Technology is advancing every day, it has made complex stuff much easier as innovators keep coming up with solutions. Trips to space and the invention of electric cars are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many innovations underway and the future is much brighter.
Technology has enabled a lot of things, in the past, it was impossible to grow plants without natural sunlight. The innovation of led strip lights and grow led strips have made this possible. They come close to natural sunlight in providing the light and heat needed by plants for growth. This article is a guide on the led strips used to grow plants, their advantages, and how to select the most suitable ones.
LED is an acronym for light-emitting diode, it consists of a semiconductor that emits light when a current passes through it. There are about five types of light bulbs; incandescent, fluorescent, halogen and LED light bulbs. Out of the whole lot, LED lights are the most energy-efficient and consequently the most preferred.
Incandescent light bulbs produce light through the heating of the filament and thus consume a lot of energy in the process.The LEDs have been fused into light bulbs and lighting fixtures for lighting purposes. LED bulbs have a special feature that allows them to dissipate the heat generated in the light-emitting process into the surroundings.
This allows them to have a longer “life”, it is worth noting that LED light bulbs do not burn out like fluorescent and incandescent bulbs. They depreciate after a period of time. LEDs are the best choice due to their energy-saving features, resources are dwindling fast due to the ever-growing world population and we need to conserve the little we have left.
Apart from the general lighting in our establishments, LED lights have other uses such as street lighting, light indicators on computers and even growing plants. There are many types of LED lights but we are going to focus on the following two types:
Lighting LEDs or normal LED lights are the ones that we have been discussing for the most part. They are used in bulbs, lighting fixtures, and applications. They conserve energy and have a longer life than the normal incandescent and CFL fluorescent bulbs. Many people also use them for growing plants too.
LED grow lights are specifically designed and manufactured for growing plants. They produce the perfect blend of spectrum colors making it just perfect for growing plants. In this article, we are going to focus on the LED grow lights, how they work, their types, and their pros and cons.
Various studies have certified that LED grow lights do indeed help plants and flowers to grow indoors. Growing plants using LED grow lights is not that different from using natural sunlight. Expose the lights to the plant for about 7-8 hours which is the average daytime period. Also do not use too much fertilizer or water on the plant while trying to compensate for natural sunlight as you may end up killing the plant. Use the LED grow lights in the right manner and your indoor plants are bound to flourish.
The manufacturers of LED grow lights developed a way of making these lights more flexible and easy to use. They developed LED grow light strips, which are essentially flexible circuit boards filled with diodes that emit light when connected to a power source. Many manufacturers have embraced this as a led strip lights manufacturer keeps popping up somewhere around the industrial world. Normal LED lights manufacturers have also developed LED light strips for the same.
The led grow light strips are used in homes, hotels, offices, and other establishments to grow indoor plants and flowers. Apart from making the place look beautiful, the plants also give these places a relaxing feeling that can only be found amidst nature. A led light strip is simply a led lamp plated to a copper wire through a technology process. The strip is then connected to a power source to produce light.
The led grow light strip is specially designed to grow plants. Natural light is the most suitable light for plants, most plants need sunlight for healthy growth. This is because sunlight provides a spectrum of lights that helps plants with the photosynthesis process. Sunlight also comes in several wavelengths, the led grow light strips are designed to mirror sunlight making them the best substitute.
This gives LED grow light strips and edge over incandescent, fluorescent ,halogen and normal LED light sources. Indoor plants are not likely to thrive when grown under the said types of light sources. Led grow lights are very flexible so they can be attached anywhere, for example inside a display cupboard where the plants are kept and other places that cannot get light. LED strip lights can be custom made, So you can issue instructions to the manufacturer and end up with custom led light strips that suit your taste.
We are going to look at some types of led grow light strips and their features to assist you when you decide to purchase one:
This is a flexible adhesive LED grow light strip. It acts as a supplementary led plant light strip as its light is not full spectrum. The strip light can be purchased in rolls of up to 5 meters long. The led plant light strip has the perfect ratio of red to blue diodes to enable the proper growth of plants. It is mostly used as a supplement to another grow light or natural sunlight.
The LED plant strip is waterproof and consumes about 70 watts, this means that your overall electrical consumption will be lower and you will save money. However, the plant light strip can not be used in any vegetative stage as it only has red and blue diodes. This LED grow light strip has a return warranty so you can return it to the shop if you are dissatisfied with the product.
The Jun Wen White LED Strips are full-spectrum lights, they are not originally intended for growing plants but they perform the function quite well. They can be used as led strip lights for growing plants even though they lack a protective shield for the diode and are not as bright as LED grow light strips. The LED strips come in two types; the 3000K warm white and the 6000K cool white light.
The 3000K acts best as a supplemental while the 6000K can act as a primary. The LED strip also has a tuning feature that allows one to adjust the brightness when required. They are energy efficient as they only consume about 16 watts and have an extended warranty of two years.
This is a rigid led grow light strip, the diodes are attached to a rigid copper or aluminum strip instead of flexible wire or ribbon. This plant light strip produces strong light that covers an extensive area. It lacks the yellow and green lights, thus it is not fully sufficient for plant growth. This makes them ideal for supplemental lighting similar to the aveylum adhesive led plant light ribbon.
Each kit consists of four light strips which you can arrange in any way you desire. Overall, the four light strips consume about 45 watts. They have no warranty and this makes them the least preferred LED grow light strips on this list.
This bar fixture is made up of six light strips, there are two types of this LED grow light strips; 2-foot and 4-foot long. The 2-foot long consumes only 24 watts while the 4-foot long consumes about 40 watts. This makes it very energy efficient. Apart from supplemental lighting, this type of plant growth light strip is used in cloning, seeding, and vegging of plants. They are full-spectrum light and emit light of every wavelength and thus are perfect for plant growth. Although they are more expensive than the others, they also have a two-year warranty and will give you value for the money.
Manufactured by Elstar, the SMD 2835 is one of the best LED grow light strips in the world. They produce a strong light and are used in places that need high brightness like industries. It has a controller that allows the user to adjust the brightness from high to dim when required.
This plant grow light strip has several applications but the one that stands out most is plant growing. This product can also be customized and ordered in bulk making it the perfect choice for retailers and other buyers. They have a two-year warranty and have been certified as top-quality products.
The advancement of technology gave us a technological marvel in the name of LED grow light strips. They are important especially in this global warming era where weather patterns are always changing. We cannot depend on natural elements to grow food that would cater to all.
The LED grow light strips are the most suitable for growing indoor plants or plants in general during the winter when there is no sunlight. The normal LED lights can also be used in growing plants but are not as effective. However, it is important to note that none of these is a true substitute for natural sunlight.
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