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There are a ton of choices for LED Grow Lights in 2020 (a lot of which are junk). You could easily spend $1300 - $2000 on a top notch LED like this beast of a light Gavita Pro 1700e LED. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that kind of budget and most of us don't want to dive in that deep when we're just getting into growing. Fortunately, there are plenty of great lights out there with great power, at a significantly more reasonable price point.
Now, for a new grower, deciding on the right LED Grow Light for your garden can be quite the undertaking. Lots of options and so many factors to consider! "How many watts should I use for my set up? What coverage area do I need? What's the right PPFD and spectrum? What type of light should I choose? Which brands are the most reliable in terms of product and customer service?" and the confusion and questions go on and on and on.. Where to begin!?
Below is some broken down information that will clear all that up for you, followed by a list of the 4 best LED Grow Lights in 2020 (for the price) that'll help you narrow down your selection!
Watts, PPFD, & Coverage Area
Watts & PPFD
How many watts is enough? PPFD?
In the time before LED Grow Lights when most growers were using HPS and CMH lights for their gardens, wattage was a reflection of yield (there are several other factors involved as well, but it still held true). For example, an experienced home hobby grower, using an HPS grow light, who did everything right should yield about 1 gram per watt. Example: 600 watt HPS = 600 gram yield. This is not so much the case for LED Grow Lights.
Modern LED Grow Lights make grand claims of 1.5 - 2 grams per watt.. while this number can be attained and can be used as a unit of yield measurement, it takes a lot of extra equipment and knowledge to experience such yields, and now there are better ways to measure the efficiency of grow lights. What really needs to be considered when deciding on an LED Grow Light is the PPFD reading.
There are countless websites and blogs that give a definition for PPFD, but unless you decide to become a light scientist (not sure if that's a real thing or not) all you need to know is how much your LED Grow Light needs to veg and flower your garden. From personal experience, you want to make sure the LED Grow Light you decide to purchase has a PPFD: umol/m2 above 600 and below 1500 for flower (Those numbers decrease depending on the lights distance from the plant, and you need different PPFD reading at different growing stages of the plant). The ideal number being right around 1000. Anything above 1500 umol/m2 and your plant will not absorb the extra light unless you add in CO2 (expensive undertaking), thus, you're wasting energy and running up your electricity bill for no reason.
So to answer the question of how many watts should your LED Grow Light have, depends on your grow space size and the PPFD readings within that space, and how much you want to spend on electricity.
To determine electricity consumption here's a link to an electricity calculator. Input the actual draw power of the LED Grow Lights you're considering purchasing along with the kWh cost in your area and the hours of use per day. To determine your kWh, simply google the average price of kWh cost in your city and input that into the calculator. For time running the light per day, in the vegetative stage of your grow (if you're growing photoperiod plants) your light will be on for 18 hours a day for about 2 months and for the flowering stage lights are on for 12 hours a day for 2 months (plus or minus depending on strain, grow set up, etc). Easy math!
*Note: Be sure to look at the actual draw wattage of your LED Grow Light as a lot of brands can be misleading
Spectrum
Most LED Grow Lights nowadays are full spectrum, but definitely double check any lights you're looking to purchase and make sure they are full spectrum. Also, not all "full-spectrum" LED Grow Lights have the same quality of wavelengths in their respective spectrums that benefit your garden. You will want a light that has a spectrum chart that looks more or less like this.
From a very basic standpoint, lots of Blue will help the plant during the vegetative stage get nice and bushy and grow tightly spaced internodes, and lots of Red which will get your plants to stretch and get those buds to bloom during the flowering stage.
You also want to make sure the LED Grow Light you decide on has IR (Infrared) Light and/or UV (Ultraviolet) Light in the spectrum as well. These are very beneficial to enhance blooming and increase overall plant growth.
LED Grow Light spectrums can get extremely technical and highly targeted, but this should provide you with a basic foundation as to what you need to know to make the best decision possible for your purchase.
Coverage Area
The amount of space you're growing in will also determine which light you ultimately decide on using. Many LED Grow Lights currently on the market have crazy high PPFD, but those high PPFD readings are only within a 2' x 2' foot area (which is cool if you're using a 2' x 2' grow tent). Any plants outside of that area, are not receiving enought light intensity to properly flower. Be sure you have enough light to get a yield that is worth the 4 plus months of time, energy, money, and effort invested. Thus, double check that any light you do purchase has a solid PPFD reading across your entire grow area. A great PPFD chart for flowering should look something like this for a 2' x 4' grow space.
