Effect Of LED Greenhouse Light On Plant Growth And Indoor Cultivation
It goes without saying that plants require light and nutrition to grow. But many people fail to appreciate the utmost importance of the fundamental quality of these two essentials. Optimum lighting, in particular, is paramount if plants are not only to grow but also truly thrive. Spectrum, intensity, and photoperiod all factor into plant growth, especially for indoor cultivation.
Even with the very best fertilizers, light is still absolutely paramount. Without light, plants cannot photosynthesize. And without photosynthesis, they can’t convert nutrients into the energy required to grow. The same goes for plants extracting and using carbon dioxide from the air. Accordingly, light is vital, above all else, for the photosynthesis and subsequent growth of plants across the board.
If a plant cannot photosynthesize through adequate light provision, then the nutrition, carbon dioxide, water, and everything else it requires are for nothing. The sun provides most plants grown outdoors with this all-important light in abundance. But what about when grown indoors or under glass? That’s where artificial lighting comes into its own.
Even in glass greenhouses, supplemental lighting can significantly boost growth rates. That’s as the glass of greenhouses filters out some of the best of what the sun offers. With greenhouse grow light, it’s also possible to account for shorter winter days and other potential cultivation issues.
That means consistent year-round plant growth in differing climates, such as across the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map and elsewhere. It’s all about optimizing the light on offer. Meanwhile, the crucial spectrum, intensity, and photoperiod of any artificial light afforded to them may be adjusted when growing plants entirely indoors to achieve optimal results, but only with the right lighting system.
Effect of Light on Plant Growth
To fully appreciate the impact that artificial lighting can have on indoor cultivation, it’s a good idea to look more closely at the physical effect of light on plant growth. All told, it’s virtually impossible to overstate lights effect on plant growth.
Most plants respond best to light with wavelengths ranging from near-ultraviolet to far-red. When growers employ the correct wavelengths, plant growth directly improves, almost without fail. Within marijuana cultivation, the blue light spectrum is elemental. Alongside more impressive, lush, and vigorous plant growth, other positive effects include more robust root systems and faster times to maturity.
Achieving these results involves optimizing the lighting wavelengths available to most accurately suit the requirements for cultivating the individual crop at hand. So, which lighting is best for facilitating this optimization and achieving these effects? Almost without exception, the resounding answer to this question is light-emitting diodes, better and more ubiquitously known globally as LEDs.
Positive Effect of LED Greenhouse Lights
Among the best options for greenhouse lighting are modern, high-end LEDs. LED light effect on plant growth can be measured by looking at growth rates, crop yields, and improvements in possible past cultivation issues.
Modern, high-end LEDs also allow for closely dialed-in light quantity, quality, and duration – more correctly or precisely known as intensity, spectrum, and photoperiod. Alongside and including improved growth rates, better yields, and overcoming cultivation issues, just some of the many positive effects of LED greenhouse lights include the following:
- LED lighting uses minimal power and reduces a greenhouse’s running costs.
- LED lighting can be fine-tuned to speed up or slow a plant’s anticipated growth.
- Lower LED light operating temperatures allow for cooler indoor growing environments.
Two other potential positives of opting for LED greenhouse lighting include reduced bulk and possible financial rebates. When growing in close quarters, the compact form factor of most LED light units makes them less bulky than the alternatives more common in years gone by. This reduced bulk allows their use in smaller areas. It also allows for more plants in closer proximity in the same space.
Moreover, cash rebates may be available for those using LEDs to light their greenhouse operations in the United States and elsewhere.
In the U.S., the federal government and local municipalities may afford rebates on LED lighting systems, subject to a few restrictions. This rebate approach exists in America and elsewhere to inspire and incentivize those cultivating various crops to invest in energy-efficient LEDs versus older, less-green lighting solutions.
Intensity, Spectrum, and Photoperiod
The positive effects of LED greenhouse lights become amplified when closely managing intensity, spectrum, and photoperiod. To appreciate why, an understanding of these three parameters is invariably helpful.
Intensity or Light Quantity
Light intensity—or quality—depends on a given LED grow light unit’s photon flux density – more on that momentarily. In the simplest terms, intensity or light quantity is calculated on a per-square-meter basis. This quality of light is then measured, typically over just a single second.
Unlike plants grown entirely indoors, those raised in greenhouses need comparatively little light. By using artificial greenhouse lighting in the shape of LEDs, intensity can be dialed up or down to achieve optimum growth without the risk of providing too much light—or, in other scenarios, too little—in the long or short term.
