LED grow lights have thrived through the market, spurting among many different retailers that promulgate cultivation and vegetation. But, with its growing influx, a benchmark on picking the right LED grow light has yet to be clearly elaborated, creating an increasing confusion among growers. Since LED Grow Lights play a significant part in energy efficiency and are worth the investment, most growers take the risk of trying them out versus traditional horticulture lights.
Here are some of the factors that need to be considered when looking into investing in LED grow lights:
Quality of Light
You can quickly determine light quality through the spectrum it omits, whether it’s full-on or customized.
Full-spectrum light is a kind of sunlight-simulated spectrum with a range of 400~700nm at large and is typically used to grow common vegetation. However, full-spectrum grow lights are also deemed to omit low-cost performance and waste energy.
Customized/tailored spectrum lights, on the other hand, are engineered for specific types of plants and omits a light range of 280nm~800nm. Although they cost more, tailored spectrum light delivers higher performance in productivity and efficiency, creating more considerable amounts of yield without wasting too much energy.
Conducting a growing test is also imperative for commercial growers to find the best light source that provides better yield.
Light Intensity
Checking light intensity involves 2 factors, light quantity (PPF) and light distribution (PPFD).
PPF refers to photosynthetic photon flux, which calculates the exact number of PAR released by a lightning system per second. While PPF does not give you the measurement of light rays that land on your grows, it is a metric used to determine the efficiency of your lighting system in creating active photosynthetic radiation through light wavelengths.
The photosynthetic photon flux density is abbreviated as PPFD. The quantity of PAR that actually reaches the plant is measured by PPFD. Micromoles per square meter per second (mol/m2/s) is the unit of measurement. Suppose you wish to determine a lamp’s genuine light intensity across a specific growth area (e.g. 4′ x 4′). In that case, you should take an average of numerous PPFD measurements obtained at a particular height. To determine if a light has excellent or bad light intensity, we must simultaneously consider both criteria.
The Efficacy of Light or Photon
The conversion of power results in the production of energy and heat. How much light power can be turned to energy determines its efficacy.
The efficiency with which a horticulture lighting system converts electrical energy into photons of PAR is light efficacy. According to optics research, blue light is the most effective of all light hues, followed by red and white light. So, if a horticulture lighting system includes a lot of blue and red light, that light should, of course, have a high effectiveness rating.
Besides those 3 major concerns above, there are a few points we need to consider, such as Cooling system, Life span, Function, and User-friendly.We’d be glad to answer your questions and concerns on LED grow lights and vertical farming. Send us an email or contact us today.