Grow lights and grow light reflectors are important components of hydroponics systems and success in growing indoors. You’ll find many different kinds of grow lights available; grow light reflectors are used in order to maximize and optimize light output of your grow lights.

Choosing the Right Grow Light Reflectors

Many different types of grow light reflectors are available from online and brick-and-mortar purveyors of indoor gardening supplies. Your choice of light reflectors will depend on:

• ventilation needs
• available space for growing indoors
• lighting requirements
• your budget

The first point – ventilation – is particularly important. Most types of grow lights used for hydroponics produce are great deal of heat, necessitating that grow light reflectors have a way of radiating that heat. You’ll find that many of these have built-in ventilation systems; otherwise, you’ll need to use external fans, which are bulky and unwieldy.

The Beauty of Air-Cooled Light Reflectors

You’ll quickly find that the extra expense of air cooled grow light reflectors is definitely worth it, because such reflectors allow closer placement to the plants themselves. Air-cooled light reflectors with built-in ventilation usually have glass heat shields to protect the plants.

When using most standard types of grow light reflectors, you’ll need to take care not only for your plants but for yourself as well. The reflector hood can get very hot and can cause serious burn injuries if not handled properly; in addition, the heat generated can cause a real fire hazard if there are flammable materials in the vicinity.

Just use some basic common sense, and you shouldn’t have any problems. You might also want to consider the latest high-tech alternative: LED lights.

LED Grow Lights – a Cool Alternative

If your budget permits, you should definitely consider LED grow lights. These technological wonders are possibly the most efficient grow lights available, yet are much cooler than comparable incandescent, metal halide or even fluorescent ones.

Although they represent a greater initial investment, LED grow lights are the most economical lights now available, using as little as 20% of the energy required by standard bulbs.

LED (an acronym for “Light-Emitting Diode”) comes in three different varieties, each of which emits a different kind of light. You may even find the “Green” variety useful, as plants don’t actually “see” this part of the spectrum.

Cost

Regardless of which kind of bulbs you wind up using however, you’ll find that the proper grow light reflectors will make sure that plants you are growing indoors will stay healthy. They are an excellent investment in the success of your hydroponics endeavor. Cost depends on size, ventilation equipment, and more; expect to pay anywhere from about $35 for the most simple and basic grow light reflectors to about $400 for a large deluxe model with self-ventilation.