Best LED Grow Lights Reviews – 2016

Welcome to the web’s source for the best LED grow lights reviews, as well as useful growing tips and information.

LED lighting has been proven superior to other plant lights. The benefits of LED grow lights include:
– Grow more green: more lush green plants, and more potent medicine.
– Save more green: save money and lower your operating costs by using energy-efficient lighting.
– Make more green: maximize your profit and get more greenbacks in your pocket.
– And it’s a greener technology for a greener planet!

Below are our picks for the top LED grow lights in the 2016 market to help you choose.

LED Grow Lights Reviews

Top 5 Best 300W LED Grow Lights

Read the latest review article comparing the Top 5 Best 300 Watt LED Grow Lights on the Market in 2016.  These 300W LED grow lights, sometimes called “mini-lights,” are the current best sellers on Amazon.com  They are small and economical and are great for the beginner or for a small grow. They have many of the same features of their larger cousins, but at a fraction of the price.  Check out  the Top 5 Best 300W LED Grow Lights.

 

Best LED Grow Lights under $500

EDITOR’S PICK – Zeus 370W Light – Best Grow Light

1. Zeus 370 Watt LED Grow Light, Optimal 10-Band Infrared (IR) plus Ultraviolet (UV), UV Safety Switch, High PAR, Expandable.

NEW Model for 2016. The new Zeus 370W LED Grow Light delivers a powerful bolt of LED lighting to make your plants come alive and thrive. These lights are preferred in our own indoor garden, and have produced fantastic results. They utilize 2 powerful 180W COB LED modules covering the spectrum from infra-reds to blues including ultra-violet. Each COB module is individually cooled with a patented heat sink and whisper-quite fan, keeping the lights at the optimal operating temps to maximize lifespan.

Zeus has 2 dedicated high power UV LEDs, which have their own on/off switch. The plants soak up the UV to stimulate growth, but then you can switch off the UV individually, to reduce UV exposure to humans while tending your plants. That is a great safety feature that NO OTHER grow light provides, which is why this is our favorite #1 editor’s pick.

Zeus is designed to be expandable so you can add and connect more lights via daisy-chain connection to expand your coverage area. A single light covers and area of approx 2.5ft x 3ft. As your needs grow, add more lights (includes bracket kit) Industry leading 5-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty. Highly recommended, for personal, commercial, or research use. Check it out yourself.

 

2. Advanced Platinum Series P300 300w 11-band LED Grow Light

Boasting of an unprecedented 11 band spectrum, this product can literally handle every plant type possible. When combined with the power of the 3W LED lamps, refracted through the 60 degrees primary lens and the 90 degrees secondary lens, this ensures that the plants receive the greatest amount of light for every watt of power invested, going up to 2x-3x the light offered by other products in the same market. Finally, the product has a 4.5’x8’ light coverage area, thus making it a great option for professional growers.

Benefits accruing from this product to professionals also includes the upgraded aluminum coated heat sinks, which allow the heat to be removed quickly, thereby ensuring complete safety. With extremely quiet fans contributing to this cooling system and there being VEG/FLOWER light switching options for those unfamiliar with multiple bands, this product can also work wonders for those new to commercial indoor growing.

Read full review

 

3. G8LED 240 Watt LED Grow Light with Optimal 8-Band plus Infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet (UV)

Meant for large indoor gardening applications, this product uses the 240W lighting power available to it to reach up to 60 inches past the plant canopy, making it ideal for large gardens with a lot of dense vegetation. Considering that this penetration is true for both periods of plant growth, this feature, when used with a 90W red UFO or more of these lights, can increase the growth area remarkably through cross-lighting.

Along with the good penetration comes the equally good parallel configuration and zener protection, ensuring that there are never health hazards involved. Surprisingly, despite providing all of these excellent features, the product never requires the use of a ballast, thus allowing users to “plug and grow green” quickly. Lastly, neither is the light an eyesore, since the infrared diodes used emit light in the invisible part of the spectrum.

Read full review

 

4. Apollo Horticulture GL60LED Full Spectrum 180W LED Grow Light for Plant Growing

Offering no less than 60 pcs of 3W LED grow light chips, this product is capable of offering unmatched lighting while consuming only 180W of electricity. Even better, Apollo Horticulture has provided the GL60LED with 5 grow light bands ranging from 430 to 730nm in wavelength, thus ensuring that no matter the plant growth stage, the plant can get the requisite light energy.

