Compared to traditional lighting options, energy-efficient LED grow lights are the future of agriculture lighting. They are economically-efficient and can produce better plants, which helps growers achieve higher yields. Are you curious about the process of LED grow light manufacturing when you buy them? OK, we will reveal the answer for you in this article. We mainly address the issue of how high-quality LED grow lights are manufactured, but it is not limited to that. In the following text, you will also read about what LED grow light is, its advantages and disadvantages, and several suggestions on how to select the right LED grow light for your plants to improve your all-round understanding of LED grow light manufacturing.
What is LED Grow Light?
As its name indicates, LED grow light is a kind of modern and efficient artificial light source designed for plant growth. It stimulates plant growth by emitting light that contributes to photosynthesis.
They are ideal for a wide variety of home and commercial usages, such as indoor gardening, greenhouse planting, vertical farming, cannabis growth, hydroponic cultivation, etc. Usually during winter or in places where there is insufficient natural light, they are used as supplemental light sources to extend the time that plants expose to light.
Advantages of LED Grow Light
Typical traditional lighting sources for plants are incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp, HID lamp and high pressure sodium lamp. They are not conducive to plant growth due to low light efficiency, short lifespan and overheating. However, LED, as the fourth generation lighting source, has become a perfect substitute for these traditional grow lights due to the advantages of small size, long life, high luminous efficiency and low heat.
Full Spectrum
Full-spectrum LED grow lights can simulate real sunlight, which plays a significant role in plant growth. It provides optimal lighting for each cycle of plant growth, avoiding frequent replacement of grow lights with different wavelengths.
Energy Efficiency
Compared to traditional grow lights, LED grow lights have higher photoelectric conversion efficiency, in other words, more energy-efficient. Its average lifespan can reach more than 50,000 hours, while the estimated lifetime of HID lamps is between 10,000 to 18,000 hours, which means a big savings on replacement and repair costs.
Compact Size
LED grow lights are compact and can be installed in rows to cover a larger lighting area for growers. It can be positioned closer to the plants even in a confined space. They are adaptable to a variety of lighting scenarios because of different sizes. The 180°foldable design makes them easy to install requiring not much expertise.
Intelligent Control
Different phases of plant growth requires different wavelengths of light. LED grow lights can achieve the function of wavelength adjustment by the controller. Tuning to the wavelength most required for each stage of plant growth is beneficial for faster and healthier plant growth.
Types of LED Grow Light
According to different criteria, there are different types of LED grow lights that can be adaptable to various application scenarios and meet the different needs of plant growth.
Shape
According to the shape to divide, there are flying saucer shape, bar shape, quantum board shape and octopus or spider shape.
Spectrum
According to the spectrum, it can fall into full spectrum and target spectrum. The light of full-spectrum LED grow light is very close to the natural light. The target spectrum LED grow light can emit light with different wavelengths, among which blue and red light contribute the most to the photosynthesis in plants.
Lighting Requirements
According to different demands for lighting, there are top lighting fixtures, indirect lighting fixtures and flowering fixtures.
How to Choose the Best LED Grow Light for Your Plants?
There is no perfect LED grow light for all planters because everyone’s growing needs are different from each other. When selecting the right lighting source for your plants, you ought to consider factors such as your growth goal, the light demand of your crops, the planting area of crops and your budget.
Your Growing Goal and Budget
As I’ve mentioned above, for both commercial cultivators and individual hobby growers, there are multiple benefits to using LED grow lights, such as efficiency, full spectrum, long lifetime and flexible size. With this LED lighting system, your crops will grow healthier and you’ll gain a higher return on investment. However, if your planting goal is short-term and the initial cost exceed your budget, HID lights might be a better choice for you.
The Crops
Different crops have different light demands for optimal growth. Even though most indoor plants can grow well under full-spectrum LED grow lights, the amount of light required, known as PPFD, varies considerably. Cannabis, for example, needs a PPFD up to 1000μmol/㎡/s to grow optimally, while leafy greens like lettuce can thrive under a PPFD of around 300μmol/㎡/s.
Growing Coverage
The growing area mentioned here emphasizes the canopy area size, rather than the entire growing room. To achieve optimal yield, the LED grow lights with high PPFD output evenly distributed throughout the whole canopy area are preferred by growers.
How to do in LED Grow Light manufacturing?
