The Best 250 Watt LED Grow Lights for Indoor Plants

Introduction

For decades, indoor growers have relied on artificial light sources such as HID, High-Pressure Sodium, and Fluorescent to mimic the sun’s rays in an indoor environment.  Whether used for soil-grown plants, hydroponics systems or aquaponics systems, these light sources all have varying degrees of effectiveness.

Now there’s a new player in the game, LEDs (Light-emitting Diodes). It’s a technology that’s been around for decades, mostly as instrument panel indicator lights, but only recently are LEDs being applied to higher intensity light uses such as indoor growing.

The primary benefit of LED grow lights over the more established light sources is significantly reduced heat and reduced power consumption.   Because they produce less heat than the more commonly used HIDs, then they are more energy efficient and require significantly less expense to ventilate and cool. Commercial growers and home hobbyists have begun to recognize these benefits and are now equipping greenhouses and indoor spaces with the best LED grow lights to cultivate their crops.

What are LED Grow lights?

LED technology is not something groundbreaking. It has been around for decades now.

LED stands for “light emitting diode.” It is a small bulb that converts electricity into light energy. The history of LED lights stretches back all the way back to 1907.

The earliest LED bulbs in the 1960s and ‘70s were costly and used only in advanced instruments.

But in recent years, the costs have declined, and LEDs are used in everything from home lighting to consumer devices like TVs and mobile devices.

It was only a matter of time before LED panels started appearing in the hydroponics and indoor grow scene as well.

These days, LED grow lights are available in different sizes, intensities, and colors to suit various plant requirements. They are accessible for both small-scale as well as commercial productions.

Why Choose LED Grow Lights?

When choosing a grow light, it’s important to ensure that it’s able to provide the type of light that your bud needs in order to achieve maximum yields.

LED lights are commonly used for growing marijuana indoors. The main reason for this is they are often more effective than traditional glow lighting. They’re more energy-efficient, use less power and offer lower heat (which your plants love). 

LED grow lights are easy to install, have a long life and offer greater control over things like spectrum, dimming and schedules. Whether you’re using soil or hydroponics, LED grow lights are perfect for growing bud.

They come in a wide range of shapes and designs that can be combined in different configurations. In addition to great lighting, you’ll also need the right location to grow your plants. Grow tents are a great way to grow weed on a small scale, especially if you’re just starting out.

It’s a good idea to figure out how many plants you’re planning on growing so you invest in the right light. The more plants you have, the more lights you’ll need and the higher your bulb wattage will need to be.

ECO Farm ECOZ 250W Samsung 301H Chips LED Grow Light With Separately UV+IR Control

Features:

ECO Farm LED grow lights use today's high-yield LED technology to enable you to obtain 30% higher output than traditional lights, increase income with better quality and higher output. In addition, lighting costs are also more economical than other brands

LED grow lights are suitable for the full spectrum of indoor plants, providing plants with a full spectrum from seed to flowering. Very suitable for indoor plants at all growth stages, quick response from seed to flower, speed up flowering time and increase yield

3 dimming modes, with 3 Chanel dimmers, VEG switch, Bloom switch, UV switch independently controlled, free to adjust the lamp according to different growth stages

Quiet and cool running. Simple structure, no fan and no noise. Good heat dissipation effect, keep it cool, and will not burn your plants like other low-quality LED grow lights.

AGLEX M240 LED Grow Light Bar for Indoor Plants

Features:

The AGLEX M600 LED plant growth lamp is equipped with upgraded SMD 3030 chips and 6 high-efficiency aluminum bars to ensure higher PPE 2.8umol/J efficiency, better heat dissipation, and longer service life. Compared with the old plant lights, the maximum output per watt is 2.8 grams, the average PPFD is increased by 30%, and the yield and quality are increased by 50%. The use of 1332 LEDs consumes only 600 watts, which perfectly covers 6.5x7 feet. The 600 watt LED grow light M600 will help you achieve maximum quality and quantity.

