Can a regular light bulb help plants grow? As long as the bulb provides enough PAR light, it can help plants grow. LED lights are energy-efficient and emit very little heat. They also last for many years. For plants that require a lot of light, however, it is best to invest in a horticultural lamp. Mars Hydro have been dedicated to supplying commercially feasible LED grow lights to grow food and medicine to indoor horticulture farmers, from hobbyists to professionals improving yields and marketability by the adoption of high-quality components, scientific designs, and frontier technology.
Regular LED Lights for Plants – A Bright Idea
A grow light is necessary for indoor plants that require more light than your windows can provide. It’s an essential part of indoor gardening. But at what price? They don’t come cheap.
You can use regular LED lights to grow lights. You can use regular LED lights for grow lights. But not all will work. This article will explain the advantages of LEDs, the importance PAR and PPFD, various lighting terms and common misconceptions about grow lights.
LED Lights: How they outshine others
LED lights are the best of all incandescent, fluorescent and LED lights because they emit low heat, produce little heat, are energy efficient, and can be used long-term for a lower cost.
A 16.5-watt LED bulb can shine as brightly as a CFL (20-watt) or 75-watt incandescent bulb (75-watt), while still being cool to the touch.
Inandescent bulbs should not be more than 24 inches (61 cm) from your plants. Fluorescent bulbs are safe to be placed 12 inches (30.48 cm) from your plants, while LED bulbs can be placed six inches (15.24 cm) away.
Is it possible to use any LED light as a grow light?
Even with the benefits mentioned above, any LED light can be used to grow plants.
- Temperature of color
- Lumens
- LUX
- Candles for the feet
- Watts
- PAR
- PPFD
Only the last two of these are suitable for gardening. Before I go into detail, let me tell you why I don’t like the first five.
Color is Extremely Important. Color Temperature Isn’t
Even though plants can use any color of light, including green, they are most attracted to red and blue light. These colors help with photosynthesis and also grow specific parts of plants. Blue light is helpful in growing foliage and plants grow flowers.
You may have seen misinformation about color temperature on other blogs. Many people believe that a light that looks like a particular color will aid plants in doing things associated with that specific color. This is false.
Why not Watts?
For measuring light intensity, watts are less useful than lumens. Although they measure electricity, watts were once strongly correlated with the brightness of light bulb. With the advent of more energy-efficient bulbs, this is no longer true.
PPFD is preferred by plants
The PPFD (Photosynthetic photon flux density) measures the amount of PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiosonde) that reaches your plants every second. This metric is most useful for gardeners, as it measures light quality and intensity in a plant’s eyes.
PAR is the area of the light spectrum that is useful for photosynthesis (400-700 nm). Contrary to what you may be led to believe, PAR doesn’t measure light intensity or even serve as a measurement unit. PAR simply measures the wavelengths of light that plants can use. It’s possible to use an ordinary LED light as a growing light. Let us know what happens. Plants that require low light levels, such as those grown indoors, will have a greater chance of success.
