Indoor Grow Lights -- Choosing The Right Type For Indoor Gardening

Indoor grow lights are supplemental greenhouse lighting especially for indoor gardening. Lighting is a suitable alternative to sunlight. It is also among the crucial elements in hydroponic gardening.

Primarily, there are four major types of bulbs used in grow lights. These are the incandescent bulb, fluorescent bulbs, High-Intensity Discharged or HID, and the Light-Emitting Diodes or LED.

Incandescent grow lights.

The incandescent light is provided when the light emission is heated up. The electric current passes through the thin filament and heats it up to a temperature high enough to produce light.

Incandescent bulbs are manufactured in a wide range of voltages such as 1.5 to 300 volts. They also com in varied sizes.Spot Grow bulbs are a type of incandescent bulbs that are designed to increase the light levels necessary for tropical plants, small herb gardens, seed starting applications and small plant groupings.

Spot grow bulbs are directional lights which work in most regular, clamp-on type incandescent fixtures or lamps.

Fluorescent grow lights.

More indoor grow lights use the fluorescent bulbs for a few reasons. Fluorescent lighting is 66% cheaper than the regular lighting, while providing similar brightness.

Its bulb also lasts longer than incandescent. Also, unlike the incandescent, a fluorescent bulb does not emit heat, which makes them ideal for a room that is easily heated up or with low ventilation system.

For indoor gardening, a wide variety of fluorescent plant stands lighted garden carts are available. The sizes also vary. A compact fluorescent plant grow light system is ideal for plants which require greater lighting needs.

These compact grow lights are enhanced for great light output but low in heat. It is best for concentrating light essential in growing starting seeds, seedlings, bedding plants, herb gardens, leafy vegetables, African violets, bonsai trees, orchids, cacti, tropicals and succulents.

High-Intensity Discharged.

Many grow lights prefer the HID lights over other light bulbs. HID are the brightest at the least energy consumed. A compact high intensity plant grow light system produces 500% more light than regular incandescent bulbs with the same amount of energy used.

These indoor grow lights are ideal for seeds, seedlings, bedding plants, fruiting vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes, and leafy greens. There are compact grow light systems that can grow herb gardens, bonsai, orchids and plants that grow up to 4 feet high.

A type of HID bulb, the metal halide is ideal for all-purpose plant growth. It keeps the plant short and compact, plus it provides the excellent color quality. On the other hand, the high pressure sodium, another variant of HID light is best for flowering plants and fruiting plants.

Light-Emitting Diode.

LED for indoor grow lights is still on its infancy. However, it is becoming popular because of its low cost and high power LEDs in different colors combined—such as reds and blues—to match the light requirements of terrestrial plants.

Though expensive, they can easily re-pay their owners by rendering services for many years of bright lights at a low power.

Regardless of the plants cultivated indoors, there are indoor grow lights that can adequately sustain their light requirements.

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