-efficient option for indoor gardening. They’re made using two different types of semiconductors within a chip, one with a negative charge (electrons), and the other with a positive charge (holes). The two are separated by an “energy gap.”

When electricity is applied to the chip, electrons are stimulated, and when one falls into one of the holes, recombination occurs, and this creates a photon of light. This is how LED lights work.

LED grow lights are specially designed to emit the right kind of light for growing plants indoors.

Using LED Indoor Plant Lights

But before you run out and buy some cheap LED bulbs, you need to understand how they work to nurture your plants.

You’ll need to know which type of LED grow lights you need for different plant types. And depending on the species and your gardening goals, you’ll need to know how many hours of light they’ll need.

Most importantly, you’ll need to understand how the color of your LED grow light affects your plants.

Sunlight contains the right spectrum — or colors — of light for healthy plants. When you see a rainbow created by a rainstorm, the sun’s light is broken up into various colors. This range of colors is called the light spectrum, and the colors you see are those visible to the human eye.

Light is measured in terms of electromagnetic radiation. The full spectrum of light also includes non-visible light, like ultraviolet light (<400 nanometers) and infrared (>400 nanometers). It even includes microwaves and radio waves.

These colors represent different wavelengths of the light — — and each color in the visible spectrum has a different wavelength, from 700 nanometers to 400 nanometers.

What Is the Best Color Spectrum for Plants?

One of the critical aspects of growing plants indoors is the color of the light used. The colors we see on either end of the spectrum — red and blue — affect plant growth the most. And each color affects your plants in diverse ways.

Plants react differently to distinct colors of the light spectrum, and to make matters more confusing, they need a different color of light depending on their stage of development.

In short, plants need a different color of light when they’re growing from seed than when they’re ready to bloom.

Cultivation of fresh basil and pepper with red and blue LEDs

Plants respond to the visible spectrum — between 400 and 700 nanometers — because this range stimulates photosynthesis.

Plants absorb more light in the red and blue spectrum, reflecting more green and yellow light, which accounts for their lush green coloring.

So, any grow light needs to supply adequate light in the red and blue wavelengths.

Red Light

Red light has a wavelength that is longer than other colors, and for plants the most critical of these are from 640 to 680 nanometers.

Red light stimulates the growth of stems and flowers and boosts fruit production. It also aides in chlorophyll production.

Indoor gardeners need to use light in the red band of the light spectrum if they want their plants to bloom. Red light is also necessary for growing vegetables indoors.

Blue Light

Light in the blue part of the spectrum is the most critical color for your plants. Blue light in the 430 to 450 nanometer range is the most important. Along with stimulating photosynthesis, blue light is the best color spectrum for vegetative growth and developing strong roots.

Many indoor gardeners use blue light exclusively for starting seedlings, when they are in their early stages of root and stem growth.

Yellow and Green Light

While not as critical to development as blue and red light, plants do use green and yellow light for photosynthesis.

UV Light

While overexposure to UV light in the shorter range of wavelengths can stress plants, UV closer to the visible spectrum can often increase the yield in many herbs, like sweet basil and Chinese licorice.

It’s especially important for increasing the amount of volatile oils in plants intended for use in making essential oils, such as spearmint and peppermint. These volatile oils also give culinary herb their distinctive flavor in cooking.

Infrared Light

Infrared light — sometimes called “far red light,” plays a special role in plant development. Plants use phytochromes to absorb red and infrared light, and these photoreceptors regulate the plant’s circadian cycles as well as the timing of seed germination, dormancy, and flowering.

Some plants respond to infrared light by flowering and fruit production, including popular vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers. Gardeners who cultivate flowering plants indoors, such as African violets and orchids, should look for LED grow lights that produce infrared light.

What Is the Best Light Intensity for Plants?

You may assume that the more intense your LED grow lights are, the better they are for your indoor plants. That’s only partially true.

Light intensity is measured as “PAR” — which stands for Photosynthetic Active Radiation. In short, this measurement expresses the amount of light your grow lights give off that your plants can actually use. This helps identify which grow lights produce light in the right wavelengths of the spectrum for the best results.

You can determine this by using a simple PAR meter. Best of all, you can check various areas in your indoor garden setup to ensure that the light is well distributed.

So, while you may think that intensity is a critical factor, what you want to look for is quality of light first. Intensity is easy to adjust by moving your LED grow lights closer or further away from your plants.

The Advantages of Using LED Grow Lights

Horticulturists have been growing plants indoors for many years using fluorescent, HID, and incandescent lighting. But recent advancements in LED technology have made them the go-to for many indoor gardeners.

They offer distinct advantages to more old-fashioned lighting systems.

First of all, they’re extremely durable, offering years of use for a small investment. LED grow lights offer 50,000 hours — about 12 years of use when operated for 12 hours a day. While fluorescent tubes offer 20,000 hours lifespan at best, their quality for use in gardening applications begins to degrade after only one year.

LED lights are cooler. They emit much less heat than conventional lighting. That means you can place them closer to your plant’s leaves without fear of scorching.

