Growing houseplants should be easy — after all, you don’t have to contend with drought or frost. But you may have one big limiting factor: a lack of quality sunlight. Fortunately, adding some grow lights for indoor plants can solve this problem, allowing plants to thrive even in darker corners of your home.

Different LED Types for House Plants

There are two main styles of LED grow lights that people tend to see in the market

Full spectrum LED grow lights
Full spectrum LED grow lights provide a range of wavelengths which are ideal for all stages of plant growth, but tends to keep your plants in the vegetative stage. This makes those lights our #1 choice for indoor plants.

Full spectrum lighting can come in daylight LEDs, but can also have a red and blue tint. We prefer our customers use the daylight style of LED. Being able to see the true colour of your plants will help you diagnose any nutrient or health issues that arise.

Red / Blue LED lights
Red and blue LED lights are more specialized, with red lights promoting flowering and fruiting, and blue lights promoting vegetative growth.

You can still use these lights, but they put out a reddish-blue light you are not able to see the proper colour of your plants without turning on supplemental lights in the room.

Not being able to see the true colour of your plant could affect your monitoring of their colour and nutrition.

ECO Farm 480W V3Pro Samsung LM301H Movable LED Grow Light

Features:

This ECO Farm LED grow light is an optimized full-spectrum grow light suitable for indoor plants. Our spectrum is 3500K warm white and 660nm deep red to optimize plant growth in indoor/greenhouse environments from seed to harvest. (Sprouting, cloning or shearing, mother, plant and flowering applications). 3500K-Promote plant biomass growth, red 660nm-Promote stem growth and flowering, increase yield; suitable for all stages of indoor growth. Up to 1262μmol/s light output PPF, 2.6umol/J of high energy efficiency. Recommended vegetable size is 5x5 feet and flowering size is 4x4 feet. No fan and no noise. High safety performance HLG MEAN WELL driver. The actual power is 480w. Utilize the special surface treatment of the aluminum radiator to increase the heat dissipation area.

HLG Greenhouse Pro HE HV 630W LED Grow Light

Features:

The HLG LED Grow Light is a commercial grade LED grow light designed to help growers achieve maximum yield and quality. It features high-efficiency LEDs with deep red enhancement, a slender linear design that minimizes shading of plants, and integrated reflectors that maximize photon delivery into the canopy. The HLG Greenhouse Pro HE LED grow light is also easy to install and use, and is compatible with controllers.This lamp has Full Spectrum White and Deep Red LED’s, with an efficacy of 3.4 µmol/joule.

Why some growers still avoid LED grow lights

Talk to enough growers and you’ll find that at least one has had a negative experience with LEDs.

Here are some of the more common disadvantages they mentioned:

#1 They’re more expensive — at first

Ask any grower why they remain loyal to HPS for growing plants, and most of them will tell you it’s because they believe LED lights are “overpriced.” Yes, the upfront cost of LEDs is an expensive investment and may scare away growers. However, if you’re in it for the long term, you’ll make up the difference over time because they’re so much more efficient. Some states offer grants for the use of LEDs in licensed facilities. As with any new technology, LED prices have been steadily dropping, rapidly closing the gap between HPS lights and their LED counterparts.

#2 Beware of Photobleaching

Remember, minor burns and thermal burns are not the same thing. LED lights have the advantage of being able to fit into compact spaces where temperatures are cooler. But if you plant your plants too close together, they can suffer minor burns, turning the vibrant green leaves an unsightly yellow or white color and ruining the potency and fragrance of each flower. Keep in mind that the latest generation of commercial LED lighting seems to avoid this problem entirely.

#3 Perceived Factory Performance

Many growers believe that LED lighting will cause their plants to have different nutritional needs or finicky performance. While this is true in some cases, growers and their plants are often used to growing under certain conditions and will need to adjust their procedures to new lighting conditions.

For example, a facility running HPS lighting may have slightly less optimal environmental conditions. Once switched to LEDs, HVAC systems can more easily optimize VPD, resulting in increased plant nutrient needs.

#4 You Might Need to Make Heat Adjustments

While the lower heat output is considered an advantage for most growers, facilities that rely on HPS lighting heat may need to introduce supplemental heating to properly nourish plants.

Conclusion

When you’re growing plants indoors, it’s important to use grow light strips to provide them with the light they need to grow. Not all grow light strips are created equal, so it’s important to do your research before purchasing.