Best LED Grow Lights by Wattage: 1000w, 600w, 400w, 300w (2023)

FAQs

What is the best wattage for LED grow lights? ›

As a rule of thumb, aim for 20 to 40 watts per square foot.

For example, one single 300W LED light fixture may be fine for one or maybe two plants, but it may not be enough to cover a bigger space with multiple plants. So make sure to reference any recommendations from the vendor and/or LED manufacturer on how much light you will need for your growing space.

LED grow lights are more energy efficient. They produce the same amount of light as HPS lights but consume substantially less energy. LED grow lights do not produce as much heat as HPS lights, avoiding the need for additional ventilation or airflow systems.

So 300W can coverage about 2*3ft area, in general, each cannabis plant you grow requires at least 1sq ft of space. So under 300W, you can grow about 1-6 plants.

Yield Lab 1000W HPS Cool Hood Reflector Grow Light Kit (Price: $229.95) — With a 1000w grow light, you'll get 130,000 lumens from an HPS bulb and 110,000 lumens from an MH bulb. That's sufficient to provide coverage for up to 6 plants.

Charts typically recommend you stay within the following parameters: 1000W – Between 21 and 36 Inches. 800W – Between 19 and 34 Inches. 600W – Between 18 and 30 Inches.

2 month plants should give about 40g per plant, so with about 9 you'll be able to easily fill a square meter and get up to 400g per 600w light. 3 month autoflowering plants grow much bigger, however, so you should only plant 4 per 600w light.

Each 600W grow light covers roughly a 1.2m x 1.2m area. That's enough space for 1 - 4 plants.

Providing your plants with enough light can become an issue if you want to grow more than one. For example, one single 300W LED light fixture may be fine for one or maybe two plants, but it may not be enough to cover a bigger space with multiple plants.

As a side note: A 400-watt HPS luminaire initially supplies about 50,000 lumens. The rule of thumb is to reduce the HPS lumen output by half to determine the LED lumen output, which would be 25,000 lumens in this case.

How much can a 600W LED yield? ›

A typical 600W HPS system yield is 640 watts x 0.4grams = 240 grams per grow cycle. With a highly efficient LED system you can double the yield per watt.

As can be seen from the guide, 300 watt LED is the best replacement for your 1000 Watt Metal Halide.

45 Watt (300 Watt Equivalent) T30 High Lumen LED Light Bulb.

Best growth occurs above 750 foot-candles unless plants also receive extended periods of direct sunlight. Give them artificial light in the 500 to 1,000 foot-candle range, or 15 or more watts per square foot of growing area.

The General Rule

For example, LED lights of 1000 watts are recommended to be placed 36 inches away from the plants. The lights can be lowered to 24 inches during the vegetative stage of the plant, and to 18 inches during the blooming or flowering stages.

1000-Watt HPS grow lights are the most powerful and cover a wider area of around 49 square feet.

For a cultivation area or a grow tent of 80 x 80, you will need LED systems from 100W to 200W depending on the manufacturer. Any LED system between these watts will be enough to fully grow up to 4 plants.

Good full-spectrum lights for indoor gardening have a CRI rating above 85, but the closer to 100, the better. Be sure to buy enough fixtures to evenly distribute the light over the entire area. For seedlings along the perimeter to thrive, they should receive the same amount of light as those in the center.

The intensity or distance between your plants and LED lights is crucial to the health of your grow. Run the lights too high power or place the lights too close, and you can damage the plant.

How far should a 300 watt LED grow light be from the plant? ›

During the flowering stage LED Grow lights should be located between 16-36 inches from the plant canopy. Moving the grow light closer will increase the light intensity which can maximize photosynthesis.

600w HID Grow Light

A 600w HID light uses 600ws of power and can cover a canopy of around 2-3 sqft.

Red radiation (around 700nm) is considered most efficient at driving photosynthesis – especially in the flowering stage for biomass growth (important to Cannabis growers). Blue light is essential for both the vegetative and flowering stages of plant growth, but mainly for establishing vegetative and structural growth.

LED Grow lights are preferred because they consume less electricity than HPS lights. According to market research, LED lights consume 90 percent less power than HPS grow lights. You have less load on your amperage and electric breakers at home because LED grow lights enhance the energy efficiency of your indoor garden.