This plant growth lamp has a special dimmer, which can precisely adjust the brightness. 0-10 levels are available. This means that you can clearly see the brightness level and record it as you adjust it. Don't worry about the difference

Ideal full spectrum and amazing heat dissipation-composed of full spectrum white 3000K 5000K, red 660nm and IR 740nm, infinitely close to natural sunlight. Excellent spectrum is suitable for the whole stage of indoor plant growth

TotalGrow Multi-HI LED Grow Light

Features:

TotalGrow Mult-HI has multiple high-intensity light bars, which can evenly distribute the ideal light intensity in your planting area to meet your planting goals

240W power, 2.4 + μmol/J, to meet the light intensity required by your plants

Our LED plant grow light use upgraded aluminum alloy heat-sink casing to absorb heating and fast cool down the light. Keep each grow light bars at a soft temperatureeven the bars get close to the plants without hurting them.

Dimmable plant grow light in the correct spectrum to meet all plant growth stages need.

LED grow light Runs 30% less power and improve 30% higher yield than traditional LED grow light or HPS. Perfect for commercial wide-coverage planting.

Types of LED Grow Lights

LED grow lights come in a variety of forms. Learning about the most popular ones can help you choose a suitable type for your indoor garden.

Spread-Style

Spread-style LED lights have many small individual lights spread out over their entire surface area, which makes them effective in providing light to a large number of plants. The two main subcategories of spread lights are spider-style and quantum board.

Quantum board lights use a large number of small LEDs spread out over a relatively large, flat surface area. They use full-spectrum white LED diodes and typically feature passive cooling, allowing the plants to be placed immediately under them without the danger of too much heat emission.

Spider-style lights feature multiple LEDs on narrow “arms” in an open bar design rather than on a solid board. These tend to be more expensive than quantum board lights.

Chip on Board (COB)

Chip on board (COB) lights feature a number of tiny LEDs placed close together on a single chip, resulting in a single powerful point of light. While the center point of the area they cover receives optimal lighting, they don’t offer the same level of widespread, equal coverage as spread-style LEDs.

Since they’re so powerful, COB lights often emit more heat than other types of LEDs and may require the use of fans to cool down the area. They use full-spectrum white LED diodes and provide deeper canopy penetration than do spread-style LEDs.

Traditional

Traditional LED grow lamps are usually compact, making them a good choice for small spaces. They use LEDs that provide medium power and typically feature multicolored LEDs that cover the full spectrum of color frequencies, unlike white LEDs. This gives their light a colorful appearance that indoor growers might or might not like.

How many watts per plant for LED Grow Lights?

The amount of watts per plant will depend on how you pack your and train your plants, determining how many square feet each plant takes up. As a rule, you'll get the best yields with about 35 watts per square foot for LED, and 45 watts per square foot for HIDs. Keep in mind, this is that actual wattage pulled from the wall, which for led grow lights is usually a lot less than what the light is labeled. For example, an LED light that is labeled as 300W will typically pull only about 180W from the wall. Below is quick guide as a rule of thumb.

How far should LED Grow Lights be from plants?

While LED lights don't run as hot as HIDs, they still put out a very high intensity of light which is great for yields but can also cause light burn for your plants if you're not careful. To avoid light burn you want to make sure your grow light fixtures are far enough above the top of your plants' canopy.

LED grow light distance from plant:

LED grow lights of different power ratings will perform best at different distances. Lower-powered lights such as a 250 watt LED grow light should be kept 12-24 inches above the top of the canopy. Mid-range lights such as a 600 watt or 900 watt LED grow light should be 14-36 inches from the top of your plants. High-powered lights such as a 1500 watt, 2000 watt or 3000 watt LED grow light should be raised to 24-36 above the canopy. Follow the chart below as a general rule of thumb. If in doubt, always keep LEDs further away.

Conclusion

LED grow lights are popular among indoor growers due to their wide range of benefits. Majority of these lights can last up to 50000 hours which means that you can use them for 11 straight years with an application of 12 hours daily. It is also easy to customize the light to produce the desirable wavelength offering your plants all the benefits of natural lighting.