And now... Drumroll please...
The 4 Best LED Grow Lights 2020 (in no particular order)
1. Phlizon COB Series
WATTS: 245-630
PPFD: 940 - 2500+ umol/m2
EFFECTIVE COVERAGE AREA FOR FLOWERING: 2' x 2' - 3' x 3'
PRICE: $$
PROS
Highest PPFD
Great Light Intensity with the Cree COB's
5 options for size and power
2 year warranty
30 day money back guarantee
Grow and Bloom switches
Comes with great accessories
UV & IR light
CONS
Not the best coverage area
Would need 1 light for every 2' x 2' - 2.5' x 2.5' of grow space
Poor Customer Service (hard to get in contact with)
Not the best quality LED's
Higher electricity bill for larger models
Not fully Dimmable
Chinese brand false advertising wattage (EX: COB 1000W is actually 245 Watts actual power)
Not waterproof
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION
The Phlizon CREE COB Series 1000w (245 actual watts) is a great light for a 2' x 2' (max 2 plants) space with plenty of power to flower your garden at a great entry level price! The bigger models will require introducing Co2 into your garden to maximize efficiency.
2. Spider Farmer SF Series
WATTS: 100 - 450
PPFD: 400 - 1350 umol/m2
EFFECTIVE COVERAGE AREA FOR FLOWERING: 2' x 2' - 4' x 4'
PRICE: $$$
PROS
Good PPFD over a larger area
Low Wattage
Good price for a quantum board
High Quality LED's (Samsung LM301B diodes) and Driver (Mean Well)
3 Size/Power Options
3 Year After-Service Warranty
Dimmable
IR light
CONS
Get a little hot because there are no fans built in
Not the best customer service (not the worst either)
Chinese brand false advertising wattage
Not waterproof
No UV light
PRODUCT RECOMENDATION
Go with the Spider Farmer SF-2000 for a 2' x 4' grow space and mount the driver outside of your grow tent to reduce heat.
3. Mars Hydro SP 3000
WATTS: 300
PPFD: 999 umol/m2 @ 19.5"
EFFECTIVE COVERAGE AREA FOR FLOWERING: 2' x 4' grow space
PRICE: $$$$
PROS
Amazing PPFD
Amazing coverage area with uniform PPFD throughout 2' x 4' reading
High quality LED's (Samsung LM301B diodes) and Driver (Mean Well)
Great price for 300 watt quantum board
3 year warranty 30 day return policy
IP65 Waterproof
UV and IR light
Dimmable
CONS
Run hot
No fans
Chinese brand false advertising wattage
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION
Beyond perfect for a 2' x 4' grow space! Mount the driver outside of your grow tent to reduce heat and use the dimmer to lower the power in earlier stages of plant growth so you don't burn your seedlings. Mars Hydro also offers decent quality budget quantum board style LED Grow Lights in their TS series.
4. Advanced Platinum P-Series
WATTS: 87 - 690
PPFD: 545 - 1827 umol/m2
EFFECTIVE COVERAGE AREA: 3' X 1.5' - 5' X 4'
PRICE: $$$$$
PROS
Incredible 12-Band Spectrum
Amazing PPFD and Low Wattage
Great Coverage Area
5 Year Complete Warranty and 90 day return policy
Veg and Bloom switches
Cooling Fans built in
6 models/power levels to choose from
Made in USA
Top of the line LED's (CREE and Bridgelux)
CONS
Reported issues of LED's burning out after 2 - 3 years of use
Not waterproof
Very expensive when considering watt to price ratio
Actual wattage differs from name of the light similar to Chinese brands
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION
The P-300 offers amazing coverage for a 3' x 2' space at a somewhat reasonable price.
CONCLUSION
I hope you now have a better grasp as to what qualities to look for in a LED Grow Light and that this article was helpful in narrowing down which light you ultimately commit to purchase.
Remember, buy a light that covers your entire grow space (or buy multiple lights if necessary) with a fairly consistent PPFD reading throughout the area and be sure that whichever LED Grow Light you decide on is full spectrum.
Happy Growing!
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