using-led-grow-lights

Why You Should Start Your Seedlings Indoors Using LED Grow Lights

Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights are lighting fixtures that may be ideal options for indoor gardeners. Light emitted by LED lights allow gardeners to focus the plants’ photosynthesis process in a specific area.

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Thus, you may have flexibility and versatility in controlling your indoor harvests. Various benefits exist to help indoor growers in cultivating their crops. Here are five reasons why you should start growing your seedlings with LED grow lights:

1. Less Power Consumed

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One of the main reasons why many indoor growers choose to start cultivating their seedlings using LEDs is power efficiency. LEDs may have an advantage over traditional lighting fixtures because these lights may help lower energy bills.

Consider installing LED lights instead of High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps. Use the former to help decrease energy consumptions in greenhouse settings. You might even see an average drop of 40% on your next electricity bill once you start using LED grow lights.

Still, you need to choose the best LED grow lights for your indoor crops. Different manufacturers offer various models. Specific LED lights might be more energy-efficient than certain fixtures. Choose the LEDs you want for your indoor crops to help you get the most value out of the purchase.

2. Excellent Lifetime

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Specific illumination technologies may not last as long as LED lights do. Certain manufacturers develop models that may last up to 100,000 hours. That’s equivalent to over 4,100 days or about 11 years.

However, those figures amount to the grow lights functioning for 24 hours a day and seven days a week. So, if you're not using the lights extensively, you may extend the life of these lighting fixtures.

Also, many LED lights don’t suddenly stop working, unless they get broken by an external force. You might notice your chosen LED grow lights decreasing in brightness over time. So, it gives you a head’s up that you need to replace the fixtures so you can continue giving proper light to your seedlings and plants.

3. Controllable Features

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Various LED grow lights have controllable features. Again, consider checking your chosen model before buying. Otherwise, you might end up buying a standard LED light without manageable functionalities.

For example, an LED light with a dimming controller allows growers to customize wavelengths in growing specific plant species. Various LED lights with dimmable functions allow you to control the intensity from 1% to 100%. Specific models help you dim the blues by a certain percentage to allow the reds and whites to transmit at a full ratio.

Also, consider buying LED grow lights with a spectral controller. This feature helps growers to control each spectrum individually. Therefore, you can have flexibility over the use of reds, whites, and blues when growing specific plant species. Also, you may also turn on or off different combinations depending on the current stages of your plants.

4. Close Proximity

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Particular LED grow lighting fixtures allow gardeners to plant the models closer to plants than certain high-intensity discharge (HID) lights. This possibility is thanks to LEDs and their low heat outputs. This opportunity is advantageous to indoor growers who want to cultivate seedlings and plants in an area with limited height.

Still, keep in mind that placing certain LED lights close to plants can still burn certain flora. Specific plants may have a low resistance to heat. So, even if your LEDs have a low heat output, the leaves or other parts of the plant may give you unhealthy results. Thus, it’s still best to research about the light requirements for your indoor plant before placing the lighting fixtures.

5. Environment-Friendly

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A controlled indoor growing environment with LEDs may result in less use of water. Also, it might produce a cultivation area with less chemical runoff. A reduced amount of heat and chemical waste means an environment-friendly growth process for your plants.

Furthermore, the less water used when growing your seedlings and plants means you can save more water during droughts. LED grow lights also may also lead to less damage for Mother Nature thanks to reduced carbon footprints.

Still, make sure you research well before using any LEDs for your seedlings. Use certain gardening hacks in conjunction with the right lights to help you produce good results. Remember, you’re going to spend time and money in cultivating your plants.

So, ensure you’re growing your plants with a small margin for error. For example, specific seedlings may start developing well indoors, but halfway through the growth process, it may require you to place the plant outdoors.

About the Author Laura Bennett

Hello, I’m Laura Bennett. I love nature especially when it comes to flowers and different kinds of plants. I started a very small garden behind my house and I named it Humid Garden. So, I created this blog to provide aspiring and inspiring thoughts about gardening for gardeners and anyone who has the intention of keeping a garden.

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