Indoor growing offers a significant advantage of having full control over the growing environment. This allows you to create optimal conditions regardless of the external season or weather. This year-round cultivation capability can lead to increased profits. However, the environmental control level heavily depends on the type of lights used. Conventional HPS lights can negatively affect the growing environment, making it challenging to maintain crucial factors like temperature and CO2 levels. On the other hand, LED grow lights have several merits. They have minimal impact on these environmental factors and allow you to manipulate the light spectrum, resulting in better yields.
Here are four key ways LED grow lights can enhance environmental control and foster an ideal plant growth environment.
Better Temperature Control
In recent years, grow lights have undergone significant advancements, and an increasing number of growers are turning to them to enhance environmental control, temperature regulation, and overall crop yields. Among the various types of grow lights available, LED grow lighting has become more and more popular due to their unique advantages.
LED grow lights emit considerably less heat compared with traditional grow lights, making them ideal for maintaining precise environmental conditions. This is particularly advantageous for growers seeking improved yields without the concern of elevated temperatures. In contrast, HPS lighting is notorious for generating excessive heat, necessitating the use of fans and air conditioners to stabilize the temperature, resulting in higher electricity bills. Despite employing additional equipment, HPS lights still cause temperature fluctuations.
LEDs generally do not produce heat in the form of infrared (IR) radiation. Unlike HPS lights that generate light by heating a gas tube, LEDs use diodes to convert current into light, so most of the heat stays within the fixture. While all lamps produce some heat, LED fixtures emit significantly less, having a minor impact on the external temperature of the grow space. This makes it easier to keep a stable temperature within the grow room.
Another advantage is providing supplementary light to plants without risking temperature fluctuations, which is impossible with HPS lighting. Furthermore, LED grow lights are more energy-efficient than other types of grow lights, resulting in lower overall electricity costs.
Vapor Pressure Deficit Management
A well-lit grow room holds unmatched power in environmental control, creating an optimal setting for plant growth and flowering while effectively addressing vapor pressure deficit (VPD). VPD refers to the difference between the moisture present in the air and the maximum moisture the air can hold. If the air becomes saturated, it leads to condensation on crops, making them more susceptible to pathogens.
While an HVAC system can assist in managing VPD, it becomes an uphill battle when using HPS lights. HPS lights, due to their heat production and temperature fluctuations when turned on and off, make it challenging for the HVAC system to maintain a stable environment. This difficulty in regulating temperature and humidity further complicates VPD management, making it a difficult or even impossible task.
LED lights, on the other hand, significantly alleviate these issues. Their minimal heat production ensures temperature stability, making it much easier to manage VPD. With LED lights, you only need to activate your HVAC system and set the desired temperature and humidity levels to achieve effective environmental regulation.
Optimize Your Light Spectrum
Selecting an LED grow light with a specific light spectrum is crucial for optimizing crop growth and yields. Unlike HPS lighting, which offers limited control over the light spectrum, LED lights allow growers to customize the spectrum throughout the entire grow cycle, granting them significant environmental control that greatly impacts plant growth.
While many might assume that the best indoor grow lights should mimic the sun’s light spectrum, it is vital to note that most photosynthetic activity occurs in the blue and red wavelengths, rather than in the middle spectrum where the sun’s light tends to fall. LED lights enable growers to expose plants to more PAR during the growth cycle. Studies suggest that even a 1% increase in PAR can result in a corresponding 1% increase in crop yield.
LED lights make it possible to adjust the light spectrum to more optimal conditions than what can be found in a natural setting. Furthermore, the ability to change the spectrum throughout the growth cycle allows for precise customization of light balance for different growth phases, thereby influencing qualities like color, scent, and terpene levels.
Different plant species have different light spectrum requirements for their optimal growth. For instance, cannabis thrives with a lot of blue and red light to produce buds, while lettuce requires more green light. By choosing the appropriate light spectrum for each plant, growers can ensure that their crops receive the right amount of energy and nutrients necessary for their best development.
Stabilized CO2 Levels
Maintaining appropriate supplemental CO2 levels becomes crucial as PPFD increases, as it maximizes photobiological responses and overall crop production. For most crops, maintaining CO2 concentrations within the range of 800 to 1,000 ppm is considered optimal for promoting flowering and improving yields. However, growers using HPS lights often face the challenge of having to ventilate their greenhouses to dehumidify or cool the environment, leading to drastic fluctuations in temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels.
LED lights significantly reduce the need for ventilation, resulting in a more stable climate overall. This stability in environmental conditions helps maintain consistent CO2 levels, ensuring the health and well-being of the plants. Moreover, LED grow lights produce far less heat compared with traditional lighting systems, making them suitable for use in warmer climates without compromising plant health.
MokoLight Experts Are Here to Help
Given the wide variety of LED grow lights available on the market, it is essential for growers to conduct thorough research before making a purchase. Luckily, you can count on us. Our experts are 24/7 available to answer any questions about LED grow lights and help you choose the best LEDs that suit your crop best.
MokoLight offer smart lighting solutions in LED grow lights and is a professional with over 16 years in the LED industry. We are committed to providing world-class LEDs backed by our innovative R&D team, premium raw materials and strict quality tests. Reach out to us to learn more.
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