HID vs LED Grow Lights – What’s the Difference?
As two dominating types in the growth lights market, both HID (high-intensity) lights and LED (light emitting diodes) lights have something to recommend themselves. HID lights include two major kinds: HPS (high pressure sodium) lights and MH (metal halide) lights. In several aspects, LED Grow Lights distinguish themselves from HID lights.
First, there are myriad sizes of HID lights, from 100watt to 1200 watt. They are filled with inert gases and they do not have a filament like halogen lamps do. When lights are working, an arc is formed between two electrodes and produce light with the aid of starter and electronic ballasts. On the other hand, LED Grow Lights employ 1 to 3 watt diodes which serve as semi-conductors. Because LED is small, the lights usually do not take up much room and you can make full use of your limited space.
Second, MH lights produce red spectrum light which is most needed in plants’ maturity stage while HPS lights produce blue spectrum light which is needed in their growing stage. LED Grow Lights, however, produce specific spectrum light, from 400nm range to 725 nm range, to meet the requirement of plants at different growth stage. They can be used to cover the whole growth stages.
Third, HID lights produce an enormous amount of heat, which may burn your skin as well as your plants. This means it requires frequent watering and a cooling system, like a fan, to create a comfortable environment. LED Grow Lights, however, always stay cool, which makes your garden stay cool at the same time. From time to time, we need to put the plants under the exposure for 18 continuous hours. If we use LED Grow Lights, we will not worry about it too much.
Fourth, it is true that HID lights are much cheaper. If you are a green hand and are not willing to spend much, it is a better choice to use HID. However, if you take gardening seriously, want to profit from this undertaking or intend to look after your garden in the long run, it is advisable to use LED Grow Lights. All you have to consider is the initial expenses which actually can be offset later. LED Grow Lights are energy-saving, which saves you a lot of electricity fee. They do not need a cooling system and a reflector, which saves you facility fee. They enjoy a much longer lifespan, 50 times more than that of other lights, which means much less replacement. Their light is directional and has a specific spectrum, which guarantees you a better yield.
Whatever your goal, we recommend you do your due diligence and research online to find the approach that works best for you! And as always, you can read more about our best LED grow lights picks at www.420knowhow.com.
