Many growers are now using full-spectrum LED grow lights for indoor growing. Let’s discuss the benefits and problems of the full spectrum grow light, you can get the full info about them, and make the best choice when you’re choosing the LED to grow lights.
What is a Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights?
A lot of experiments these days tell us the fact that plants grow best under a balanced spectrum. The direct definition for a full spectrum is a spectrum just like natural daylight, with energy ranging from ultraviolet to infrared.
The History of Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights
When the lights produced a Color Rendering Index (CRI) over 90, the commercial lighting industry would use the phrase “full spectrum” to sell the lights. People usually have a sense of color with a CRI over 90, just like we can perceive colors in our daily life in the daylight.
It provides great convenience for our classroom, office, home, or outdoor gardens. However, some companies would claim that full spectrum LEDs are exactly like sunlight. Actually, it is not that simple. In the following article, we will discuss their benefits and problems.
The Benefits of Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights for Plants
Traditional LED grows lights sometimes produce low yields for plants because they emit the spectrum after photorespiration. When the plants are using old LEDs, they cannot prosperous growth. The condition of those plants is healthy, but they cannot produce as much yield as they should.
The light intensity of the grow light is quite important, this is the first and the most reasonable when you’re choosing a LED to grow light. Then you need to consider the spectrum of the light, full-spectrum, and high-intensity light will give your plants the best growth opportunities. Also Choosing a full spectrum LED grow light will save you a lot of money, you can buy fewer grow lights than the old ones.
Problems with Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights
There are three main problems with our full-spectrum grow lights, it is better for you to know them first, then make the best choice.
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Full Spectrum Grow Lights can not Optimize Plants
Different plants need different lights to maximize their yields, the full spectrum LED grow light can meet the needs of most plants, however, it is just mimicking daylight, so you cannot custom-tailor the needs for each type of plant. Not all wavelengths of light are suitable for photosynthesis. The plants do not care about the brightness of the lights, if the radiation is between 400-700, the plant’s photosynthesizes is claimed as Photosynthetically Active Radiation or PAR. Even so, most lighting companies still use this visual appeal for all full-spectrum lights.
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Full Spectrum Grow Lights Donot Include the Full Solar Spectrum
A lot of LED grow lights in the market are creating a concept that the spectral distribution is similar to sunlight, they will make your plants grow very well. This a good theory, but full spectrum grow lights are not as same as the sun. Sunlight is a complicated matter, many experts have been researching this topic for many years, and they’re still working on it today. The sunlight not only contains ultraviolet (UV) and infrared light, but also x-rays, radio waves, etc, its radiation includes a lot, way more than just the visible or PAR wavebands.
Even though PAR is one of the necessary factors in the lights for photosynthesis, they can still react to other radiation besides PAR. For example, UV light can provoke protective compounds in the plants, it is similar to people getting tanned under the sunlight. Plants will also use infrared light to induce the avoidance response, making the flowering stage early.
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Full Spectrum Grow Lights Are Not Dynamic Like the Sun
Change in the weather or the position of the sun changes relative to the earth, the sun’s spectrum will be in constant flux. The interplay between sunlight and plants is changing all the time. You will capture the benefits and problems from the natural process of the sun when you hang the full spectrum grow light in a greenhouse outdoors.
However, if you hang the full-spectrum light indoors, it will not perform like the sun. Photosynthesis for plants only requires light in the 400 to 700-nanometer range, so it depends on the plants, you have to choose a grow light that satisfies your plant’s needs, it is more likely to get what you want, the high yields.
Sum up
We should precisely know what light spectrum we need for our plants. This is the key to making the plants grow well. Before you grow anything, do research first. Don’t blindly plant your seeds until you know all the information about the plants you are growing.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
And be sure to check out our other blog posts for useful tips on becoming a great grower!
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