PHOTOBIO T Duo 600 Watt LED Grow Light VS Crecer Lighting MetriX 600 LED Grow Light

 Sometimes, you need grow lights for plants if you plan to winter them indoors. These lights can provide a boost that they would normally get from the sun. LED grow light for plants are very popular, but there are several types you can try. It can be slightly overwhelming when you try to decide which LED grow lights for plants are best since there are so many available. However, this short guide and review roundup will walk you through the key features you want to consider and give you reviews so you can make informed decisions.

Signs Your Houseplants Need More Light

How do you know when your plants need more light? Thankfully, there are a few signs to look out for, such as leggy growth, faded leaves, and loss of variegation (only in variegated plants).

Long Leggy Growth
Long, leggy growth, also referred to as etiolation, is your plant’s way of reaching up to try and get more light. This is very common with succulents. These plants usually have a very compact growth — their unmistakable rosettes are beautiful — but without enough light, they will grow tall and wiry and will sometimes fall over.

You may think that this tall growth is a sign of the plant growing well, but if tall growth is accompanied by the plant looking thin or weak, it is actually the opposite.

Some plants make it harder to notice etiolation than others. The key symptom to look out for is an increased distance between leaves in newer growth. Other symptoms include plant weakness (it’s more likely to fall over), longer leaves, and apical dominance — meaning the plant puts all its energy into growing up and doesn’t grow branches.

Looking again at succulents like Echeveria, these plants are sold in a healthy, compact form. That is because the nursery provides them with perfect growing conditions with lots of bright light.

Once they are brought home (or sometimes even before that, if they are being sold at a grocery store) and placed in lower-light conditions, the new, leggy growth emerging from the center of the plant will look very different from the older stem and leaves.

Faded leaves

Another sign that your plant wants more light is faded leaves. The oldest leaves may turn yellow and fall off as the plant attempts to conserve its energy. Its leaves only produce food when they are exposed to light!

Even if they aren’t turning yellow, the leaves on your plant may be fading or losing their vibrancy because the amount of chlorophyll in the leaves has gone down.

Loss of Variegation
Variegated plants are prized for their beautiful, multi-colored leaves. But if varieties like Marble Queen Pothos do not get enough light, their new leaves could come out as fully green.

This is the plant’s way of acclimating to the low-light conditions. Greener leaves mean more chlorophyll to produce more energy! It works the other way around too: When receiving adequate light conditions, your Marble Queen will produce new leaves with lots of white marbling.

Do note that old leaves will not suddenly change color to contain more or less variegation. This loss of variegation refers only to new growth.

This also does not apply to all variegated plants! Take, for example, the popular variegated Monstera, Albo Borsigiana. This cultivar’s variegation does not respond to light conditions but rather the number of mutated white cells present in the growing tip. A new leaf may emerge fully green despite getting enough light, or it may be mostly white despite growing in a darker room. It all comes down to what’s happening at the cellular level.

In general, variegated plants will need more light than their all-green counterparts because their leaves do not contain as much chlorophyll.

PHOTOBIO T Duo 600 Watt LED Grow Light

Features:

PHOTOBIO grow light is available as a direct 600W HID replacement or retrofit for indoor or greenhouse applications. Patented PHOTO•PRO photonic modulation optics ensure the most efficient delivery of plant bioactive radiation (PBAR) to the plant canopy. PHOTO•LOC light output control, when combined with a 0–10V controller, provides precise control over the photons delivered to the plant canopy. In greenhouse facilities, PHOTOBIO provides consistent optimum PPFD levels throughout the day while saving energy. Simply pair PHOTO•LOC with an environmental control system that utilizes quantum sensors to measure the light entering the greenhouse and automatically adjust light output in real time.

Crecer Lighting MetriX 600 LED Grow Light

Features:

The grow light emits full spectrum light and provides an output of 2.64 umol/J. Its PPF output is reported to be 1584 umol/s. The grow lights have a waterproof design, making them ideal for indoor growing and greenhouses. The fixture has an IP65 rating, which means it’s dust and water resistant, and works well when placed in front of a high-powered water jet from any direction. The recommended hanging height for the light is 36" for covering a 6' x 6' plant area and 24" for covering a 5' x 5' area. The anodization of the clamp ensures that it is resistant to wear and corrosion. The LED chips include Samsung LM301H white + Osram 660nm red diodes that boost photosynthesis in plants for healthier shoots and overall yield.