Spectrum or Light Quality
Spectrum or light quality—commonly discussed in terms of colors—reflects how natural light travels to the earth from the sun. Light does so in different wavelengths. Shorter waves trend toward blue hues, while longer waves appear redder in color.
For this reason, spectrum or light quality is also known as light color. Across the color spectrum, providing the right combination of shades is vital – something far more easily facilitated with LEDs than most other lighting options or solutions.
Photoperiod or Light Duration
When it comes to photoperiod, things are more straightforward. Plants have a natural circadian rhythm or cycle like most living things. Whether in a greenhouse or elsewhere, the goal should always be to mimic this rhythm every 24 hours, without fail.
Whether coupled with the sun’s natural rays or not, the positive effects of the ideal photoperiod or light duration for a particular crop are most easily maintained with one or more well-suited LED greenhouse lights. Wherever possible, mimicking the sunrise and sunset is also advisable, rather than having lights switch immediately on and off as a part of a set photoperiod.
Other Advantages of Using LEDs in Greenhouses
LED grow lights don’t just offer plentiful benefits surrounding plant growth. The best LED grow lights for greenhouse are also highly energy efficient. This energy efficiency means high yields with minimal electricity costs – a win-win situation. It’s also an increasingly valuable selling point in today’s ever more environmentally focused global climate.
As already mentioned, and second only perhaps to light, nutrition is similarly important for healthy plant growth. Like minimizing electricity costs, the same advantages extend to fertilizer, pesticides, and other chemicals. Where plants are healthy, in this instance by virtue of providing them with ample, high-quality lighting, the need for additional products like fertilizers is vastly reduced.
Elsewhere, further advantages of using LEDs versus, for example, traditional incandescent bulbs range from their high levels of durability to minimal heat generation. Add in their long lifespans, which is often a direct result of their durability and cool running temperatures, and the pros stack up further still.
Best Grow Light for Greenhouse Settings
The absolute best light for growing plants indoors—whether in a greenhouse or elsewhere—will depend on several factors. When choosing an LED grow light for greenhouse cultivation specifically, it’s advisable to factor in the forecast daily light integral and photosynthetic photon flux density requirements.
Among serious growers, DLI and PPFD are critical factors. Any substantial grow light greenhouse set-up should seek to meet DLI requirements through supplemental lighting. At the same time, PPFD figures can help to determine yield and quality from the outset by exploring, optimizing, and setting peak light intensity levels at routine intervals.
The same is true whether cultivating cannabis, raising and harvesting delicious and ever-trendy microgreens, or growing one or more other types of plants entirely. Examples include fruits, vegetables, and ornamental crops like fresh-cut flowers and potted garden plants.
Impact of Greenhouse LED Lighting on Cultivation Issues
It’s not unusual to run into cultivation issues from time to time, whether growing plants indoors, in a greenhouse, or outside under full sun. Overcoming such quandaries quite often comes down to addressing one or more underlying factors, like lighting or nutrition.
Thankfully, there are significant degrees of reported positive impact of greenhouse LED lighting on cultivation issues, particularly versus other lighting options. Cultivation issues, like small leaf size or poor fruit quality, can often be overcome to one degree or another simply by manipulating the light spectrum – a key perk of LED lighting.
Meanwhile, customizable lighting profiles allow growers to switch between different crops easily. That’s while factoring in their individual developmental lighting needs while providing the option to cater to hard-set factors like current growth stages.
It’s apparent, then, that the effect of LED greenhouse light on plant growth and indoor cultivation should not be underestimated. Coupled with the other essentials like nutrition and water, overcoming cultivation issues is, therefore, more easily addressed when LED lighting is in use versus when it’s not.
A Brief History of LEDs and Other Greenhouse Lighting
It’s easy to imagine that LEDs and other forms of supplementary greenhouse lighting are relatively new or modern innovations. However, that’s far from the case, with artificial lighting in plant cultivation now steeped in around 150 years of history.
Greenhouse lighting followed quickly in the footsteps of other forms of artificial lighting, such as that invented for civil use, like street lights. Ultimately, incandescent filament bulbs, open arc lighting, and enclosed gaseous discharge lamps all set the stage for the century and a half of lighting innovations that have followed.
