LED Lights for Hydroponics Grow In Popularity As Quality Improves At one time LED was a scientific curiosity but soon moved from labs to production; from specialist use to general lighting purposes. Continuous research and developments have led to rise of a new generation of full spectrum LED lights with high lumen output. From being prohibitively expensive, LEDs today are much more affordable and once can see homes and commercial spaces lit up by banks of LEDs ranging in power output from 3 watt to 60 watts.
If full spectrum LEDs are perfect for indoor and outdoor illumination, they are also equally suitable for use in hydroponics and bring several added advantages that are significantly lacking in other forms of lighting. LED lights for hydroponics grow in popularity due to the inherent advantages. The only perceived deterrent for hydroponics growers is that they have to invest more. The benefits far outweigh the drawback. A typical module of LED lights for hydroponics growers may be configured with 200 LEDs in a 600 watt module; 300 modules in a 900W module and 400 LEDs in a 1200 W module. A 600 watt module outputs light equivalent to a 1000 watt traditional light source minus the heat emission, which means it saves 400 watts. One module replaces a whole bank of fluorescent tubes or CFL. By adjusting spectral quality growers achieve highest yields and that too of a much better quality, resulting in more profits. Traditional lamps have life expectancy of 10000 to
20000 hours whereas LEDs last for 50000 to 100000 hours. Digital controllers allow growers to slightly under run LEDs which results in extended lamp life. Growers save on lamp replacement and this also contributes to profitability. He spends less on ventilation since the module does not emit heat that will damage plants and require frequent watering. This allows him to position the module closer to plants without the risk of their wilting. Also equally important is the fact that LED modules have an even spread of light. A module can be used to light up an area of 1.5 x 1.5 to 3x3 metres with an even spread of light which means uniformity in yields.
These LED lights are just right for hydroponics growers and can be fully adjusted to suit leafy vegetables, flowering plants or fruiting vegetable plants or even medicinal plants. From a grower’s perspective, the facility to adjust intensity and spectral quality is the most important since the module can be adjusted, for example, to suit lettuce in one growing cycle and then tomatoes or flowering shrubs in the next, with perfect results each time. Prices are so reasonable it makes no sense to continue with the old, inefficient lighting methods. This is the new age and new age LEDs are the technology to adopt for all round improved productivity and maximum returns. They just need to make sure the module uses full spectrum LEDs capable of light from 410nm wavelength in the UV range all the way to 730nm in the infra-red region for high yields.
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