What to Look for When Choosing an LED Grow Light

Spectrum
Generally speaking, plants absorb and utilize light in the blue and red spectrums the most when progressing through the various stages of growth. Light in the blue and red spectrums is where most photosynthetic activity occurs, making full spectrum grow lights incredibly efficient. Some growers maintain that white LED grow light is best because it’s closest to natural sunlight. However, white LEDs include light in the yellow and green spectrum that isn’t usable by plants and is simply wasted, making your grow lights less efficient and your power costs unnecessarily higher.

PAR
In simple terms, Photosynthetically Active Radiation or “PAR” is the light emitted by a bulb or fixture that’s actually usable by plants. LED grow lights PAR values will vary from brand to brand, but a higher PAR value isn’t necessarily better because if your plants aren’t using it, the energy require to produce it is being wasted.

You’ll notice on manufacturer PAR charts that PAR is higher in the center and decreases as you move to the edge of the light coverage area. This means that the plants directly under the light will receive more PAR than those further away from the center. The more evenly distributed that PAR is from center to edges the better, so that plants get a more even distribution of valuable PAR. This is not only better for your plants but makes the light more efficient since the power isn’t concentrated in the center but is instead distributed more evenly.

Wattage
It’s easy to make the mistake of thinking more is better when it comes to wattage, but bigger isn’t always better. While spectrum and PAR play as big or bigger role in the health and yields of your plants, wattage is important to consider in terms of cost and preventing damage to your plants such as leaf burn and bleaching.

There is a commonly used rule of thumb that says you need 30–40 watts per square foot of plant coverage (not the growing space itself, but the current or predicted size of the plant canopy) for flowering and light loving plants, and 10–20 watts per square foot for low-light plants. These rules of thumb can be a place to start, but remember, these do not take number of plants, plant height, density and other factors into consideration so remember to weigh factors such as PAR and PPFD more heavily into your buying decision.

Power Consumption
Look for the power draw as opposed to power output. If you use less power to produce the same amount of light, you spend less on your power bill and the LED lights can usually pay for themselves with savings within 2–3 years.

Durability — Ensure that whatever LED grow light you choose is well made and manufactured from heavy duty materials. Solid, durable construction is important for the durability of your light, especially wiring, which can not only be a fire hazard, but can produce unnecessary heat, making controlling your grow space environment more difficult.

Temperature
One of the many advantages LED grow lights have over other types is their lower operating temperature. LEDs don’t completely eliminate the need for additional cooling and ventilation, they produce far, far less extraneous heat than compatible HID lights which can produce temperatures in excess of 95°F, which can be detrimental to many varieties of plants. These additional cooling and ventilation systems that HID and other traditional lighting systems require add extra power costs to your power bill as well as taking up valuable space in your grow area.

Ventilation
Because LEDs run at lower operating temperatures, they do not require the same ventilation as equivalent HIDs to maintain acceptable temperatures in your grow space. Lower operating temperatures means less hot air to be moved, which means lower operating costs, equipment needs and space requirements.

Cooling
While LED grow lights run cooler that comparable HID and HPS lights, they still need well designed cooling system to dissipate what little heat they do produce. A well-designed LED light should include an effective heat sink to move the heat created by the lights away form the fixture and the plants.

Lifespan — Old-school HID bulbs typically last up to 20K hours before needing to be replaced, but since their peak performance range is usually within the first 3K — 5K hours many growers will replace the bulbs much sooner because plant growth can slow significantly under older HID lights. Contrast that with LED grow lights, whose lifespan is typically in the 50K hour range, more than 5X that of HIDs.

Space
Since LEDs are generally smaller, thinner, usually only have a single cable, and eliminate the need for extra fans or ventilation ductwork, they require far less space in your grow area. This allows for more space to move around within the garden to monitor and care for your plants.

Conclusion

Grow lights are one of the most important parts of an indoor gardening setup, especially if what you’re trying to grow is edible. Thanks for reading! Ihope this article will help you choose the best LED grow light.