Interestingly, this seemingly low power grow light can cover an astounding 5 square feet, and in doing so, penetrate the canopy to sufficient levels as well. Indeed, Apollo has further facilitated such penetration by providing stainless steel clips that are custom-made for the product.  Given that Apollo Horticulture’s products remain cool even when running continuously, this makes the product ideal for small grow rooms capable of accommodating only one grow light.

Read full review

 

5. TaoTronics LED Plant Grow Light For Hydroponic Garden Greenhouse

A regular chart-topper in the grow light category and especially popular with beginners, this TaoTronics product comes with 12 LED pieces, each of which use the proven 3W architecture to produce optimal lighting quality. It fits into a standard bulb socket like that of a desk lamp holder. Further, at its extremely low price, it offers two extremely useful lighting bands, thereby catering to the key parts of the plant cycle. With a lifespan of 50,000 hours and the ability to produce light quantities much greater than those of HID or fluorescent lights, these features make for an extremely versatile product that can improve plant health significantly in only two weeks of regular usage.

Improving this versatility is the internal design architecture, which allows the internal voltage to be kept low at all times, thereby ensuring low chances of short circuiting or overheating. This internal design innovation is combined with a simple all-metal exterior and standard E27 socket. When considered alongside the heat sink-like exterior, it becomes clear that this product can be situated extremely close to the plant surface, thus making it useful for small grow rooms or grow tents, which can have low overhead ceilings. This is a great pick for the beginner or hobby grower.

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Best LED Grow Lights over $500 – for Serious Growers

The California Lightworks Solarstorm 440W is a great choice for serious growers. Read the Solarstorm review.

 

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What to look for before purchasing?

Different plants require different light spectra, temperatures and exposure times. The different models of LED grow lights come with different specifications to cater to the various need of the user. However,  there are certain core specifications to look for before you choose the right grow light for your plants. The determining factors for choosing the right light are being discussed here:

• The wattage of the light is the very first thing to consider as you have to make sure how much light and heat your plants need.
• The chip of the lights is should also be considered as the lights with more than 3W chip are considered to be of the correct penetrating capacity
• Checking the output of the grow light is important as it will determine the amount of heat and light your plants will be receiving from a particular light.
• You have to look for the spectrum that is necessary for your plants, find out the one having the right spectrum level.
• The heat-sink and the cooling system are important for the lights because unless these components are good, the longevity of the light will be hampered.
• Make sure that the lights you buy consist of lenses instead of reflectors.

If you are looking for something worth the money and want quality results, then the above products can be great candidates for raising your plants. Among the selection of full spectrum LED grow lights, several of these are a great choice for medical cannabis growers everywhere. Again depending on what size of area and how big the plants you are growing may be, choose the right one. Most importantly, go out there and have fun growing!

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Understanding Plant Light Spectrum

It is important to review a few facts about light and plants, specifically regarding the plant light spectrum. You probably already know that white light is actually composed of a combination of the rainbow of colors. Each color represents a different band or segment of the spectrum. So why are most plants green? That’s because they reflect the green spectrum band, they reject green. For some reason, they prefer light from the rest of the spectrum, namely blues and reds (and UV and IR as extensions). This is why plant lights appear like a purplish mix of reds and blues, according to various ratios.

Wavelength Adjustment – Full Spectrum

During the different stages of the growth, the marijuana requires varying light adjustments. The blue spectrum is necessary for the vegetative growth. During the pre-flowering and flowering stages, the spectrum of yellow, red and far-red are required.LED light modules with the wavelength adjustment of 3 Bands, 5 Bands or more are therefore required to ensure successful yield.

An ideally designed grow light for plants should produce exactly the right kind of light spectrum that plants need, and not waste energy radiating light in a spectrum band that the light does not need. LED light technology allows us to tune the frequency bands of the system so that they deliver the optimal plant light spectrum to maximize growth while saving energy (and dollar bills). Look for lights that have a high PAR value, that’s the metric you want to look for.

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Safety Grow Room Glasses

For your safety or that of your workers, don’t forget to wear special eye protection. Check out these grow room glasses reviews, and get our recommendations.

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How to grow weed fast and easy?

Are you just getting started? Do you want to quickly and easily set up your grow operation, so you can get going fast and get results like the pros?

If you don’t have the time to figure it all out yourself, you might want to look into getting a grow tent combo kit that has everything you need to get up and running fast. There are some really great quick-start kits. Check out my reviews of Gorilla grow tent combo kits (with included LED lights).  These kits are amazing! And, they come in a range of sizes to suit your space and budget!

