Whether you’re an expert indoor grower or just starting out, you should know that High Intensity Discharge (HID) grow lights are very effective for growing beautiful healthy plants. In this article we’ll be digging a bit more into these type of lights, and why you should consider. Also, we’ll talk about alternative light sources to consider.
One important aspect to point out is that the effectiveness of HID grow lights comes at a higher cost. They’re not energy efficient. Here are the two types of HID:
Metal Halide
In order to grow the healthiest looking plants, indoor growers have turned to HID for decades, because it gives you a considerable amount of light in the blue spectrum. The brightness you obtain from this bulb is impressive if you compare it to others. For example, an incandescent bulb will produce 18 lumen per watt, while an HID bulb produces 125 lumen per watt. It will last you about 10 thousand hours, and it may not burn out after this time has passed, but you should consider getting a replacement, because it puts out less light as time passes.
High Pressure Sodium
HPS grow lights differ to Metal Halide in that they produce light in the orange-red spectrum. This means that it’s great for plants while they’re in their flowering stage, but not for seedlings. If you use HPS lights to grow young plants, they’ll end up looking weak and thin. HPS bulbs work better as a secondary light source. It would be ideal to use a metal halide light in combination with a High Pressure Sodium bulb. Or, you could also use the sun as a primary source, and use the HPS light for plants that don’t get as much sun. This is often the case of greenhouses.
Fluorescent, incandescent, and LED grow lights
Incandescent grow lights are, by far, the least appropriate for indoor plant growing. This is because they give out the least brightness out of all bulbs. The upside is that they are inexpensive. Fluorescent grow lights will yield much better results, and consume a lot less electricity than HID lights. You also have the option to use LED grow lights. These are the latest development in this market. They can also provide great results, but you have to research and tweak your settings in order to get the best out of them.
The aspect that matters most when making your decision should be the end result. You want beautiful, healthy plants, and HID grow lights have a history of providing those results. However, you have to keep in mind that the costs will be higher than LED or fluorescent grow lights. Any of these last two light, can also get you good results, but you have to research and read about what other growers have experienced with them, and what’s the best product you can get.