Best LED Grow Lights for 5X5 Grow Tent Reviews in 2022

 LED grow lights for large spaces can be expensive. Many grow lights on the market today are either inefficient, don’t properly cover the desired coverage area, or are overpriced. When you’re spending nearly $1,000 (or more) on an LED grow light, you want to be sure that you’re not only getting a high-quality product that will last for years, but an efficient and efficient LED grow light. Cover the growing space evenly with light.

In this article, I’ll present my picks for the best LED grow lights of 2022. This list will include LED grow lights with a 5'x5' flowering area and are best for full cycle growth (from seedling to bloom).

Are Grow Lights a Good Investment?

It is an undeniable fact that plants grown in a greenhouse produce larger harvests when they receive healthy photosynthetic light. When your plants get the light they need, you’ll harvest more leafy greens and larger, juicier fruits.

Having said that, when winter comes, the amount of sunlight will decrease. During the cooler months, photosynthetic light drops significantly in many geographic locations. Growing lighting systems that complement natural sunlight are a meaningful investment for those who want to grow and harvest year-round.

ECO Farm ECO Z Lite 750W LED Grow Light

Features:

This ECO Farm LED grow light features an 8-bar design for more even and complete canopy coverage. Equipped with high efficiency diodes with extremely low thermal resistance. Grow lights are flicker-free and dim, with a lifespan of 50,000 hours. LED grow lights consume 750 watts at 2069 µmol/s for a satisfactory PPE of 2.8 µmol/J, ideal for 6 x 6 ft. plant areas or 5 x 5 ft. flowering areas. Each full spectrum LED grow light uses a custom made 2100 diodes. The abundance of wavelength types is consistent with the spectral range of plant photosynthesis. It concentrates specific wavelengths of light to illuminate crops evenly, controlling plant height and plant nutrients. Accelerates the synthesis of plant carbohydrates and vitamins and shortens the growth cycle. The indoor plant LED grow light adopts advanced heat dissipation aluminum. High-quality components ensure that the product works better during its life cycle. At the same time, it can also make the planting in the tent safer and more comfortable.

Mammoth Lighting Fold Series MF08 LED Grow Light

Features:

The Mammoth LED grow lights are built with high-quality Samsung diodes. The lights encompass a continuous range of wavelength from blue and green to red, creating a light blend matching the natural sunlight. 469 Samsung LM301B diodes per bar delivers the industry’s Highest PPFD and Yield. Mammoth customized their light spectrum to optimize plant growth and increase yields while consuming less energy and reducing operating costs compared with traditional horticulture technologies. With a proprietary blend of 3000k+5000k+660nm+730nm, for full cycle growth. 730nm speeds up flower (~5 days) and adds up to 5% more yield.

Mars Hydro FC 8000 LM301H LED Grow Light

Features:

The Mars Hydro LED Grow Light is designed and engineered with commercial cultivators in mind, but is also perfect for nearly any personal grow. This powerful light delivers impressive results with an average uniform PPFD of 1500 μmol/s, sufficient to activate 100% photosynthesis and achieve maximum yield with or without CO2. The FC 8000 is the ideal light for almost any indoor growing scene, including single- or multi-shelf vertical farms, thanks to its versatile design and Samsung LM301B diodes for stronger canopy penetration and more consistent output. The FC 8000 LED Grow Light provides uniform standard readings thanks to an excellent 12-band spectrum, including IR, for maximum photosynthetic response. With enhanced blue and red light, plant growth increases with higher yields, larger flowers, and a more potent, higher-quality end product.

Things to Consider

While LED lights may seem simple on the surface, they mean much more than what you see, and there’s a lot to consider before buying them. There will be many different specs listed on the box, but not all of them are equally important — it can be difficult to tell the essentials from the fluff. So here is a helpful list of the most important aspects you should consider when buying LED lights.

Strength
The first thing you need to consider here is the wattage and voltage of the device you’re getting. This affects how much power the lamp uses, and therefore how brightly it emits light. If you choose a lamp with very low voltage, it may be nearly useless.

However, a high voltage or wattage lamp can be energy inefficient and consume far more energy than it needs, wasting your money and increasing your electricity bill. This is especially true if you happen to be using a lot of LED units 24/7 at the same time.

About 32 watts per square foot is a good rule of thumb for plants that require a lot of light. Somewhere between 10 and 18 watts per square foot is fine for plants that don’t need that much light. Before buying LED grow lights, you should probably check how much light your plants need.

Coverage
This one is simple — the area that a light like this can effectively cover, usually expressed in square feet, or just an area of ​​X feet by Y feet. Some LED lights also designate several different effective coverage areas based on the height of the plant.

Usually, this is not adjustable at all, and depending on how big your planting area is, you will have to get multiple LED units to effectively cover all areas. So consider this before buying and measure the area you plan to light with the LEDs you get.

Brightness and Spectrum
Light intensity like this is measured in lumens. A lumen is a unit that tells you how much visible light an LED emits. However, while this is important, it does not always reflect the usefulness of a particular light in providing plants with the substances they need. You should also consider the spectrum the LEDs cover and whether they can be adjusted, as different plants respond better to certain types of light. In this sense, while one LED light may have more lumens than another, it may actually provide less useful light to the plant. Consider this carefully when purchasing.

Heat and Noise
Most importantly, find the right balance for you. You don’t want your lights to overheat the space where the plants are, because cooling it alone would cost a lot and be a real hassle. However, you also don’t want your lights to be incredibly loud and bulky due to the huge cooling fans. Therefore, choosing a lamp that produces negligible heat while also having a fan that is quiet enough for your needs is critical.

You also need to consider the space where LED lights will be used — for example, if it’s a well-ventilated area, you can afford them to generate more heat. Meanwhile, if it’s a backyard shed, you can make them a little noisier than usual.

Longevity
When you buy LED lights for your plants, you want them to last a long time — preferably years or even five years. Most will last almost the entire indicated lifespan, usually within tens of thousands of hours.

However, this is not always the case, and cheaper products may break down faster than expected. Whether due to structural defects or just cheap materials, they won’t last their entire lifetime, and they may fail completely before it starts, or a single LED may fail sooner.

You’re always better off opting for longer-lasting lights, but also check out some user reviews. See if people have been using it for years and what their experience has been. Then, make your choice.

Conclusion

With so many types of grow lights and systems available, it can be overwhelming to find the one that best suits your needs.

If you want to grow from seedling to flowering, full-cycle LED grow lights are recommended. Full-cycle grow lights will provide your plants with the blue and red wavelengths they need for optimal growth. Blue light mimics long days and summer sunlight, promoting the growth of plant leaves.