Spider Farmer SF4000 Quantum Board LED Grow Light VS AC Infinity IONBOARD S44 400W Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

 When it comes to growing medicinal plants indoors, choosing the right grow light can be make or break for the success of your plants. If you’re new to the world of grow lights, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with the myriad of options out there.

Getting the right lights for growing plants is not a decision to be taken lightly. There are a number of factors that need to be accounted for to ensure your garden flourishes. From the type of lights you require, to budget and spacing concerns, it is important you find a light that caters specifically to your needs.

Feeling like you don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry! We have put together this guide to help make sure you choose the best full spectrum LED grow light.

Why Should You Use LED Grow Lights?

The advantages of using LED grow lights for plants are extensive. Let’s look at a few of the most significant factors.

Less Heat
Light fixtures like metal halide and high-pressure sodium are notorious for producing excessive heat. Using a fixture that creates a lot of heat requires you to vent your grow room more often.

When you use a LED grow light, you avoid venting the room or cooling the ballasts. The best LED grow lights are cool light emitters.

More Efficient
LED grow lights are more efficient than any of their predecessors. An average LED uses at least 25% less energy than a metal halide system.

The best LED grow lights usually offer energy savings of approximately 40% compared to other systems.

More Environmentally Friendly
Most of the best LED lights for plants exude fewer gas emissions than alternatives. The environmental savings on this product is manifold.

LED lights burn through less electricity, making them last longer than conventional systems. With a significant chunk of our electricity coming from fossil fuels, using less energy reduces your carbon footprint.

Most parts of LED grow lights are recyclable, further enhancing the environmental aspect of these products.

Spider Farmer SF4000 Quantum Board LED Grow Light 

Features:

Spider Farmer LED grow light has high energy efficiency with 2.7 umol/J, only consuming 456 watt, Veg footprint is 6 x 6 ft, Flowering footprint is 5 x 5 ft. Currently one of the most efficent LED’S on the market-LM301B Diodes. Evenly placed to give you better light distribution, creating an even canopy. Get up to 50% higher yields with less energy, compared with other red/blue lights. No Fan, means ZERO Noise. Large solid aluminium heat sink, high quality protective covers for cables, waterproof LED, high safety performance MEAN WELL Driver. 50% longer lifespan compared with other brand lights. Allowing you to grow with confidence. The spectrum is composed of Blue, White, Red and IR (660–665nm,3000K,5000K and IR 760nm) composition, provide everything plants desire in the natural sunlight, turn your seeds into your own supply, produce beautiful high yielding plants. Easy to see the true colour of your plants.

AC Infinity IONBOARD S44 400W Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

Features:

This full spectrum LED grow light is designed with algorithmically positioned Samsung LM301B diodes to maximize plant yield. Features proprietary drivers for dimming, daisy chaining, and interfacing with our smart controllers. Built on a fanless one-piece aluminum plate for heat dissipation and longer diode life. All components are sealed to IP-65 standards for optimum performance even in high temperature and humidity growth environments. Includes a pair of metal rod hangers and rope hangers. This LED grow unit is specially designed for grow tents with internal reflective mylar lining for growing a variety of plants, fruits and vegetables.

How Do LED Grow Lights Compare to Others

Many plant problems trace back to incorrect lighting practices. How does the best LED grow light for plants compare to the other types on the market?

LED Vs. CFL
CFL, or compact fluorescent, lamps are the traditional choice for growing plants. They served well in their time but didn’t compare favorably to LEDs.

CFL lights require daily adjustments. LED lamps are less time-intensive and typically require minor adjustments.

LED lights also burn much cooler than a CFL lamp. You don’t need to manage LEDs’ heat, saving more time.

Since you can position CFL lamps closer to the plants, they may be more appropriate for low grow rooms.

LED Vs. HPS
Many beginner and expert growers consider high-pressure sodium lights the best choice for budding. Most experienced growers agree that you should combine sodium lamps with another type.

