What Size LED Grow Light Do I Need？
This is one among the questions that frustrated me most once I started growing with LEDsThere’s such a lot technical jargon mixed in with marketing falsehoods that choosing the proper light is
hard .What Size LED Grow Light Do I Need? For optimum yield, an honest rule of thumb is to settle on an LED grow light that outputs a minimum of 50w per sq ft of grow space. confirm that the
sunshine can draw 50w from the wall (not the combined capacity of the LED’s) Example: a 2ft long x 3ft wide grow space would require a 300w LED grow light This is an honest start line , but
there’s a touch more thereto .Read on to seek out out exactly the way to find the proper size of grow light for your setup.
What Size LED Grow Light Do I Need?
The most important little bit of equipment in your grow room is your light.
Why? Light is your plant’s food, you would like to feed your plants high-quality food for them to supply high-quality yields.
LED lights for weed are now considered the simplest lighting option by most growers thanks to their energy efficiency, durability, and full spectrum.
However, with all the choices and technical jargon, finding the proper light for your project can feel a touch overwhelming.
To work out what size of LED grow light you would like , you initially got to calculate the precise size of your grow space.
The Size Of Your Grow Space
When growing cannabis, an honest rule of thumb is to use a minimum of fifty watts of sunshine per sq ft of grow space. we would like to flood our plants with light ( food ) in order that they
need many energy to supply big potent buds.
Therefore, we’d like to calculate the square footage ( length x width ) of our grow space. We’ll then multiply this number by 50w to offer us the rough wattage of sunshine we require.
EXAMPLE: I even have a grow space that’s 2ft long and 3ft wide. this provides me a sq ft grow space of 6 ( 2ft x 3ft ). I then multiply this number by 50w, which provides me 300w. Therefore,
during this example, i might require an LED grow light that was a minimum of 300w.
How Many Plants am i able to Grow?
In general, each cannabis plant you grow requires a minimum of 1sq ft of space. After germination, i prefer to pot one plant during a large 5-gallon fabric container, which features a diameter
of roughly 1 sq foot. My plant will stay during this pot until it flowers.
This allows the plant to grow big and powerful without other plants or tent walls obstructing its progress. Using this as a suggestion , i might be ready to grow between 1-6 plants in my
example above.
Most LED grow lights usually be ready to cover about 1- 6 plants. If you would like to grow any longer plans than this, you’d got to purchase multiple lights to hold side by side ( called
daisy-chaining ) to hide the cover and ensure each plant is getting equal light.
The table below shows how the facility of grow light you need increases with the dimensions of your grow space. I’ve also included what percentage plants each size of grow light are going to
be adequate for.
Note: 1 square foot grow space = 50 watts LED grow light
Grow Space Size Minimum Number of Watts Required Number of Plants You Can Grow
2 sq ft (2×1) 100w 1-2 plants
4 sq ft (2×2) 200w 1-3 plants
6 sq ft (2×3) 300w 1-6 plants
9 sq ft (3×3) 450w 1-9 plants*
12 sq ft (3×4) 600w 1-12 plants*
16 sq ft (4×4) 800w 1-16 plants*
20 sq ft (4×5) 1000w 1-20 plants*
* the dimensions of the grow space in these situations would require you to get multiple lights to hold side by side to make sure the whole canopy is receiving light.
Note: The values above are for flowering. During the vegetation stage, you’ll require around half the facility ( 25w ) the simplest quality LED grow lights accompany “Veg and Bloom switch”
that optimize the intensity of the sunshine for the vegetation and flowering stages.
Understanding PAR Output
You’ve probably heard about PAR. In simple terms, It’s the a part of the sunshine spectrum that your plants use for photosynthesis. So It’s a reasonably big deal. the upper the PAR output of
your light, the more edible light your plants receive. Take a glance at the table below for the optimal ranges of PAR for every stage of your plans life:
Stage Optimal PAR Output
Seedling 200-400 (μmol/m2/s)
Veg 400-600 (μmol/m2/s)
Flowering 600-900 (μmol/m2/s)
Ideally, you would like to select a grow light that outputs PAR within the ranges above. this beautiful much rules out any LED grow light below 300w, as they simply don’t have enough power to
get the specified levels of PAR. That said, confine mind that these are optimal levels of PAR. employing a grow light that has less PAR output than these ranges won’t be a disaster, you only
won’t reach the potential of your plant.
So, Which LED Grow Light do you have to Pick?
If you’re still unsure which LED grow light to travel for, then I’ve written an in depth guide to the simplest LED grow lights that you simply might find helpful.
Alternatively, the three LED grow lights below are perfect for alittle grow found out of between 1 – 4 plants inside a 1 square foot – 4 square foot grow space.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this text has been ready to shed some light ( pun intended ) on the way to pick the right size to grow light for your project. As long as you recognize the dimensions of your grow
space and the way many watts per square metre you would like , choosing an LED grow light is pretty simple.
If you’ve got any questions in the least about choosing a grow light, allow us to know within the comments below.
Good luck together with your grow!