One of the most difficult and befuddling tasks of an indoor grower is to select the best light source for the proper growth of indoor plants.
After all, it really is an important task to find a replacement for the natural sunlight. In all other choices over items for indoor growing, people are usually able to narrow down to a particular item but in the context of the light source, users find themselves quite confused.
The market is replete with different indoor growing lights and they only contribute to making the indoor growers more and more perplexed. However, when acquainted with certain facts, any indoor grower can make an informed decision about the light source that would be most suitable for their plant.
Indoor lights play a pivotal role in the growth of indoor plants. They are cardinal for the occurrence of the process of photosynthesis by which plants make their food. After reading many articles on indoor growing one might come to the conclusion that, from various lights available in the market, one’s choices come down to LED and HPS lights.
Selecting the best one amongst these two lights is a complex task as these are the two most used lights for indoor growing. It requires a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of each of the respective lights. It is as difficult as choosing a garden hose, you cannot afford to make a wrong choice and suffer later.
When the LED lights first came into the market, they had to compete against the likes of HPS lights. Then, the HPS lights were the first choice of indoor growers and they had a firm grip on the market. Winning the trust of the customers was a mammoth task for the LEDs as grower believed more in the conventional system of growing rather than acquainting to new ways and tools. Yet, it did achieve the Herculean feat.
Before the advent of LED lights, HPS lights ruled the market. They were available at a cheaper rate and provided sufficient heat and light to the plant to help them carry out the process of photosynthesis. But at the same time, the maintenance and design of these lights made them fall short of their standard.
It was a black smudge over all the unique features offered by the HPS light source. Their bulky appearance made them aesthetically less beautiful and their additional maintenance cost caused a dislike among the indoor growers. But as they had no option their loyalty rested with the HPS lights.
Once LED lights were able to establish itself more trustworthy and feature-rich in the market, the loyalty of the customers gradually shifted to the product which offered them better features and functionality viz. LED lights. Not only that, the LED lights are now being used in Aerogardens as well.
Now, let’s delve into the pros and cons of each of these lights.
HPS lights provide the indoor plants with heat and light required for their growth. But the only bad point in this regard is that it provides heat and light in excess. The additional heat and light are harmful to the plant. An excess of heat may cause the leaves to burn and thus destroy the plants.
Hence, in order to vent out the excess and protect the plants from the damage, a ventilation system needs to be incorporated along with HPS lights. This makes the HPS lights very bulky. Also, you need to install external exhaust fans which would demand you to spend some money so as to maintain a moderate environment in your grow room.
Moreover, as the HPS lights provide an excess of heat and light, they also consume more power. Thus it aggrandizes the cost incurred by the indoor grower while availing the features offered by the HPS lights. Also, it makes them less energy efficient.
LED lights have a big advantage over HPS lights. Firstly, LED lights are cheaper than HPS lights which makes it economically feasible for the consumers. Even if you go for high wattage LED lights which may cost you more than the HPS lights, in the long run, the LED would again save you a lot on your electricity bills.
Secondly, LED lights exude just enough quantity of heat and light as may be required by the plant. Thus they don’t require an additional ventilation system to dissipate the extra heat as they usually contain attached fans which do this task. You do not need to attach extra exhaust fans in your grow room to dissipate the heat.
Thirdly, LED lights have a warranty of a minimum 2-5 years. The tenure of the warranty is larger than that offered by HPS lights. Hence LED lights require less maintenance as compared to that required by HPS lights.
Fourth, LED lights provide the optimal heat and light to the plant and consume lesser power than HPS lights. This ensures that there isn’t any surge in the electricity bill.
LED lights run cooler and work more efficiently than HPS lights. Moreover, they produce less heat. While this helps them provide an optimal growing condition for most of the plants, for plants growing in the cooler indoor area, HID lights with their additional released heat might be a better option.
While each has some uniqueness to offer, it is very necessary for an indoor grower to know when to select which light source. An indoor grower must be aware of the growing area of the plant. If his fine sense of judgment suggests that the growing area is a cooler one, then HPS light source with their additional generated heat would serve the purpose. Otherwise LED lights ought to be preferred. Also, their lower cost gives them an upper edge over HPS lights. Additionally, LED lights have a better warranty period as compared to the HPS lights.
Overall, LED lights are better than the HPS lights when the comparison is made in terms of cost, maintenance required and effectiveness. However, HPS lights do eclipse the LED lights in case the plants are grown in cold growing areas.
This article would have definitely helped the indoor growers gain some perspective for choosing the best lights for indoor growing.
Selecting between the two lights is a pretty difficult task when you are unaware of their features. Now, that you know what would be beneficial for you in the long run, we would suggest you use the LED grow lights.
Please let us know your views in the comments section below. We would be happy to help you.