Indoor Growers: Know The Pros And Cons Of Using LED Grow Lights
Understanding the pros and cons of LED lights is imperative for indoor growers. That’s because, whatever plants are being grown, the success of any crop rests on employing the correct color and intensity of lighting. Failing to meet a particular variety of plant or crop’s optimum lighting requirements can spell disaster from the outset.
The advantages and disadvantages of LED lamps are plentiful across the board, regardless of how LEDs are utilized. Yet, for regular household lighting, for example, there’s little need to worry about the pros and cons. This is beyond, perhaps, the fact that LEDs are extremely affordable to run – a huge selling point as global energy costs continue to rise.
But when using variations of the same technology to grow cannabis, herbs, or other crops indoors, these pros and cons are of the utmost importance. With that, the following is a five-minute guide to the main advantages and disadvantages of LED lighting for indoor growers in 2023 and beyond.
LED Grow Lights Pros and Cons
So, do the advantages and disadvantages of light from LEDs or other sources matter? For indoor growers, absolutely. A failure to account for the positives and negatives of different types of lighting can make all the difference. Almost without exception, in terms of plant cultivation, it’s often the difference between success and failure, especially for new indoor growers.
Thankfully, when it comes to LED grow lights pros and cons, there’s some good news. That’s because the pros of LED lights massively outweigh the cons. With that in mind, let’s get those pesky cons, downsides, disadvantages, or negatives out of the way first.
LED Light Cons
When considering the advantages and disadvantages of LED lamps, the list of negatives extends to just a couple of points. The first grow light disadvantage concerning LED lights pros and cons centers around cost.
Cost of Top-Rated LED Grow Lights
For serious indoor growers, high-quality LEDs are a must-have. It’s no secret that high-end, top-rated LED grow lights are costlier than, for example, cheaper lighting that utilizes incandescent bulbs. Like many things in life, though, serious growers get what they pay for. By that token, high-end, top-rated LED grow lights are an investment, first and foremost.
LED Grow Light Bulbs Are Not Replaceable
Another drawback of LED grow lights and, for that matter, any LED lighting system is that individual bulbs aren’t replaceable. Instead, units require replacing in their entirety to rectify a bulb fault. That said, bulb failures are uncommon, and unless multiple bulbs fail in quick succession, replacing a unit isn’t generally a necessity, especially in the short term.
LED Light Pros
As the above demonstrates, the downsides of using LEDs for indoor plant cultivation are few and far between. Meanwhile, for indoor growers, LED lamps pros are reassuringly abundant. LED pros range from easily tailored lighting spectrum setups to the potential for significant financial rebates. That’s why, when looking to light like the pros, LEDs are now any serious grower’s go-to lighting solution.
Tailored Lighting Spectrum
Arguably the biggest LED grow light advantage involves the ability to dial in spectrum, intensity, and other vital lighting parameters. Different crops require different levels of red, green, and blue light. With non-LED lighting, this is hard to achieve. Yet, it’s at the very heart of what today’s best-selling LED grow lights offer.
Read more: The Ways To Maximize The Use Of LED Grow Lights
Point Light Source
Next, and second among the many LED lighting pros for growers, is the nature of the source of light provided by such units. LED grow lights benefit from boasting what’s known as a point light source.
LEDs and their point light source outputs differ significantly from traditional bulbs. Most traditional bulbs emit light in a near-360-degree fashion purely by virtue of their shape and overall design. By contrast, LEDs and their point light source method of delivery ensure optimum light transfer to the plants they’re growing – excellent for overall coverage.
Intelligent LED Lighting
Elsewhere, capitalizing on several other benefits of LED grow lighting are the various intelligent control systems on offer. From spectrum to photoperiod, whether through a built-in or separate control unit, dialing in specific parameters is a breeze with intelligently controlled LED grow lights. This added level of control affords LEDs the ability to recreate the most natural lighting conditions possible for any plant variety.
Cost Saving
As already established, LED grow lights are invariably costlier at the outset than the likes of high-pressure sodium, incandescent, mercury vapor, and fluorescent lights. But, beyond that, cost savings after the initial outlay or investment are abound.
Arguably the biggest cost savings come in the shape of reduced energy usage, slashing power bills from the outset. Their longer lifespans also mean that they need replacing much less frequently. All of this ensures that LEDs are simultaneously better for the environment, too – another added bonus, and a further pro of choosing LEDs over other types of lighting.
Cooler Running Temperatures
LED grow lights don’t just cost less to run – they also run cooler, temperature-wise. This adds further to their positive environmental impact. It also represents a significant additional benefit in terms of growing temperature-sensitive crops. That’s while further minimizing indoor grow running costs by alleviating the need for additional cooling and ventilation provisions.
Rebate Potential
And last but by no means least, a much lesser-known LED light pro – the possibility of rebates, grants, and other financial incentives. In the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, one or more rebates or grants may be available for larger-scale growers looking to utilize LED lighting. Among the available options are a range of so-called prescriptive and custom lighting rebates.
Such rebates or grants can equate to up to 50 percent of new LED lighting purchase prices and as much as 100 percent of the cost of an existing lighting retrofit. That’s further to the potential energy savings on offer and the reduced ongoing costs tied to the longer lifespans of LEDs versus high-pressure sodium, incandescent, mercury vapor, and fluorescent lighting.
Weighing up the Pros and Cons of LED Grow Lights
It’s clear that the advantages and disadvantages of grow light solutions utilizing LEDs lean massively in favor of the former; the positives and their many accompanying selling points. Of course, there’s no escaping the fact that there’s an often sizable cost involved at the outset for most high-quality LED grow lights.
At the same time, cutting-edge LED grow lights are now more affordable than ever. Factor in subsequent energy saving, the potential for rebates, increased crop yields through tailored intelligent lighting setups, and more, and choosing LEDs becomes a no-brainer, especially for indoor growers.
LED Grow Lights From Bata
Bata proudly manufactures among today’s most cutting-edge, energy-efficient, and affordable LED grow light systems. Catering to small-scale home growers and huge commercial operators alike, Bata’s LED grow lights are the result of years of tireless research and development. Through this ongoing research and development, the company is on a mission to redefine the future of agricultural cultivation.
Among the many products on offer from Bata are the Barlight, Boardlight, and Toplight Series LED grow lights. Also available are a range of dedicated seedling and T8 tube replacement lamps. Accordingly, Bata is empowering growers of all shapes and sizes—including indoor, at-home, and other growers—to consistently and sustainably produce crops of the highest caliber.
Established in 2017, Bata has subsequently helped countless growers worldwide realize their potential through cutting-edge, highly innovative LED lighting. From the compact, low-cost Bata UFO Series to complete commercial LED grow light solutions, find out more exclusively at BataGrowLight.com.
