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Choosing The Best LED Grow Lights:
Everything You Need to Know
Written by: Taylor Walker | Updated: March 14th, 2019
Table of Contents
If you're reading this article, chances are you're wanting to grow your own high quality marijuana, either for medicinal or recreational use (in states where its legal of course 
)
Whatever the reason you're interested in LED grow lights is, you're likely here because you want to know which model of LED lights are most effective for cannabis growth. Not all LEDs are made equal, so making sure you buy botanical grade lights is essential. Once you've climbed that hurdle, you need to ensure your lights are versatile enough to satisfy each period of the plant's grow span.
This is what I aim to help you achieve.
I've been using marijuana medicinally in Canada for years. The issue I came across is the producers who got the OK from the government tend to supply overpriced weed that's been irradiated after the fact for "sanitation."
I'd rather know how my weed was grown, and I knew that a lot of the money weed consumers pay is for the convenience of already grown plants.
For this reason, I decided to start growing my own weed, and in that time I've had to buy a bunch of different grow lights as my tastes and personal growing ambitions evolved over time.
If you've never been to my website before, my name is Taylor Williams and I've been an avid consumer of cannabis for a little over a decade. After the first few years and starting to learn things like the differences between strains and marijuana that was produced & harvested properly, I decided to give it a go myself.
I've been growing for at least half of my smoking career by this point and I've picked up a few things along the ride. Figuring out how to best effectively use the resources and space available to you are essential for growing quality bud. One drawback from indoor growing is that you need to replicate the energy plants harness from the Sun to grow. For that, you'll need a proper grow light in the right wavelengths.
LED grow lights are by far the most energy efficient lights for growing healthy bushy plants. The startup cost is higher than other kinds of grow lights, but the saved energy costs more than make up for it.
My experience with LED grow lights has been very varied, with many of the models I've purchased being better than others.
Here are the ones that stick out in my mind as ones I've had to worry about the least.
My Top 5 Picks
My criteria for picking the following lights are as follows: overall price for what you get, spectrum of light offered, size of light compared to power output, and overall power output.
VIPARSPECTRA Reflector-Series 450W Full Spectrum (My Top Pick)
For modest growers, a 450W light is the perfect choice.
The VIPARSPECTRA Reflector Series light in the reflector series is ideal for the novice grower. The true power used by this light is around 200W, so the minimum yield if used properly and you have the proper amount of plants is around 4 ounces, that's a quarter of a pound!
VIPARSPECTRA lights are easy and simple to use, it's more or less plug in and go. The entirety of the light spectrum is given off by this light, and it even has different settings for when the plant is in the vegetative state versus the flowering state, reducing the amount of work & worry considerably. This light is equipped with both fans and aluminum cooling plates to ensure next to no heat output.
For the beginner and intermediate grower whose grow space is about 2.5' by 2.5', this is the perfect balance of quality, light output, and price. We like these lights because they leave nothing to chance and I know whenever something is going wrong that if my VIPAR is placed properly, it's not my light I need to be troubleshooting. We've had ours for over five years and it will probably see another five before we need to replace it.
Want a reliable LED grow light that won't totally break the bank? Click here to learn more!.
Pros
Cons
Advanced Platinum Series P150 150w
Advanced Platinum is a fairly new contender in the LED grow light sphere, and their name had me believe the price would be astronomical in comparison to what they promise, under some false pretense of "luxury."
These lights, however, are only about 20% more expensive than a comparable light and have all of the bells and whistles necessary to turn a grow from guerilla to gargantuan.
The Advanced Platinum lights, much like their VIPAR counterparts, are equipped with whisper quiet cooling fans and an aluminum heat sink to avoid heat output. Advanced Platinum P150 boasts the ability to replace a 250W HPS light while only using 86 watts of true power. A single unit is best suited for closet grows or grow tents not exceeding 3' by 1.5', while multiple units can service a much more large scale grow if necessary.
Want a fat sack that you can say you grew all by yourself? Click here for these lights.
Pros
Cons
VIPARSPECTRA Dimmable Series PAR700 700w
This light is for those who have a few grows under their belt and want to expand their garden to new levels, the PAR700 allows a grower to individually tailor what parts of the light spectrum they want delivered and at what level of intensity.
