LED Grow Light Review and Buyers Guide
LED Grow Lights are flooding the market with their promise of saving energy, enhancing the growth cycle and glowing for years. Here’s how to choose the best LED indoor grow light and make your investment worthwhile.
What am I looking for when I buy my LED Grow Lights?
After researching some online, I’m sure you’ve noticed….LED grow lights are not cheap and if they are, you need to know why. An educated consumer ends up with the best value for their dollars spent. The LED grow light market is filled with a lot of manufacturers looking to churn out plastic models with an inefficient design to lower the cost. In turn, the consumer buys a light with no ventilation for the LEDs that burns out in 5 months…just when the warranty expires…perfect. You need to know who you are buying from in this unstable marketplace and develop trust in the company before purchasing your LEDs.
1. LED Bulbs
The LED Bulbs (chips) are the most important components of your new light. Cree, Bridgelux, Semiled and Epistar are the world's leading providers of high-performance LED chips in the market. Can’t find it on their website? Simply ask your provider who manufactures their chips. This will ensure that your lights are the brightest, most efficient and last the longest. Some manufacturers lower their cost by using poorly designed, plastic LED chips. These, I can assure you, will not glow as bright and will die very quickly. LED Grow Lights Outlet only distributes grow lights who use the highest quality chips, no exceptions.
2. Power Supply
These small precious LED chips need protection from the power supply. Specially designed circuits protect the chips even in event of a power failure. Ask your potential supplier what their power supply failure rate is…a safe design will be under 5%. If your power supply fails and the chips are protected, you can easily replace the power supply for 5-10 bucks. The LED chips are meant to last 50,000 hours and, in most cases, the power supply will die before that.
3. Heat Dissipation
At this point your seeing a trend…you have to care for that lil’ chip...after all, it’s pumping out the light that grows your crop. The LED chip is very sensitive to heat and if the design and material allows heat buildup, the light will burn up very quickly. The chip needs to breathe, it needs air circulation. A heat sink base houses the chips internally…some manufacturers use thin pieces of flat aluminum board or plastic, to increase surface area but it does not allow the heat to dissipate. The chip overheats and dies in about 4-6 months. A solid lighting fixture will use a cast metal heat sink with fins or a column structure to ensure the chips have proper air flow. Better heat flow = peak performance and a longer lifespan.
AIBC-90w UFO Heat Sink AIBC-300w LEDs Heat Sink
Comparison of AIBC-90w UFO and other brand 90w UFO
4. Wavelength
The lower efficiency on the HID bulbs stems from the fact that the light wavelengths are not directed 100% on the specimen and emit their light at a full 360°. The beauty of the LED is the direct wavelength and beam angle that gives your plants all of the direct wavelengths. There is no wasted light bouncing off the top of the housing and reflecting back or spreading out in other directions away from where the growth is happening. Your LEDs should boast a strong, direct wavelength with a chip housing designed to reflect directly where you position it. This ensures the output is used efficiently and keeping your plants fed. You can also use the buyers tool we created at LED grow light buyer tool to calculate which lights and how many you will need for your grow dimensions.
5. Warranty
Find a company who can give a reliable guarantee on their product. As with all amazing offers, it might be too good to be true. With a big initial investment, you want to be covered in case of any defect and ensure the light is actually saving you money on energy. If LED lights are low quality, suppliers will not be willing to offer you a substantial warranty because low quality LED lights deteriorate very fast.
Attention Buyers: Some foreign factories state they offer warranties to US customers, even if the warrantees are legitimate, the logistics of returning the item overseas is very hard if they don't have a branch in US. If your lights do not work, you would have to ship the lights back overseas, wait a very long time for a diagnostic…and who knows if you will ever see the light again.
Check out companies that offer at least a 2 year warranty and provide the return process online for you to check out. If you’re feeling like a real social animal, maybe call them and talk to a customer service rep to get some real answers. LEDGrowLightsOutlet.com offers a 3yr warranty and a 60-day money back guarantee.
6. Company location, contact info and a live contact
If a company does not have contact information, such as a phone number, living rep, or address; stay away! Some will just display an email address. Be weary with these companies too… whether they have a lower price or not, avoid getting scammed by sellers overseas looking to make a quick buck.
7. Price
Some companies boast super low prices on their LEDs. You need to think about what materials they are using to keep the price so low and still be a profitable business. Investigate and look for these key qualities.
LED Grow Lights Outlet believes that a high quality product should be fairly priced. We provide the latest technology and the most durable and efficient components in the market along with qualiy service for our customers. You pay for what you get. .
So, what are you waiting for? LEDs are the future for indoor growers who are serious about producing higher crop yields while consuming less energy to promote strong, healthy plants. Replace those lights that make your meter spin like crazy and invest in LEDs that save you energy, time and money… but be sure to do your homework. Follow these guidelines and invest in a company who can give you the best quality, long-lasting LEDs.
Article Published in Maximum Yield Feature Article, May 2011
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Buyers Guide