Indoor farming through LED grow lights have become popular in the recent past. Here you can get your plants to blossom in your closet or any room in your house under controlled conditions. Research shows that nearly 95% of those that have used this type of farming end up abandoning all others for this. Imagine, reducing the time it takes for your plants to mature by half and with high productivity. However, some myths surrounding LED grow Lights, the features, things to consider that are unnecessary, and so many other half-truths.
Following are some of the myths vis-Ã -vis the truth about LED Grow Lights
Myth 1: Watts are directly proportional to the brightness
The myth states that the higher the watts of the LED light bulb, the brighter it is. With other bulbs, that assertion is true- for instance, a 500watts bulb is brighter than the 100watts one. LED grow lights are different; wattage will only tell you how much power the light bulb is drawing. When buying the LED light, you pay attention to the semiconductor chip and lumens which will tell you the amount of power the bulb uses but not the wattage- a lower wattage light bulb may emit more light than a high wattage one.
Myth 2: With LED, no heat is generated
Compared to other grow light technologies, Greenhouse led grow lights to emit low heat but some sources will tell you that the bulbs are cold by the touch, which is not true. You may not feel the heat when you touch the bulb but research shows that 20% of the power it pulls from electricity is converted to heat. A medium-light bulb may not be hot to touch but a larger unit can burn your fingers. Therefore, if the lights have been on for a long time, handle with care.
Myth 3: LEDs will turn all electricity into light
In as much as these lights are good in converting electricity to light, not all electricity is turned into the light- some are converted into heat. Often, you will hear this myth with most marketers who want to push you to buy from their stores. Simply put- the technology of converting all to light doesn’t exist. 80% of the electricity is turned to light and the rest to heat.
Myth 4: Only yellow and green light are necessary
When you look at the sun with bare eyes, the color that you see is yellow. That is as per the ability of the human eye but not the reality. With a yellow bulb, you’ve got a bit of photosynthesis but limited. In essence, red and blue lights are needed by the plants the most. Most of the LED Grow lights have been built with that fact in mind. Therefore when choosing these lights, go for full or dual spectrum with blue and red.
Myth 5: The intensity of Light is more at the center
With other lighting technologies like HPS, the light intensity is more at the middle and the light away from the center continues to grow dimmer as you move away. However, multiple tiny rays make LED growth light arrays. Plants that are out of reach of the light will not grow effectively but no center with this technology- light is distributed evenly for all plants.
Myths can lead you to make the wrong LED grow lights choices and therefore, you must consult the expert to guide you on the most efficient LED Grow Lights for your indoor farm.
