LED Grow Lights - An improved colour spectrum and less heat

LED is short for "Light Emitting Diode", which explains the whole principle behind this technology: The special diodes convert the current flowing through them very efficiently into light, making them clearly superior to previously available technology. However, the biggest advantage of the LED grow lights is the colour spectrum, which can be adapted precisely to the requirements of the plant’s photosynthesis. Unlike an HPS, for example, an LED can simultaneously emit red, blue and other wavelengths.

A grow LED is therefore not only more efficient at producing light rays. The light rays themselves can be absorbed much better and more effectively by the plants, which leads to even better yields with the same power running costs. A modern grow LED has the same power consumption and about 30% more light output than a conventional HPS. Initial investment costs are definitely high, but after a few harvests the lamps will have paid for themselves by ensuring higher yields or lower running costs.

Important characteristics of LED grow lights

Spectrum

The most important property of each light is its colour spectrum. The spectrum will tell you whether a light is more suited to growing or flowering. The more red light the lamp contains, the more suitable it is for the flowering phase. Blue light, however, stimulates the growth of large leaves, making it suitable for producing bushy and broader plants - so it is perfect for the growth phase. Full spectrum lamps can be used for both phases.

With the Greenception grow LEDs you can change the spectrum at the push of a button and use the lamps for any of these phases. White LED chips let you switch from "cool white" to "warm white”. Warm white is more suitable for the flowering phase since it has a higher visible proportion of red light than cold white.

Light distribution

Although today's LED grow panels could be built much smaller, this would be counterproductive for the perfect illumination of the cultivated area. The reason: Improved light distribution across the surface produces a more even the final result. In turn, this means there are no "hot spots", and even the edges of the area receive sufficient light.

Cooling

The cooler the LED, the more efficiently it can work. There are two approaches to ensure this: Some manufacturers rely on a method that is slightly more expensive to start with, but certainly cheaper in the long term. It involves the use of passive heat sinks, for example in the SANlight M30 LED, the SANlight S4W and the SANlight Q6W. The passive cooling directs the heat away from the chips before releasing them into the environment. Also, passive cooling is completely silent.
Other manufacturers such as Greenception use active cooling with CPU fans and small heatsinks. However, active cooling uses up some electricity and must be cleaned of any sucked up dust from time to time. The cluster LEDs from Greenception are a bit cheaper to buy and fit perfectly into square grow tents due to their square shape.

Tip: Extracting air from a tent also requires electricity. With an LED grow lamp you can save a few watts used for extracting air because of their lower temperature.

Photon density

Another important parameter is the number of photons that the plants can actually use (photosynthetic photon flux density, PPFD), which is expressed in μmol/joule or /second. A precise explanation of this would be too long and complicated at this point! You only need to know this: The higher the value, the better the lamp!

Advantages of LED grow lights at a glance

- LEDs provide higher yields due to their 30% higher light output compared to HPS lamps.
- The light spectrum can be optimised for plant growth or flowering, and also enhances these phases and their quality (e.g. terpenes).
- Grow LEDs run more efficiently and are cooler than HPS or metal halide lamps.