All stages of plant growth are covered with this full spectrum light and can be dimmed in several fashions to better suit the light requirements for plants at different stages of growth. Its fans are extremely quiet and coupled with the included heat sinks make for a very stealthy grow.
This light can replace a 600W HPS light while only using a true power of 326 watts. Using the 0.5g/W formula, that's a pound and a half of the stickiest of the icky.
Want more control over your grow lights? Click here to grab a dimmable PAR700.
Pros
Cons
Roleadro Galaxy Hydro Series 300W
The Roleadro Galaxy Hydro Series is the best priced light on this list for what it does.
While equipped with the right cooling fans and aluminum heat sinks for the job, the fans are louder than VIPAR or Advanced Platinum lights, so it's better for grow areas that are more segregated from the part of the household inhabited on a more regular basis.
The Galaxy Hydro has both a lower starting price and lower operational price than most grow lights of any kind and nearly all LED grow lights. It can replace a 400W HPS light while providing the same yields and only drawing 132 watts of true power from your outlet. This light got an inadvertent durability test: it was dropped from about four feet and besides a visible ding the light still functions flawlessly.
Need a light but also need to budget? Click here for the affordable Galaxy Hydro Series.
Pros
Cons
Kind K5 XL1000
The Kind K5 LED Grow light is for the big players. Those who grow over 11 ounces in a single crop will find themselves well serviced by a single K5.
The power draw compared to yield is absolutely stunning with this light. Our basement is closer to a forest than a garden after using the K5 for a few months.
The K5 is programmable to utilize the entire spectrum or just a percentage of each part of the spectrum you would like to use. From seed to harvest you won't need much else, ever. It's pretty much the atomic bomb of LED grow lights.
If you're looking to buy grow lights literally only one time, click here.
Pros
Cons
The Benefits of Using LED Grow Lights
LED lights are the most efficient lights available on the market. Efficiency in this case is how much power is converted to light as opposed to something else, like heat. Those red-hot incandescent bulbs, besides not emitting the proper wavelengths of light, are the most inefficient form of lighting out there, most electricity cost is wasted on radiant heat.
LED lights use less true wattage for the same amount of growth compared to every other source of light, so you're saving bundles in electricity. LED lights tend to cost more off the bat, but they last several harvests, with most LED grow lights lasting about 50,000 hours before needing replacement bulbs.
LED grow lights are best if you want to buy grow lights and seldom ever have to do any sort of upkeep on the light itself, giving you more time to focus on the plants & soil than your light source.
The generally accepted rule of thumb is that for every watt of true power used by an LED light you will on average yield 0.5g per plant. It's worth noting that this rule of thumb goes outdated all the time as LED lights become more energy efficient over time, among other factors.
True power is the actual amount of wattage used by the light, and is typically different from the wattage advertised most prominently, which is usually the equivalent wattage. Meaning that if 100W of true power is going to your plant, your yield will be somewhere in the realm of 50g. This is under the assumption the plant is otherwise healthy and that the correct LED grow lights have been chosen and that they are installed properly, more ideal grows can get up to 1 to 1.5 grams per watt used!
Are all LEDs good for growing? The answer is a hard and fast no. General purpose LEDs are sold purely for illumination purposes and don't give off the wavelengths of light that plants need to thrive. The chart pictured illustrates what wavelengths are best absorbed and used by plants.
You'll notice nearly all green light is reflected and not absorbed, this is why most plants appear green. Light from the blue and red areas of the light spectrum are best used by plants to create usable energy.
This is why there is a sea of pictures of LED grow setups that look like a photo developing room or a serial killer's lair. Red and blue light is the plant equivalent of steak, veggies, and potatoes. Those pictures of exclusively red and blue light are fairly old, however. Newer LED grow lights emit a much wider wavelength of light, providing more useful energy per watt of electricity and bushier plants. LED lights are now almost exactly as good as other forms of light in the department of making your plants large, hearty, and healthy. LEDs that are suited for growing usually have the word horticultural somewhere on their packaging. Horticultural is the fancy word for plant cultivation.
Plants use photosynthesis to produce their energy. High energy photons (light energy) from the sun allow plants to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose (sugar) for energy and water. The marijuana plant is no different. However, if you choose to grow indoors you're going to have to figure out how you're going to give plants the light they need to flourish, and grow lights are the answer.
Common Mistakes Made With LED Lights
and how to fix them...