If you are a beginner, you’ll want to read this informative article on How to Set Up a Grow Tent.

How to grow marijuana and more info

The proper growth of marijuana strains in the hydroponic garden depends largely on the amount of light and its penetration potential. There are many reputed brands selling lights of different sizes, thermal management, bands, wavelengths, grow light lenses, etc. Hence, the purchase decision is influenced by several factors. Even minor changes in the adjustments of LED lighting can damage the crops or may not produce a sub-par harvest. It is therefore imperative that one keep in mind certain vital factors for indoor growing using LED grow lights. These factors have been analyzed in some detail in the pages of this site.

Here at LEDGrowLightsExpert.com we also bring you various useful articles such as an Intro to Medical Marijuana, Hydroponic Weed, Fertilizing Marijuana, and more.

For your info, in 2016 we’ll be brining you new articles on Legalization of Marijuana as well as industry news (read: GE kills CFL).

Serious growers and large-scale commercial growers already about the benefits of LED grow lights, and indeed the LED grow lights industry is taking off

If you really want to up your game and master the craft you’ll need to spend quality time on some other sites where you can learn how to grow marijuana like a champ.  And if you want to check out some other LED grow lights that are worth considering, take a look at the offering from SuperGrowLED and read their LED grow light review.

Check back as we will be adding a few new LED grow lights reviews throughout the rest of 2016, and list the top recommended brands.

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Best Bud Trimmer Machines

Using the right LED grow lights will give you lush flower buds, and soon you will be ready to harvest. Then by now you might want to start some light trimming of the excess or damaged or dead larger leaves, basically you are pruning the plant a bit. Soon enough you will be ready to harvest your lush flower buds.

The buds also have some leaves that must be trimmed. Some people opt to do this by hand for small lots, but for larger and more efficient operations you really need a machine, a bud trimmer machine. In the long run, the machines will pay for themselves in terms of time savings and even reduced labor costs.

If you are serious about the biz, you’ll want one of these bud trimmer machines. Check them out on amazon below, and come back for our in-depth bud trimmer reviews and best picks for 2016.

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Best LED Grow Lights UK

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LED Grow Lights Market

As the LED grow light reviews above show quite clearly, the market does indeed offer a wide range of lighting options. While it is true that more specialized options are indeed available, the above grow light solutions should provide sufficient choices for the average grower. Before making the final purchase though, it is important to remember to study the exact needs of your grow room and plants you are growing or intend to grow.

For instance, if you desire is to cultivate a small number of plants, the G8LED lights mentioned above may prove to be overkill. Further, it is vital to check whether you require lights which offer specialized dimming, rapid or scheduled spectrum change or other options that may be needed in exceptional circumstances. Once you have carefully chosen the criteria, you can proceed with shortlisting products from the above list, thereby assuring yourself and your plants of an excellent growing season in 2016.

LED grow lights may not have been an indoor horticulture lighting option for your parents, and if you ask them, they’d probably suggest the inefficient incandescent or fluorescent lights, and add a warning that these are electricity guzzlers, overheaters and tend to have short lifetimes.

Thankfully, in the past couple of decades, a new type of technology called Light Emitting Diode, has rapidly gained prevalence. Today we use LEDs in everything from TVs to car lamps, praising them for their excellent lighting quality, longevity, consistent lighting, low heating and low power consumption.

Interestingly, when applied to the field of indoor growing, LED lights offer the additional advantages of full spectrum lighting, gradual dimming and excellent flexibility. No wonder then, that our parents’ generation of unwieldy incandescent, fluorescent and HID lamps are rapidly giving way to LED grow lights.

Energy Efficiency

The LED lights are more energy efficient compared to other lights. The Total Internal Reflective (TIR) lenses in the LED lights precisely gather and guide the light for greater output without much power consumption. Indeed, demonstrations reveal that they can help save around 50% of your annual expenses on electricity.

Thermal Management

Using traditional grow lights with filaments simply means that majority of the power consumption (95%) results in the heat generation. Due to the absence of filament in the LED lights, they do not heat up like most other grow lights.

The experienced marijuana growers suggest that under the same conditions of temperature, humidity and other factors, the increase in illumination leads to maximization the flowering of the plant. The greater efficiency of the LED lights implies greater light availability for the plant to use, and hence produce better quality and quantity yields.

However, given their recent evolution from the terrain of scientific research, and the wide range of companies that are dipping their hands in this expanding market, it is easy to become lost in a maze of LED brands and jargon. To help you navigate your wallet to the most value for money proposition, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 LED grow lights in the market today, along with a short list of points to mull over before making the final purchase.