Subsequent fluorescent lamps, namely those boasting predominantly blue and red color spectrums, became the go-to source of artificial lighting for plant cultivation. High-intensity discharge or HID lamps, high-pressure sodium lamps, and metal halide lighting also rose to prominence within greenhouses during the same period.
Yet, none of these proved overly durable nor particularly energy efficient. Thus, pioneering lighting manufacturers looked to address this using LEDs, starting in the mid-1980s. Thankfully, the resulting LED units and their predecessors on offer today meet these and various other exacting needs perfectly, many of which have become central to indoor plant cultivation in the 21st century.
Long-lasting, cool-running, and packed with technology, among today’s most groundbreaking options are the likes of the Bata Barlight Series, Boardlight Series, and Toplight Series.
Bata LED Greenhouse Lights
Alongside the Barlight Series, Boardlight Series, and Toplight Series, Bata manufactures and supplies the Interlight Series, T8 LED Tube Series, UFO Series, and Seedling Light Series.
Bata came into existence in 2017 after eight years of continuous research and study. The company is now a well-known and well-respected high-tech enterprise integrating in-house product manufacturing, research, and development.
Bata offers more than 100 unique products across the Barlight, Boardlight, Toplight, and accompanying LED lighting ranges, all backed by exceptional production, logistics, customer service, sales, and after-sales service. Bata remains on a mission to innovate through cutting-edge, high-quality LED grow lighting solutions.
This mission forms part of an overarching vision of helping growers worldwide improve their productivity by growing crops more smartly. Bata’s mission and vision combine a commitment to excellence and individually tailored service levels focused on developing long-lasting relationships with all clients.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Effects of LED Greenhouse Lights
Are LED Lights Good for Growing Plants Indoors?
Absolutely. LED greenhouse lights are among the best lighting for plant growth, whether under glass or indoors. Furthermore, from smaller home-focused options to large, commercial-scale systems, solutions exist catering to almost every application.
Can Any LED Light Be Used as a Grow Light for Plants?
Yes and no. Grow lights for greenhouse plants differ from those used for simple lighting in numerous areas. A run-of-the-mill LED unit will provide a plant with light, of course. But the spectrum and quality of this light are of the utmost importance where plant growth is the primary goal.
Therefore, specific plant grow lights are best for greenhouses and similar settings. Regular household LED lights can then be reserved for secondary lighting elsewhere. Where plant cultivation is the primary focus, look for plant grow lights for greenhouse applications rather than those designed chiefly for other purposes.
What Is the Best LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants?
Bata offers the best and latest LED lighting and LED technology solutions for modern indoor agriculture and horticulture. Bata designs various types of LED grow light products to meet differing customer demands.
As a result, and catering to often unique requirements in various scenarios, choosing the best LED grow light for grow tents, indoor gardens, large commercial greenhouses, and other plantations is a breeze with Bata.
What Color LED Light Helps Plants Grow?
Most plants respond best to light in the near-ultraviolet blue to far-red spectrums. Blue light is a must for, for example, cannabis cultivation. Elsewhere, output in the green color spectrum—squarely between blue and red—also plays a vital role in bolstering plant photosynthesis.
Is It Easy to Set up an Indoor Greenhouse With Grow Light?
Establishing a small indoor greenhouse with grow lights is generally straightforward, especially with LED technology. The same principles applying to LED grow lights for commercial greenhouse also apply to a mini greenhouse with grow light and similar applications, just on a smaller scale.
Grow Lights in Greenhouse: The Bottom Line
Artificial lighting in plant cultivation is nothing new, dating back to the late 1800s. What is new, though, is the continued advent of more and more cutting-edge LED solutions. Now having repeatedly evolved since the mid-1980s, LED greenhouse lighting technology has, at the same time, come on leaps and bounds in just the last few years alone. During this time, it has evolved faster than at any other period in the previous 30+ years.
Backed by massive ongoing research, innovative LED-powered greenhouse lighting systems now represent the go-to solution for dedicated growers worldwide. Replacing the likes of HID and metal halide lamps, LEDs are cheaper to run, more durable, and yield comparable or superior results to anything else on the market. Further promoting a more sustainable industry, the benefits are plentiful – and ever-growing.
At LED grow light manufacturer Bata, we’re a team of engineers and dreamers driving the innovation of LED grow lights. Our lighting solutions offer the latest technology for use in all growing environments. With simultaneously powerful, energy-efficient, and cost-effective products, we’re proud to help growers reach their full production potential. Contact us to find out more.
