LED grow lights are relatively new to the cannabis growing scene, but they have become wildly popular over the last few years with their ability to produce great yields while staying cool and using a reasonable amount of electricity.
Yields! With a quality LED grow light and an average-to-good grow, you can expect yields of about 0.5 to 1g/watt.
The final yield depends a lot on strain and grow skill, as well as the quality of the lamp itself, but that’s a good rule of thumb for most models. For example, a 200W LED (200W true power draw, not an “equivalent” wattage) would yield about 100-200 grams on average, or 3.5 to 7 ounces.
Today’s LED models are much better for growing cannabis than the ones available even a few years ago. Many modern lamps are full spectrum or “wideband” spectrum (instead of only red and blue light diodes, which product a bluish purple light and are sometimes called “blurples”). Full spectrum light is easier on the eyes and adding at least some amount of green light to blurples typically results in healthier growth. Other spectrum colors like red, far red, and infrared are important for the budding/flowering stage. LED manufacturers have developed specialized lenses to point light directly to the plants and increase penetration, resulting in bigger yields for the same amount of light compared to older models. There are also many different form factors, with everything from the casing to the size of the diodes varying from model to model.
Modern LED grow lights can produce impressive results. These cannabis plants were grown completely under LED grow lights from seed to harvest!
Main Types of LED Grow Lights
There are 3 main types of LEDs that are most commonly used for growing cannabis. Each type of model has its pros and cons, so there isn’t yet a “best” LED type. Some are better for some situations than other.
1.) Spread Style
Many smaller LEDs are spread out over a large area. Examples of this style include Quantum Boards, Rack and “Spider style” LED grow lights.
Quantum Board
The name “Quantum Board LED grow light” originated from Horticulture Lighting Group, though the term is now sometimes used for any LED in this style. They tend to have relatively low wattage diodes which are spread out over a large area on a board. These are becoming more popular lately, and seem to offer particularly good results for the amount of wattage used.
Spider LED
The “spider style” LEDs are similar to Quantum Boards in that the individual diodes are spread out and tend to be on the smaller side, but they are set on a panel with “arms” like a spider as opposed to a solid board. One very popular example is the SPYDRx line of LED lights. These typically have an extremely high price, but growers who use them swear they get better results than any other type of LED grow light.
2.) Traditional Panel
The standard panel LEDs have small to medium wattage diodes and the lamps tend to be more compact. Most LED grow lights available today are in this style. They are sort of halfway between a Quantum Board and a COB Style light, with a mix of features from both.
I’m also seeing lots of new “hybrid” LED grow lights appearing, that contain a mix of big and little LEDs, and unique form factors that mix and match between all the styles.
3.) COB Style
These grow lights use huge COB (Chip on Board) LED “bulbs”. Each COB is incredibly bright and intense because they contain multiple LED chips in a small area. COBs produce more intense light than other types of LEDs, and each COB uses a significant amount of electricity. Cree is most popular brand of COBs.
Instead of having dozens of small diodes, COB style LED grow lights typically only have a handful of huge COBs, each with strong lenses to direct the light down into the plant. These are rapidly gaining in popularity and are known for having deep penetration into the plant canopy.
AutoCOBs
It’s also common to see LED grow lights that only have one COB per lamp. These make it easy to spread out your light over a grow area, one lamp at a time. Sometimes known as “AutoCOBs”.
Some LED grow lights have a single COB LED. Multiple units can be spread out as needed.
Each COB has its own spectrum, so you can create a custom spectrum for your plants by combining multiple AutoCOBs together. They are very configurable if you have an unusually shaped grow space, or want to be able to accommodate different plants of different sizes at the same time.
Some COB LED grow lights can be plugged into regular light sockets