Also, be sure to check out the great article on light metering, another important tool every serious grower needs in their tool chest, the light meter, and learn about the importance of measuring LED lumens.

 

Latest LED Grow Lights Expert Reviews

Be sure to check out my recent posts, which include:

Advanced Platinum Series P1200 1200w 12-band LED Grow Light
Advanced Platinum Series P900 900w 11-band LED Grow Light
Advanced Platinum Series P450 450w 11-band LED Grow Light
Gorilla Grow Tent All-in-One Reviews
Light Metering – LED lumens

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Top 10 LED Grow Lights 2014-2015

Here’s our picks for the Top 10 LED grow lights in the 2014-2015 market, to help you decide.

1. TaoTronics TT-GL05 UFO Led Grow Light 90W For Plant Growing Germinating Flowing Seeding (45*3W, 135W Theoretically)*

A powerful 90W lighting option, this TaoTronics product offers full spectrum lighting  with 3 bands of red, blue and orange combined in the optimal ratio of 7:1:1. This ensures that the light suffices for all growing periods, and can provide equal growth opportunities to flowers, blooms and buds. Indeed, many users claim that this light provides the exact wavelengths needed for the plants to grow rapidly.

Additionally, despite LEDs being low-heat lights, TaoTronics keeps all bases covered using three fans which remove any heat produced quickly and efficiently. Coupled with up to 90% more efficient functioning as compared to HIDs or fluorescent lights, this product is a great option for a small to medium grow room.

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2. SUNTech LED 360W LED Grow Light with Optimal Spectrum with Infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet (UV)

Optimized for growers specializing in hydroponics, this SunTech competitor can ensure that up to 90% of the light energy it gives out is absorbed by the aquatic plant, thus maximizing its chances of blooming rapidly. This relation between absorption and fruition is ensured by the fact that lighting is provided by high quality 3W lighting sources, there being virtually no degradation in quality for up to 50,000 hours. Further, the lights are emitted through optical lenses, which ensure that they spread and exert energy in the exact region expected of them.

For larger grow rooms, they can be combined together and installed in a short span of time courtesy of their glueless easy-to-install structure. Coupled with the advanced heat dissipation system that ensures rapid removal of heat while reducing noise levels by 50%, this product’s features can revolutionize any grow room.

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3. G8LED 240 Watt LED Grow Light with Optimal 8-Band plus Infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet (UV)

Meant for large indoor gardening applications, this product uses the 240W lighting power available to it to reach up to 60 inches past the plant canopy, making it ideal for large gardens with a lot of dense vegetation. Considering that this penetration is true for both periods of plant growth, this feature, when used with a 90W red UFO or more of these lights, can increase the growth area remarkably through cross-lighting.

Along with the good penetration comes the equally good parallel configuration and zener protection, ensuring that there are never health hazards involved. Surprisingly, despite providing all of these excellent features, the product never requires the use of a ballast, thus allowing users to “plug and grow green” quickly. Lastly, neither is the light an eyesore, since the infrared diodes used emit light in the invisible part of the spectrum.

Read full review

4. G8LED 450 Watt LED Grow Light with Optimal 8-Band plus Infrared (IR) and Ultraviolet (UV)

The bigger brother of the G8LED 240W led grow light, this product offers a massive 450W of power, making it suitable only for grow rooms of 12 square feet or more. If this space is available though, this light can provide extremely powerful lighting that penetrates thick canopies, accelerates plant growth regardless of the growth stage and most vitally, covers all growth phases. In addition, this is one of the few grow lights that can service extremely large grow areas when coupled with 2-3 other G8LED 450W lights, placed in an arrangement where the central light is 4 feet on center of the arrangement.

Further, the product’s excellent design architecture ensures that the user never has to worry about burning his/her hands when touching the product. Coupled with the facts that the product uses the well-considered 3W LED chips and offers 50,000 hours of 15 years of steady lighting, these features ensure that the G8LED 450W is an excellent long term solution.

Read full review

5. Purple LED light for plant growing

Coming with patented LED technology meant especially for growing, this Kessil product comes with a penta-band spectrum, meaning that five different arrangements of blue and red LEDs combine to ensure that the plants are well-cared for at all stages of their growth. Further, the product comes with an extremely efficient electricity-to-light energy conversion system that allows the whole unit to run on less than 36W.

