Guidelines to choosing the perfect LED Grow Lights for your plantation

While growing outdoors was the only way a couple of decades ago, indoor growers have increased exponentially since the mid-2000s. Technological advancements have given them a plethora of options in terms of types of greenhouses and indoor equipment – LED Grow Lights are the most essential. Yes, they help increase bud quality and harvest cycles while reducing lighting bills and GHG emissions, but not all lights will work well for your facility. We want to simplify this for you and have come up with guidelines so you can choose the perfect LED Grow Lights for your greenhouses.?

How to choose the best Grow Lights?

There are a few things to consider before choosing the best grow lights for your greenhouses. Factors such as type of produce, space available, indoor temperatures, and budget play an important role. It is noteworthy that grow lights are ideal for leafy vegetables like Lettuce, Basil Leaf, Herbs and micro-greens. They also work well on high-wire crops like Tomatoes, Cucumber, Zucchini, and soft fruits like Strawberries. If you are into floriculture, Orchids, Tulips, Roses grow well under these lights. Let’s look at these in detail.?

1) Type of Produce?

Different produce requires different wavelengths and quantities of light. Some plants are short-day plants while the others are long-day or day-neutral. However, general practice is to give them light that is less intense than sunlight, so they do not deteriorate because of excessive light. Full-spectrum lights are best suited for this as they provide vegetation with green to far-red light.?

2) Space Available?

Your greenhouse must have adequate space for crops and to install grow lights. The higher the heat generated by your grow light, the further away it must be kept from the plants to avoid damage. LED lights generate less heat than HID bulbs which is why they work well in smaller spaces too. Given below is a chart of the distance an LED light should maintain with respect to indoor plants.?

3) Indoor Temperatures?

Understanding the temperature required by your plants helps determine what type of light to choose. For instance, LED lights are ideal for plants that require less heat while HID bulbs might work better for summer plants. Excess heat can damage plants permanently which is why standard temperatures must be maintained indoors. HVAC systems can help with this by removing excess heat.?

4) Budget?

Grow lights are available at different prices. While CFL bulbs cost less than $15, T5, T8, and T12 fluorescent tubes can cost several hundreds. LED lights are more expensive but offer higher energy efficiency and better return on investment. These are available in air-cooled and water-cooled variants, but you should choose them based on your facility and budget.?

You should decide what grow lights to purchase based on the four points mentioned. However, your service provider plays a vital role in pre-and post-installation. Know whom you can contact??

EnerSavings – Your Trusted Energy Advisors?

EnerSavings is Canada’s leading energy management company that is helping the country ‘grow’ - quite literally. With our LED Grow Lighting solutions, you can now increase your harvest cycles, improve bud quality, reduce your lighting bills and GHG emissions. In addition, we have partnered with local utility companies to maximize your rebates. The entire application process, from pre-approval to post submission is handled by us and incentive dollars are deposited directly into your account. To know more, send us an email at [email protected] or visit www.enersavings.com.??