It also means that there is less risk of accidental fire, and less need for increased ventilation. Many people who garden indoors with artificial light find that it can significantly increase the heat load of their homes. This means a bigger strain on your A/C system and your wallet.

And finally, one of the most popular advantages of using LED grow lights is that they use so much less electricity than other types. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LEDs use 75 percent less energy and last 25 times longer than incandescent lights.

Choosing the Right LED Grow Lights

Now that you’re ready to start your indoor garden, it’s time to choose the right LED grow lights. You now know that providing your plants with plenty of blue and red light is crucial. You also know that white, infrared, and UV light also has an impact on your indoor garden production.

Now that we’ve known led grow light is good for plants. So, in this post, we will recommend two full spectrum led grow lightsfor your plants.

ThinkGrow Model-H 630W Horticulture LED Grow Light

This is one of ThinkGrow LED Grow light series.

Product Features:

The Model-H is designed specifically for high PPFD cultivation practices in vertical farming. Full Spectrum design covers each critical phase of growth from vegetative to flowering. The spectral tuning capability allows growers to experiment with spectrum recipes.

Take your garden from veg to bloom with the adjustable spectrum of the Model-H. On-Board dimming gives you the convenience of setting the power to exactly what you need without the need for any external controllers.

ThinkGrow LEDs are built tough and IP56 rated for waterproof conditions. You will have the piece of mind knowing your fixture is manufactured with quality and precision to be a strong and durable unit to help produce great yields through several harvests.

SPECIFICATIONS

PPF: 1700 μmol/s

Efficacy: 2.7 μmol/J

Input Power: 630 W

Power Factor: ＞90%

Fixture Dimensions/Weight: 45"L x 44.75" W x 3.75" H / 38.8 Ibs

Mounting Height: > 6" (15.2cm) Above Canopy

Lifetime: L90: ＞54,000 hrs

Input Voltage: Autosensing 100-277 V

Amp Draw: 120V/5.24A, 240V/2.67A, 277V/2.35A

Certifications: ETL, IP56

Gavita Pro 1650e LED ML

This is one of Gavita Grow light series.

The All New Gavita Pro 1650e LED Grow Light

The Pro 1650e LED is the solution for indoor growing environments where ceiling height and distance from canopy are paramount. The 1650e is a great fit for use in vertical racks, low rooms, over benches, or even in tents. Push plants to their full potential with a fixture tailored to how you grow.

At 1650 µmol/s, this LED by the leaders in horticultural lighting delivers impressive amounts of crop-loving light without overpowering plants in your setup. And because it operates with 2.6 µmol/j—half the power of our best-performing fixture—you get less ambient heat that has the potential to damage your crops at close proximity and incredible energy efficiency. Great for your plants, great for your bottom line.

Features & Benefits of the Gavita Pro 1650e

8-bar configuration provides uniform light distribution that is ideal for vertical racks, low rooms, over benches, or in tents

1650 µmol/s delivers huge growing potential without overpowering your plants in a low-ceiling environment

Design provides an incredibly efficient 2.6 µmol/j and produces a broad-spectrum light source ideal for any growth stage

Masterfully crafted with high-quality Philips-Advance drivers Top-bin LEDs power this built-to-last fixture

Balanced, full-spectrum light output

For use in wet environments

Output and efficiency

Push plants to their full potential with a fixture tailored to how you grow. At 1650 µmol/s, this LED by the leaders in horticultural lighting delivers impressive amounts of crop-loving light without overpowering plants in your setup. And because it operates with 2.6 µmol/j—half the power of our best-performing fixture—you get less ambient heat that has the potential to damage your crops at close proximity, and incredible energy efficiency. Great for your plants, great for your bottom line.

Form factor

The Pro 1650e LED is the solution for indoor growing environments where ceiling height and distance from canopy are paramount. The 1650e is a great fit for use in vertical racks, low rooms, over benches, or even in tents.

Uniformity & Spectrum

The 1650e also features 8 passively cooled bars that provide full-spectrum, broad-coverage light for full-term growth. The 1650e provides plants with astonishingly uniform light to encourage vigorous growth.

High-quality components

The performance is in the details. And each detail in a Gavita LED is designed for the highest possible performance. We craft each 1650e with reliably sourced components from around the globe, including Philips-Advance drivers Top-bin LEDs power. The Gavita 1650e gently drives these top-bin diodes to optimize fixture life and improve spectral output, so you can experience incredible growth season after season.

Durability

The IP66 wet rating means that each fixture is protected against dust, oil and even streams of water when cleaning. This makes for a fixture that can be mounted nearly anywhere, and especially in vertical racking setups. Plus, UL 8800 compliance gives you the peace of mind your fixture is designed for safe, reliable operation for you and your plants.

Conclusion

There’s nothing quite like enjoying a home-cooked meal featuring produce from your own garden. And with the right lighting, you can grow vegetables year-round, despite the season.

You may have thought about growing your own salad greens, herbs, and other fresh vegetables indoors. Luckily, technology has finally caught up with your dreams. LED grow lights are perfect for cultivating plants anywhere and at any time.

Best of all, they’re affordable, durable, and safe.