Are LED grow lights effective for hydroponics?
LED grow lights are becoming the go-to for hobby hydroponic gardeners and for good reason. Using the right LED grow lights can be one of the most crucial choices you make in Hydroponics. … Light is one of the most important factors when growing plants indoors and having the right spectrums is just as important.
Different plants have different needs
Short day plants: these plants need a long period of darkness for photosynthesis and flowering. If they are exposed to more than 12 hours of light every day, they will not bloom. Poinsettia, strawberries, cauliflower and chrysanthemums are short day plants. The short sunshine period simulates the natural environment in which plants grow – flowers in spring.
Long sunshine plants: these plants need 18 hours of sunshine every day. They include wheat, lettuce, potatoes, spinach and turnips. The long day cycle simulates the natural environment of flowering plants in summer.
If you decide to mix short day plants in a growth system, it’s best to compromise their needs and choose a lighting plan right in the middle, with about 14 hours of light a day.
Hydroponic systems have many different types of lighting, each with its unique advantages and disadvantages. The next big event is the LED grow light.
1 – quick harvest cycle: you can use LED grow lights for 24 hours without affecting the temperature of the growth chamber. When growing indoors, your plants will grow according to the conditions you specify. You can change the light time, red light wavelength and other factors
2 – energy saving: the energy consumption of LED grow light is about 60% lower than that of traditional lighting system. Because of this, they are cool in operation. The effect of this is that there is no need for heating in the growth chamber that requires additional cooling. It can replace traditional lamps with 3-5 times the power, saving more than 50% of electric energy.
3 – Long service life: an LED grow light can be used for up to 50000 hours. In fact, they are used for a long time, and usually the control unit stops working before the bulb appears. If this happens, it can be easily changed.
4-Improve quality, promote plant growth, prevent overgrowth, increase root activity and chlorophyll content, thicken branches and leaves, green leaves and elongate leaves
5-Stable production: it can concentrate light of specific wavelength to irradiate crops evenly; It can not only control the flowering and Fruiting of plants, but also control the nutritional composition of plants. The plant morphology grows evenly without
unevenness and grows stably;
6-Miniaturization of production space: the LED grow lights system generates less heat and occupies less space. The traditional use of ordinary fluorescent lamps has poor heat dissipation, and the general tissue culture rack is set to five layers. Led leafy vegetable planting lighting system produces less heat, so we can make it closer to plants. It is a multifunctional design with a more compact appearance.