Last Updated on October 21, 2020 by David
For most gardeners, indoor gardening indeed comes with unique challenges. Some plants can grow with a little light, but more often you need to make the DIY grow lights for indoor plants so that you will have a great variety of plants in the entire year. In a nutshell, the growing lights main role is to substitute the natural sunlight, stimulating photosynthesis and flourishing the plants. with the right grow lights installed at home, you will have fresh asparagus in the colder months.
The good thing here is that you can do this all alone by equipping yourself with the basic knowledge of DIY grow lights for indoor plants.
The Grow Light Types
Before proceeding with the grow light installation, you will want to choose the best growing lights products to install.
Depending on your preferences, goals, and budgets, you will be in between the many options. For instance, there are special grow bulbs which you can get for affordable prices. Meanwhile, the brand new fixture with built-in lighting could be more expensive but have more values than the ordinary growing bulbs. But it will be up to you to choose.
If you ask the reason to choose the grow light bulbs over the fixtures, the foremost and sensible reason is affordability. For most people, growing light bulbs does not cost a lot. These are also much easier to use and install. You could just swap your current lamp with the grow bulbs, and that’s it. You will not need to spend extra for the fixture or built-in lamps. On the other side, the grow light fixtures are more expensive. However, it can light with broader radius and stronger effects. In terms of holistic quality, growing light fixtures is a better option than growing light bulbs. A single fixture can provide illumination for the multiple plants in the same room. It can also reach further distances in the room. These cfixtures are purposely designed for growling light purposes. That’s why they tend to bring better results than grow bulbs.
Which technology do you choose?
When we talk about the grow light, the technologies offered by different brands are different. There are three top technologies which are usually used in the grow light installment: the Incandescent grow light, fluorescent grow light, and LED grow light. Which one to choose? You will need to understand their basics first before proceeding.
The first one is Incandescent grow lights. These lights are the least expensive technology. The products with Incandescent grow lights tend to be more affordable than other types. However, when it comes to energy-saving, they are not the best. These lights have higher heat output, which requires more energy than the other type of lights. Incandescent grow light bulbs are the most common ones. They are low inefficiency. These might be beneficial for the first installment cost. But you need to be ready for the more expensive monthly electric bills.
The fluorescent lights produce low heat signature and distribution. But these have a decent spectrum of light for growing the plants. Fluorescent grow lights are often the preferable options because their heat is not too strong, yet not too weak. Depending on the quality of the fluorescent lights you choose, you can have such high quality growing light for your indoor plants. Fluorescent lights are also top favorite because of their energy-efficient solution. The first installment cost can be more expensive than Incandescent grow lights, but these are much more energy-efficient. It can help you to save more money for the monthly electric bills.
The last but not least technology is the LED grow lights. LED grow lights are the most recent technology in the market. LED grow lights have more energy-efficient perks than fluorescent light. These have low heat output and produce good light spectrum. Their range is medium to far, depending on the power you choose. The branded LED grow lights come with low energy usage, low heat, and growth optimization. The first installment cost can be cheaper than fluorescent lights.
Perhaps what we’d like to recommend is LED grow lights. But this will also depend on the types of indoor plants that you are planning to grow inside your room. Many people choose LED grow lights because these can provide various spectrum of lights for photosynthesis. Some indoor plants require Violet-blue spectrum light. And some indoor plants require a red light spectrum. If you are planting various indoor plants with various spectrum requirements, LED grow lights can be your best option.
Humble Verdict
Last but not least, consider reading all of the characteristics of the indoor plants you are about to choose. It is always a great idea to pick the plants which can grow together from the same spectrum of the grow light. But if you do want to choose multiple indoor plants, be prepared to invest more for the grow lights.