Light Placement
How far away the lights are from the plant has a huge effect on how well they work. Putting them too far away means they won't deliver adequate light to your plants and all that will be accomplished is a higher hydro bill and some sad looking plants. Put them too close, and you risk discoloration of your plants by way of light burn.
Light burn is easily diagnosed by yellowing or browning where the light hits the plant the most, and the leaves won't fall off easily like they do when yellowed by a nitrogen deficiency. Also, leaves suffering from light burn tend to curl upwards towards the light. If your plants are getting too much light they won't grow to their full potential and even risk floundering entirely.
Depending on the size and strength of your lights, the best distance is in the range of 12-18 inches away from the top of the plant. Lower wattage lights fit in the closer end of that range and higher wattage (more powerful) lights go towards the farther end. Be sure to check the manufacturer's recommendations. If there aren't any, you are going to have to look at how powerful your lights are and make an inference based on that. Light burn occurs slowly and over time, so ensure your plants have the proper nitrogen to rule out yellowing due to nitrogen deficiency and if you notice your plants are gradually yellowing where the light hits them, raise your lights an inch until the problem is no longer getting worse.
Forgetting To Adjust Your Lights As Time Goes On
The rule of having your lights 12-18 inches away from the plant means that you should not neglect to adjust the distance of the lights periodically as the cannabis plant grows. It's best to have your lights rigged up with this in mind from the get go, figure out some way you'll easily be able to adjust the height of the lights as the grow goes on.
Insufficient Lighting
On the other side of the coin is not getting enough lights from your LEDs to your plants. Using the 100W per 50g rule (or 200W per 100g, the ratio used isn't massively important) figure out how many lights you'll need per estimated yield per plant. The science doesn't have to be exact to the decimal point, and there's another way to calculate how much light you'll need as well: 32 watts of actual power per square foot of growing space.
Not Using The Right LEDs
Using LED lights not intended for growing will save you money on the LEDs themselves, but the plants aren't going to do very well. Full spectrum LED lights are the most ideal variety, followed by either blue or red LED lights. Anything else is not worth the time or money.
Having The Lights On At The Wrong Time
How much light you should deliver to your plants is dependent on what stage of growing you're in. During the vegetative state that precedes the flowering stage, cannabis plants require 18-24 hours of light per day. During the flowering stage only 12 hours of light should be delivered.
How To Choose The Best LED Grow Lights
Overall Build Quality
Look for grow lights that look the part of proper grow equipment. The light should look sturdy and well constructed. You may be tempted to save $50 and get something of poorer overall quality, but that $50 saved on lights can result in a lower yield of cannabis worth much more than $50 altogether.
Low Heat Output
LEDs that produce too much heat are firstly inefficient, wasting you money in electricity costs. LEDs that produce too much heat (as in really much heat at all) can increase the temperature in your grow room to a temperature outside the optimal range for your plant, as well as cause light burn. Make sure your grow lights produce as minimal heat as possible. LED grow lights are solely for light production, all other aspects should be controlled via other means.
Light Spectrum
Full spectrum lights provide all of the wavelengths of light necessary for your plant. Full spectrum lights include UV light and infrared as opposed to just the red and blue light offered by partial spectrum lights, UV and infrared are vital to proper plant development. Skimping on lights here will result in a decrease in stickiness, smellyness, aesthetic appeal, and actual quality of the cannabis plant. Full spectrum lights also mean you won't have to buy any supplemental lighting during parts of the grow phase where plants favor one kind of light over another.
Chip Strength
The chip in your LED lights converts electricity to light. A chip of improper strength won't produce the proper wavelengths. A 1W chip is the absolute minimum required, with most opting for about chips at a strength of about 3W.
There you have it.
Those are my top 5 LED grow lights, and that's hopefully everything you'll need to know about LED grow lights and then some. If you think I've missed one of the best LED grow lights, or have any questions at all, be sure to comment the name down below. I've been known to make mistakes, and there are obviously way too many LED solid grow lights for me to list all of them. Besides, these things tend to impart some memory fuzziness due to their nature.
I'd love to hear from you in the comments section, and I will be sure to respond to each and every one of you.
About the Author Taylor
A marijuana enthusiast, vaporizer connoisseur, a frequent user of CBD and he's also the founder of iMarijuanit.com.