It is important because different plants at different growing stages need different amounts of light to thrive. Dimming the lights also gives your plants a break, which helps them stay healthy and strong. LED bulbs consume less energy than other types of grow lights.

The simple answer is: it's not really about wattage. Wattage is a measurement of electricity consumption, and while it's helpful to know how much wattage your grow light uses (so you can make a more economical, energy-saving choice) it actually has nothing to do with the amount of energy your plants need to grow.

In general, you'll want to hang your light no more than 12" away from your plants. - Remember: after 12" fluorescent lighting loses its power, so make sure you don't raise it any more than 12" above your canopy otherwise your plants aren't getting light energy.

HPS lights tend to be cheaper than LED alternatives, so they offer a low CapEx while offering a single wide spectrum that has been used for many crops in the past.

The upfront cost of an HPS lighting system is much more affordable than the LED alternative. Of course, the greater efficiency you get from LEDs means lower electricity bills and air conditioning bills, and increasing technology is helping to lower the associated cost even further.

How much does a 1000w LED grow light yield? ›

After you reach 1,000 micromoles, every 1% increase in light intensity will increase yield by 1%. When it comes to 1000w led grow light, PPFD can reach 1500+ umol/s. Perhaps you know that too much light intensity can cause phototoxicity, which can result in leaf burn or leaf roll.

For a 4x4 grow tent, the light should be around 400-600 watts. For a 6x6 grow tent, the light should be around 800-1000 watts. For 8x8 grow tents, the light should be around 1000-1200 watts.

LEDs are usually more efficient than HPS at converting electrical energy into light energy. Typically, this means growers can save on their energy bills and their rooms will require less cooling to maintain optimum growing conditions and high light levels.

Especially during low-light seasons when full-spectrum sunlight may be lacking, augmenting your HPS lighting with LEDs can provide an effective and energy-efficient way of achieving your desired crop results.

LEDs use up to 70% less energy than traditional HPS systems to deliver the same light illumination. In commercial units where a lot of energy is consumed for illumination, production, and even indoor plantation, the use of LED lights carry long term benefits.

Typically, when a speaker has a spec that's measured in watts, it's the maximum power-handling capability, usually expressed in “watts continuous” or “peak watts”. 300 watts is definitely at the high end, so let's assume peak watts.

LED light bulbs for general use around the home will typically have a wattage between 5W-15W, and will emit between 300-500 lumens. Some outdoor floodlights emit in excess of 20,000lm.

LED. LED or light emitting diode bulbs are the most effective at producing light and the most efficient to operate of all the home grow lights.

What color LED grow light is best? ›

What Color Light is Best for Plant Growth? Violet-blue light in the 400 – 520 nanometer range encourages chlorophyll absorption, photosynthesis, and growth.

Light Brightness and Lumens

Vegetable seedlings and other “full sun” plants require about 2000 to 3000 lumens (at minimum) per square foot of growing space. So, if you're growing just a single standard tray of seedlings, using a grow light that emits 3000 lumens is sufficient.

Plants cannot get too much light, but they can get too much of the heat energy that comes with the light. Photosynthesis and other plant growth processes will shut down when the environmental and tissue temperature gets high enough that all the water taken up by the plant is used to cool the plant tissue.

The simple answer is: it's not really about wattage. Wattage is a measurement of electricity consumption, and while it's helpful to know how much wattage your grow light uses (so you can make a more economical, energy-saving choice) it actually has nothing to do with the amount of energy your plants need to grow.

How much electricity does a 100w LED light use? A 100 Watt LED grow light is super efficient, and will hardly even make a dent in your energy bill. It won't cost you much more than $5-10 a month to run during veg (18/6 photoperiod).

Each 600W grow light covers roughly a 1.2m x 1.2m area. That's enough space for 1 - 4 plants.

What Color Light is Best for Plant Growth? Violet-blue light in the 400 – 520 nanometer range encourages chlorophyll absorption, photosynthesis, and growth.

Electrical Safety for the Indoor Growrooms

A 1000w HPS or Metal Halide light takes 9 amps at 120 volts so you can only run one on a wall outlet circuit. A standard dryer outlet is 220 volts and 30 amps so you can power up to six 1000 watt lights on that circuit.

For a cultivation area or a grow tent of 80 x 80, you will need LED systems from 100W to 200W depending on the manufacturer. Any LED system between these watts will be enough to fully grow up to 4 plants.