Beliefs aside, evidence shows that plants buds can grow better beneath LED lights. The scents and smells are more potent, and the buds are bigger.

High-pressure sodium lamps consume a vast amount of energy, producing more heat. LED lights have the reverse.

LED Vs. MH
Metal halide lamps comprise metals that evaporate into gases. LED lights contain semi-conductive diodes.

While the two have similar brightness, the LEDs burn much cooler than the halide lamps.

LEDs have a much longer lifespan than their halide counterparts.

Metal halide lamps are excellent for vegetative growing. The flowering and fruiting seasons need something more than halide lamps can offer. LED lights can adjust to every stage of the plants growing season.

Mistakes to avoid when growing plants with LED lights

LED lights for plants are an exciting new technology, and cultivators may find it tempting to set them up straight away. Some common mistakes can occur for beginner and veteran growers that could hinder your plants crops.

We’ll now look at four mistakes to avoid when you make the switch to LED lights for cultivating plants.

1. Overwatering
Overwatering can be a problem, especially for veteran growers who’ve used high-intensity discharge lights (HID) in the past. LED lights emit less heat than most other lighting systems like HID, and seasoned cultivators may forget this.

LED grow lights won’t dry out the soil in your plants pots, unlike most other lighting setups.

Too much water may cause deprivation of oxygen to your precious plants crop. Your plants may droop down, their leaves can turn yellow, and it can lead to other nutrient problems.

2. Buying cheap, low-quality LED lights
The widespread use of the technology means you’re guaranteed to find cheap LED lights for sale on the internet. You should remain vigilant when purchasing the lights, especially if the price is too good to be true.

Some manufacturers will produce LEDs in high quantities that may overlook quality. You may find wattage outputs can be lower than what’s specified on the box and may hamper your plant’s growth.

Some LED lights for plants may not have passed safety tests and could potentially be an electrical hazard.

3. Using the wrong type of LED lights
Most plants cultivators use full-spectrum LED lights for their plants’ vegetation and flowering stages. Depending on the model you buy, you’ll find that some products will have different settings to adjust the light.

LED lights for plants are also available to buy for single plant phases. Blue LED lights are ideal for your plants crops’ growth during the vegetation stages.

Red LED lights are for your plants’ bud development and flowering phase. Ensure you buy the right type of LED lights for growing plants.

4. Wrong distance
Another mistake that veteran cultivators make when they switch to LED lights for plants is the wrong distance. If you’re used to HID setups, you may end up placing your new LED lights at a distance that can stress your plants.

Because LEDs emit less heat, you may end up placing them too far away from your plants crops. Far distance may cause your plants to stretch to reach the light. Placing your plants crops too near the LEDs may cause brownness, drying, and bleaching of the leaves.

High-quality LEDs come equipped with heat sinks, which allow for the dissipation of unwanted heat. Nonetheless, you should maintain a distance of 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 inches) between the lights and the plant canopy.

A light burn can occur if the plants are too close to the LEDs. Should this happen, you would see leaves turning yellow or brown, with the edges curled up. If left unchecked, the leaves eventually become crispy and brittle.

Light burn affects the plant’s normal photosynthetic process because the leaves can’t do their work. Hence, you should do your utmost best to keep the leaves healthy.

The easiest way to check if your lights are too close is to stick your hand under them. If it is too hot for you, then it is also too hot for the plants. Adjust the placement of the lights until the temperature feels comfortable.

You should also check if all parts of the plants are getting sufficient light. The primary lens of an LED directs light at a 160- or 180-degree angle. You might have to purchase a secondary 90- or 120-degree lens to refocus light.

Each extra lens, however, reduces the output intensity by 8 to 10%. Furthermore, it would be best to cover all interior walls with aluminum foil (reflector panels) to bounce light to the plants.

Conclusion

While each type of light has advantages and advantages, LEDs are leading the pack. If you want the best yields and product, check out LED grow lights.