Looking for the best brand for grow lights of 1000w, 600w, 400w, 300w 200w 100w? If so, we’ve compared and reviewed all Top Best Grow Lights For Sale categorized in watts power. You should do your research and know what you’re goals are, When it comes to purchasing an LED lighting unit.
Here is a quick Pre-purchase checklist:
- Size of grow space (both footprint and height are factors to consider)
- Budget (LEDs are more expensive than other lights, about 2~3 times more than a comparable HPS system)
- Brand Reputation
- Cooling requirements
- For more details, Check over 13 things you should consider before choosing your grow light
What is wattage [watts]?
The watts or wattage is a measure of the amount of energy used by bulbs. It is the rate at which energy is generated or consumed and hence is measured in units (e.g. watts) that represent energy per unit time.
For example, when a light bulb with a power rating of 100W is turned on for one hour, the energy used is 100-watt-hours (W·h), 0.1-kilowatt hour, or 360 kJ. This same amount of energy would light a 40-watt bulb for 2.5 hours, or a 50-watt bulb for 2 hours.
How many watts do I need?
A very common question!
You need to consider the coverage area ,The area you need to cover for plants] and actual wattage [of the light you’re using.
Coverage Area by watts
First, let’s look at the footprint. Just about every manufacturer lists their “core coverage” numbers on their sites. Take most of those numbers with a grain of salt. Here are my recommendations:
Here is an overview of Light Size, for Foot Print of
- 2′ x 2‘, a single 150-250 watt unit should be adequate for this space
- For Foot Print of 2′ x 3′, a single 300-400 watt unit
- 2′ x 4′, two 150-250 watt units
- 4′ x 4′, four 150-250 watt units, a pair of 300-400 watt units or a single 600+ unit
- 4′ x 6′, three 300-400 watt units or a pair of 600+ units
Actual Wattage
First, you need to understand that all watts are not created equal (will actually a watt is a watt).
Watt isn’t equal is how manufacturers label their units.
You should look at the watts a unit actually uses and not the “watts on the board”.
Let’s take for example a unit that has 288 3watt LED chips on the board, 288×3=864 so I have an 864-watt unit right?
Nope! You have a unit that is capable of 864 watts if driven to its capacity.
When you drive a unit to its max you are going to produce a lot of heat and shorten the lifespan of the unit considerably.
So most manufacturers only drive their units to a fraction of that and balance the fine line of performance and reliability.
So that same unit that has a board wattage of 864 may be marketed as anything from a 360 to an 800 watt light.
The key here is to forget what the name is, look at the actual power draw of the unit. We have compared the grow lights on their actual wattage below.
This guide has made a comparison between different LED models of the same wattage on basis of actual wattage and coverage area.
Growing Tips
LED grow lights are powerful and can get great yields when used correctly.
The distance needed between an LED and the top of the plants varies quite a bit from model to model and from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Many things can affect the optimal distance from plants, including the individual size of each LED bulb and the way the manufacturer used lenses to reflect light downwards at your plants!
LEDs should generally be kept at least 18″ from the tops of plants
Contact the Manufacturer If Possible – Ultimately when it comes to LED grow lights, the best thing to do is contact the manufacturer to see what they recommend as far as distance from the tops of plants.
Lighting Time:
- Vegetative Stage: 12-14 hours on
- Flowering Stage: 9-12 hours on
- Fruiting Stage: 7- 8 hours on
Height above Plants:
During different stages of plants’ life cycle, they need the different amount of light. You can control the intensity by changing the height of LEDs above plants.
Seeding: 24 inches
Germination: 24 to 30 inches
Vegetative Stage: 18 to 24 inches
Flowering: 12 to 18 inches
Although LED grow lights run cool, the LEDs available today give off an intense amount of light which is great for yields, but can give your plants light burn if kept too close.