Compare LED Grow Lights to Halide Grow Lights

An LED offers several benefits over halide grow lights.

Two of the most common sources of artificial lighting for growing plants are LED lamps and metal halide grow lamps. Each type of lamp has advantages and disadvantages that gardeners must weigh when choosing between the two lamp types.

Features

Most plants use the red and blue spectrum of light. They reflect the yellow and green spectrum away, which is why plants look green in color. LED lamps can selectively emit the correct color spectrum of light for a plant, while halide grow lights cannot.

Function

Plants require a proper amount of light in order to undergo photosynthesis. Without the correct amount of light, plants will become spindly or leggy. A single LED lamp cannot emit enough light to feed a plant. Halide lights that are priced similar to LED lamps emit greater quantities of light and penetrate further into a plant's foliage to feed the plant.

Warning

Halide lights produce heat that can kill a plant if it is not vented away from the plant. In greenhouses and grow rooms, the heat is often pulled out of the room with an exhaust fan. LED lamps do not heat as they produce light.

References

• University of Missouri Extension: Lighting Indoor Houseplants
• Iowa State University Extension: Lighting & Houseplants

Resources

• University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension: Fluorescent Lights For Plant Growth