This is a brief overview on different cannabis-grow lamps.
Indoor marijuana grows need artificial light, replacing sunlight – one of the most important factors for the needs and characteristics of the grow room.
Marijuana cropping lamps have different, specific characteristics – light/spectrum intensity’s very important for the final crop: spectrum colors provide different signs to the plant – it will respond depending on the stimuli received (usually, marijuana deals with light spectrums ranging from blue to red).
This post provides an overview on the types of lamps you can use, analyzing their main characteristics for cannabis grows.
Sodium is a classic (HPS)
HPS bulbs (high pressure of sodium) are the most popular cannabis-grow bulbs – higher performance and really lower price than their competitors; however, their consumption’s high (more electricity than their competitors) and the generated heat’s maximum – good cooling-system equipment’s needed for a successful crop (otherwise, grow-room heat would increase excessively, the plants wouldn’t grow properly and the strain canopies would burn due to lamp heat). Anyway, it’s the most popular method because it’s the most profitable one; HPS light spectrum’s reddish, and MH lamps (metal halide) provide bluish light spectrum – both lamps are HID lamps (high intensity discharge).
Fluorescent lights are a relic (CFL)
Originally, fluorescent lights were classic at cannabis grows – they provided the first indoor marijuana grows; back in the hippie days, they were the most popular lamps – the cheapest price, the lowest consumption and no ballast needed, but the results are scarcely average: fluorescent light provokes very low production and the buds don’t form properly (fat and crushed); good option for mother plants or clones – low energy consumption.
LED
Currently, one of the most popular lamps – no heat, consumption approx. three times less than sodium lamps, and LED/sodium-lamp crop quality’s similar – the most efficient lights for energy consumption and production, no ballast needed and no good ventilation/cooling system required (minimum generated heat).
The main problem for LED plates is the lack of competitive quality-price ratio – current marijuana-grow LEDs are very expensive: high LED-grow investment – approx. 15-20 times more than HPS kits.
LEC
LED-Sodium new system; LEC produces minimum heat (more than LED), approx. half sodium consumption with similar results – it can be used with a sodium reflector, so it’s much cheaper than LED. Usually, they work with electronic ballast – adjustable power (lower power consumption); you can maintain low power when growing, and high power during the last blooming weeks.
Written by Gea Seeds