The manufacturing process of LED grow lights is complicated and it’s difficult to clarify in a few words. Hence, we’ve just selected several important steps covering a series of production processes from material, production, inspection, testing, final inspection to packaging and delivery. The details of these steps are as follows:
Selection of Material
When manufacturing high quality LED grow lights, the material is the first thing to be considered. The frame of the LED grow light is usually made of aluminum. The material selection should take the temperature and heat dissipation into account. The material thickness is an important factor to determine the heat dissipation performance of lights. With outstanding heat dissipation, the products’ stability will be improved and the light decay will also be declined.
Selection of LED Driver
The next production step is the selection of LED drivers. There are several famous brands on the market, such as MEAN WELL, OSRAM, PHILIPS, TRIDONIC, and MOSO, among which MEAN WELL is the most famous and popular brand. MOKOLight utilizes the world-renowned brand with high quality – MEAN WELL, to ensure stable and durable quality while providing clients with cost-effective products.
Selection of LED Chip
In order for better light source, we need to select the best LED chips among various brands in the market, such as Samsung, Sanan, Aoyang, Osram, Epistar and Jucan. Samsung, the most famous brand dominating the market, has become our first option because of its high stability and efficiency. Additionally, we also adopt the popular brands such as Osram, Philips, Cree, Seoul, Luminus, Epistar and Sanan with outstanding chip performance.
Inspection of Raw Material
Incoming inspection has a direct and overwhelming influence on product quality. All the sourced materials and components must be inspected thoroughly before entering the factory. If the products are defective or insufficient, we will immediately contact the supplier to solve the problem. If there is no problem with the quality of raw materials, they are confirmed to be received and stored in the warehouse.
Inspection of Samples
In order to ensure the quality of products, sampling is an essential step. Before the mass production of LED grow lights, it’s necessary to inspect the samples so that there will be no problems in the mass production. Integrating sphere data, power factor and other details will be tested after producing the sample as the customer’s request. If the sample doesn’t perform properly, the engineering team will work on it to make the sample work well.
Mass Production and Assembly
After the sample inspection, the mass production of LED grow lights begins. First, assemble the parts of lamp together. A light board is installed on the frame of the light. Apart from this, the power supply, driver, controller and other small parts are also to be assembled. Once all the parts have been assembled properly, the finished lamp is manufactured.
Inspection of Products
After manufacturing LED grow lights, each article must be under inspection to ensure the consistency and stability of our products. If unqualified products are found, they are required to be reworked on the spot. MOKOLight is committed to offering the top quality products that satisfy each and every one of our clients.
Aging Test
Aging test is the last step of LED grow light manufacturing process. It will help us find out the potential problems of products before they are dispatched. LED grow lights are tested under various conditions, including high and low pressure. As a result, we can estimate the average life of lights while their stability and quality are also improved.
The Considerations of LED Grow Light Manufacturing
When manufacturing LED grow lights, we need to pay attention to some possible existing problems in order to better solve or prepare them. They are namely:
Heat Dissipation
The selection of materials and components has a great effect on the heat dissipation performance of lamps. Using an aluminum frame and an efficient heat sink will greatly improve the lamp life. Although a lot of special structure and materials for heat dissipation are adopted in the process of LED grow light manufacturing. The overheating problem still often occur. In order to solve the problem more effectively, the technology needs to be further improved.
Light Efficiency
High-quality chips and internal structure are the crucial factors affecting the light efficiency of LED grow lights. Higher luminous efficiency means higher energy conversion. With more electricity being converted into light, it significantly reduce heat generation. Compared with the past, the light-emitting efficiency of LED grows lights have improved a lot, but there is still a long way to go.
The Supply Chain
The LED grow light manufacturing is more complicated than the general ones. The supply chain depends more on the international division of labor and is susceptible to international politics. It requires a peaceful international environment and more concentrated industrial groups. We have a complete and stable supply system and we will source enough raw materials in advance for unexpected circumstances.
The Manufacturing Costs
The price of LED grow light is generally high, which is determined by the high technical value and comprehensive cost behind it. It requires cheaper raw materials and more streamlined production flow in the manufacturing of LED grow lights. It will greatly reduce the manufacturing costs, thus boosting LED grow light manufacturing.
Conclusion
When it comes to the quality and performance of LED grow lights, we would never fool around. MOKOLight takes good care of you with the top-notch products and services. Our production process is full of quality inspections and various tests to ensure that the final products we manufacture is flawless and meets high standards. If you are inquisitive about our production flow and would like to know more, welcome to visit our factory at any time or directly contact us online.
