ECO Farm MB3 Pro 760W LM301B LED Grow Light VS Grower's Choice ROI-E720

 LED grow lights have not always been popular with growers. However, technology has improved and so have LED lighting systems. Although they wouldn’t have been a reasonable choice for growers five or ten years ago, they’re becoming more popular every day. Now, we can find LED lights not only in grow rooms, but also in cars, offices and homes.

Many people swear by LEDs rather than HID setups, asserting that they are a superior and more energy-efficient choice. If you choose LEDs, you’ll save energy, money and management time.

What are the most common grow lights?

For many years, the most popular grow light for indoor plants has been the LED. This model has been around for a while, and it’s relatively inexpensive. It’s easy to set up, and because of its simplicity, it’s also good for novices. However, this model is not very efficient at converting electricity into light. This means it is not as energy efficient as other grow lights.

If you’re on a budget and want to get the most out of your grow lights, it’s best to start with the cheapest model. They are usually more efficient than their more expensive counterparts, which means they use less energy.

The Importance of Grow Lights for Indoor Growers:

Lights are essential for indoor growers because they provide a way to replicate the conditions in which plants naturally grow and thrive. By using grow lights, plants receive the light spectrum needed for photosynthesis, as well as the proper temperature and humidity levels. They also allow better control over light intensity and duration, which helps ensure optimal growth and flowering. In addition, grow lights can grow plants at any time of the year, regardless of seasons or outdoor weather conditions. By using grow lights, indoor gardeners can produce crops year-round without having to worry about external factors like sunlight or climate change. This makes them an invaluable tool for anyone looking to start or continue their indoor gardening journey.

ECO Farm MB3 Pro 760W LM301B LED Grow Light

Features:

High efficiency + high yield ECO Farm LED grow light is equipped with tWith 2880 pcs SAMSUNG LM301B diodes+80 Osram 660nm, with high PAR/PPF efficiency up to 2.8 umol/J and powerful output, enabling you to Obtain higher output. Only consumes 760W. The ultra-thin and unique 180° foldable design grow light is easy to stretch or fold. It is very suitable for large-area planting and commercial planting. The perfect coverage area is 4*6 feet. Both sides can be folded freely from 0° to 180°, easy to install, save space, and easy to carry, no need to worry about hurting hands and lights. The dimming knob is ideal for growers to adjust the light intensity according to different growing stages., which provides the needs of each stage of the plant, allows the plant to obtain the perfect growth effect flexibly, increase the yield, and save energy costs at the same time.

Grower’s Choice ROI-E720

Features:

The Grower’s Choice grow light delivers the entire spectrum of light to your plants, giving them exactly what they need to grow big and beautiful. It has a standard PPF of 1870–1924 umol/m2/s for professional cultivators who demand ultimate light output. The ROI-E720 was engineered with greater dimensions to provide more versatility and better canopy coverage, especially to the outer edges of 4’x4’ cultivation areas. The ROI-E720 is IP65 water-resistant rated, UL8800 certified, and Horti DLC certified for energy efficiency rebate eligibility. With unbeatable safety, reliability, savings, and performance, the ROI-E720 is unquestionably the right choice for cultivators who demand only the best.

LED Grow Light Buyer’s Guide

How to choose your grow light can be extremely confusing, even with all the information out there on the internet. A good LED Grow Light Buyer’s Guide will help you learn how to evaluate grow lights that may look great on paper, but fail to deliver where it really counts — in your plants! Below is some advice on how to know what a truly great LED grow light looks like, and why it’s not just important, but essential that you choose your grow light carefully.

Efficiency
There was a time when choosing a grow light was simple — all you needed to know was what brand and wattage you wanted. Things have changed. Drastically. The market has been flooded with grow light options and it can be quite challenging to figure out which light is best for you. Below is some advice on how to know what a truly great LED grow light looks like.

Micromole per Joule
The industry standard for measuring grow light efficiency is micromole per joule (sometimes written as umol/j, μmol/j, umolj-1 or PPF/W). That means that for every joule of electrical energy (joule = watt * second) a certain number of photon micromoles are produced. One micromole = 602,000,000,000,000,000. That’s a dizzyingly large amount of photons!

Highly efficient LED grow light range from 1.5 μmol/j and up (this number is constantly improving). Many of the most efficient LED grow lights are low power and, as a buyer, you may have to weigh out whether you are looking for efficiency or intensity, because at times one can be at the sacrifice of the other. Top brand HPS (high pressure sodium) lights are around 1.7 μmol/j. And while LED grow lights get more expensive than their HPS counterparts, they pay off in the long run with increased efficiency and much less heat output. Choosing an LED based grow light will save you money on both electricity bills and replacement bulbs.

Wall Plug Efficiency
LED grow lights are one of the most efficient types of grow lights available. They use about 50% of the electricity that HPS or MH lights use and produce more lumens per watt than fluorescent lighting. When you need a new light, think about whether you want an LED or not before making a purchase. It could save you money in the long run.

Another measurement relevant to DIY LED grow light enthusiasts is wall plug efficiency (WPE). This is a ratio of the amount of energy put in and the amount of light produced. This can be expressed as a percentage, such as 60% “wall plug efficiency,” which means that 60% of the electricity that goes through the light gets converted into light. The rest gets turned into heat that will need to be dealt with in the grow light itself as well as the room that houses the light.

It’s not typical to rate a grow light’s wall plug efficiency, but high-quality diodes made specifically for horticulture occasionally have this listed. For instance, high quality blue LEDs at 450nm can reach wall plug efficiencies of 60%, red LEDs at 660nm with 50% WPE, and green 530nm with 25% WPE. Wall plug efficiency can be calculated using a diode’s radiant flux (not luminous flux, which is a measure of how bright a light appears to the human eye and not how many photons it is producing) divided by the total wattage of electricity the diode uses. Remember to convert between milliwatt and watt, as necessary (1000 milliwatts = 1 watt).

Achieving High Efficiency

LED grow lights are the most efficient type of grow light on the market, which means that they use less electricity and last longer. But all LED grow lights are not created equal. Here is some advice for buying an LED grow light that achieves high efficiency.

Brands increase their efficiency by having high quality diodes, running them at low energy, having excellent heat management, and using a high percent of the most efficient diode wavelengths. While some LED companies market themselves as having many different color LEDs, this can often be at sacrificed efficiency, since each color of LED has a different efficiency at producing light. For instance, 450nm, 660nm, and high kelvin white (white LEDs are 450nm with a phosphor coating) are very efficient, while green LEDs are not very efficient.

Intensity
The intensity of the light is measured in watts per square foot. A good rule of thumb is that you want at least 100 watts per square foot if you are growing anything other than leafy greens. If the light doesn’t say the intensity, it’s a good idea to ask for a sample before purchase so you can test it out.

While there are no doubt that grow light spectrum is important, some studies suggest that even more important than spectrum is light intensity. There are a number of ways of measuring the intensity of a grow light — some good and others bad.

Conclusion

When choosing the best lights for your plants, it’s important to consider your growing needs, budget, and specific grow type. By doing your research, you can choose the lights that best suit your needs and grow your plants in the best conditions.