Furthermore, the purple light penetrates into the canopy efficiently, even as the light remains cool to the touch even after hours of functioning. Offering a long lifespan without appreciable lighting quality degradation, this product is ideal for small to medium grow rooms housing a variety of plants.

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6. Apollo Horticulture GL60LED Full Spectrum 180W LED Grow Light for Plant Growing

Offering no less than 60 pcs of 3W LED grow light chips, this product is capable of offering unmatched lighting while consuming only 180W of electricity. Even better, Apollo Horticulture has provided the GL60LED with 5 grow light bands ranging from 430 to 730nm in wavelength, thus ensuring that no matter the plant growth stage, the plant can get the requisite light energy.

Interestingly, this seemingly low power grow light can cover an astounding 5 square feet, and in doing so, penetrate the canopy to sufficient levels as well. Indeed, Apollo has further facilitated such penetration by providing stainless steel clips that are custom-made for the product.  Given that Apollo Horticulture’s products remain cool even when running continuously, this makes the product ideal for small grow rooms capable of accommodating only one grow light.

Read full review

7. TaoTronics LED Plant Grow Light For Hydroponic Garden Greenhouse

A regular chart-topper in the grow light category, this TaoTronics product comes with 12 LED pieces, each of which use the 3W architecture to produce optimal lighting quality. Further, at its extremely low price, it offers two extremely useful lighting bands, thereby catering to all parts of the plant cycle. Clubbed with a 50,000 hours lifespan and the ability to produce light quantities much greater than those of HID or fluorescent lights, these features make for an extremely versatile product that can improve plant health significantly in only two weeks of regular usage.

Improving this versatility is the internal design architecture, which allows the internal voltage to be kept low at all times, thereby ensuring low chances of short circuiting or overheating. This internal design innovation is combined with a simple all-metal exterior and standard E27 socket that can fit even into a desk lamp holder. When considered alongside the heat sink-like exterior, it becomes clear that this product can be situated extremely close to the plant surface, thus making it useful for small grow rooms or grow tents, which can have low overhead ceilings.

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8. Advanced Platinum Series P300 300w 11-band LED Grow Light

Boasting of an unprecedented 11 band spectrum, this product can literally handle every plant type possible. When combined with the power of the 3W LED lamps, refracted through the 60 degrees primary lens and the 90 degrees secondary lens, this ensures that the plants receive the greatest amount of light for every watt of power invested, going up to 2x-3x the light offered by other products in the same market. Finally, the product has a 4.5’x8’ light coverage area, thus making it a great option for professional growers.

Benefits accruing from this product to professionals also includes the upgraded aluminum coated heat sinks, which allow the heat to be removed quickly, thereby ensuring complete safety. With extremely quiet fans contributing to this cooling system and there being VEG/FLOWER light switching options for those unfamiliar with multiple bands, this product can also work wonders for those new to commercial indoor growing.

Read full review

9. Galaxy hydro LED Grow Light Full Spectrum 300w for Greenhouse and Indoor Plant Flowering Growing

Not to be left behind, this Galaxyhydro product comes with a 9 band spectrum that even includes infrared and ultraviolet LEDs for purposes of catalysing cell division and sterilizing the plant surfaces of bacteria, etc. On the other hand, the product avoids the common pitfall of providing too much white light (which is useless for the plants) at the cost of useful red and blue light. Further, the product comes with a revolutionary PCB system that allows the fan to run 80% cooler compared to other products, thus ensuring that the product can run for long periods without overheating.

Additionally, the product comes with a Zener protection system, which allows the capacitive circuits to continue working even when one LED stops working. When combined with the excellent design and the thoughtfully included stainless steel rope hanger – evidence of the company’s six years of experience – this product comes across as a great medium grow room option.

Read full review

10. Advanced Platinum Series P450 450w 11-band LED Grow Light – DUAL VEG/FLOWER SPECTRUM

Coming with 150 Bridgelux LEDs clocked at 3W each, this product can provide one of the highest lumen/watt output among LED grow lights. In addition, this product comes with a highly respectable 11 band spectrum, matched only by another Advanced Platinum product. With the product capable of working well for 50,000 hours even under heavy usage, these features allow this product to replace a 600W HPS light with ease.

Furthermore, the product comes with two lenses – a primary one that allows 60 degrees refraction, and a secondary one that allows for 90 degrees light deviation. Coupled with the 274W power capacity of the product, this light spread ensures that the product can provide excellent lighting even to areas as large as 4.5′ x 4′.

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