You will find numerous kinds of grow lights that you could use within your DIY hydroponics garden. These are the high intensity discharge (HID light), metal halide (MH light), and high pressure sodium (HPS light). They're advertised for use in greenhouses and all kinds of indoor gardening. Nonetheless, LED grow light is already made available in the market and it provides a remarkable solution to lighting indoor plants than those that are previously available for use. There are several factors why it is more favored today and here's why.
1. The LED grow light is lighter in weight when compared to most kinds of conventional grow lamps. It doesn't need ballast unlike HID, MH and HPS lights to be able to function effectively. It doesn't need reflectors that will add bulk to the equipment to be able to cast a large pool of light on the hydroponic plants. Weight is a vital consideration since they must be suspended in some fashion over the plants. They must be regularly raised and lowered for plant maintenance such as watering. They need to maintain a suitable distance from the plants for optimal growth and yield. The LED lamp includes built-in fans so there's no need for air-cooled reflectors and ducting.
2. LED grow light has the ability to change light spectrum. Hydroponic plants can develop best in varying light spectrum depending on their stages of growth. Blue light spectrum supplied by HPS lights is required by young seedlings to grow strong and sturdy stems. Red and orange spectrums offered by specific HPS lights are required by mature plants when they are ready to reproduce and set fruit or flowers. You'll be able to find HPS light bulb that will generate blue or red spectrum but you cannot find this type to supply both spectrums. Skilled hydroponic gardeners will suggest that you need to have a mixture of grow lights to have the perfect lighting for your plants. It is best to start out with one type of grow lamp then you can modify this as the plants mature. However, with LED grow light, you can make it easier. You'll have one single lamp that can generate both the red and blue spectrums. Better quality LED lamps use knobs that you can simply turn to adjust the spectrum of the bulb.
3. LED grow light is cheaper to operate in comparison to most grow light bulbs. Though the upfront cost is often more expensive, there will be a significant difference on the cost of operating this type of grow light. Superior LED lamps use only one eighth of the electricity consumed by HPS lamps in order to generate the same amount of light therefore helping you save much money during the period of its life. Producers can also configure the tiny LED diodes to ensure that the lamp can supply light in a bigger area in contrast to the conventional grow lamps.
The choice is clearer now on the kind of grow light to use for the hydroponic plants to grow and thrive in the garden. LED grow light is the ideal grow lamp for indoor garden lighting.