An indoor garden requires the use of grow lights. Highly efficient hydroponic LED grow lights give indoor gardeners an effective tool for getting the highest productivity out of their plants. When switching from HID type grow lights to LED grow lights indoor gardeners save 40 to 75% on the cost of electricity. The reason for this saving is because LED grow lights are 90% efficient or better, while other types of grow lights waste two thirds of their electricity in producing heat and wavelengths of light the plants don’t use.
LED grow lights can now be made that emit exact wavelengths of light that are desired. Because plants only use two parts of the spectrum, designers of grow lights can combine LEDs lights to produce the exact wavelengths the plants will use. They choose one type of LED to produce red-orange light to help the plant with food production through photosynthesis, and they will combine this with another type of LED that emits blue-violet light, which the plants use for reproduction. In this way no energy is wasted in the production of unnecessary wavelengths of light.
Another factor in LEDs high efficiency is their low heat production. Conventional grow lights waste a good deal of energy producing heat; heat that dries the plants out and can even burn the leaves. LEDs produce far less heat, and the heat that is produced is at the base of the LED were cannot possibly harm plants. Because of the heat the conventional grow lights make, plants need to be protected by using cooling fans and water. When LED grow lights are used however, cooling fans are not needed, and plants require less water.
In order to use conventional grow lights, some accessories must be purchased. Ballasts, reflectors, and the aforementioned cooling fans are all necessary additional expenses. LED grow lights don’t need any of these.
LED grow lights also last a long time. Far longer than any other type of light. While HPS lights need to be replaced as often as every 5000 hours, LED grow lights last from 50,000 to 100,000 hours.
Initially, expect to pay more for hydroponic LED grow lights for sale, than you would for conventional types of grow lights. However, over the long run because of long life, the lack of need for accessories plus the significant savings on electricity, LED grow lights will cost less. For the indoor garden, LED grow lights make the most sense economically, and certainly they are by far the more environmentally friendly choice.
