Is LED Grow Light better than HPS?

If you are an indoor planting enthusiast, you will find that more and more indoor growers are now using LED Grow Light. Whether it is people who grow vegetables or weeds indoors, they seem to recognize it. Before this, indoor growers generally used HPS, and now many indoor growers also use HPS. These two groups are also arguing on the Internet, then is led grow light better than HPS? As a product that has only been popular for a few years, some friends may not know it well, so today I will give you a detailed introduction to led grow light, and explain its advantages and disadvantages with HPS.

What is led grow light?

Led grow light is a kind of grow light that uses light-emitting diodes as the light source. The purpose of research and development is to ban HID and HPS lights. So how did it ban HPS lights? What are its advantages?

Advantages and disadvantages of led grow light

Advantage 1. Higher efficiency

LED has an efficiency that HID can’t match. Compared with HID and HPS lamps, LEDs of the same wattage can produce more light, and the quality of the light is higher, and it consumes less energy. For growers The most concerned PPFD and PPF, led grow light can reach an incredible 2.8 µmol/J, which can greatly shorten the time required for plant growth.

Advantage 2. Reduced HVAC system requirements

Indoor growers who use HPS lights often have to use an HVAC system to cool down and maintain air flow. Such a system requires a lot of money to build, and LEDs generate less heat than HPS because of their own production. There are many, so if you use LEDs, you can reduce your HVAC system expenditure, and you may even no longer need to use the HVAC system.

Advantage 3. Long service lifes

Different from HPS, LED does not need to change bulbs or tubes all the time when in use, and the use time can reach more than 50,000 hours, and there is no light decay phenomenon in the whole process.

Advantage 4. Easy to maintain

Most LED products have a very good advantage, that is, good sealing, waterproof and dustproof. When you sprinkle water on your plants, it does not matter even if you sprinkle on the LED and will not be affected.

Advantage 5. Dimmable

One of the biggest features of LEDs is that they can be dimmed without reducing power and efficiency. What does this mean? This means that you can always use the same plant light during the growth cycle and adjust the light intensity according to your needs.

Advantage 6. Full spectrum

The HPS lamp generally emits red light, which is often used for plants in the flowering period, while the LED grow light supports full-spectrum light, which can cover the wavelength of 400-700nm. Whether it is blue light, green light, yellow light, or red light, these lights that are helpful for plant growth are included in it, which can meet all the light required for the entire growth of plants.

Disadvantages 1. Large initial investment

Compared with HPS, the initial investment of LED Grow Light is relatively large, and this is also a point that most indoor growers cannot accept, because it means that they have to invest up to several hundred dollars for a plant growth light.

Disadvantages 2. Dehumidification

Because the heat generated by LEDs is small, and when plants continue to photosynthesize, they will release some water, resulting in a relatively humid planting environment. This is also one point that needs to be solved when using LED Grow Light.

Advantages and disadvantages of HPS

Because HPS used to be the mainstream plant growth lamp, its advantages are basically similar to the advantages mentioned by the LED just exemplified, so I won't repeat it here in HPS.

Advantages 1. High power

Because HPS is its own working principle, it will continuously increase the voltage from start-up to full operation, which will produce strong light. This is more suitable for some plants that require stronger lighting.

Advantages 2. High calories

Because it releases strong light, it immediately brings high heat, which is also an advantage for plants that need a warm environment.

Disadvantages 1. The heat is too high

The high heat released by HPS is an advantage for some plants, but for most plants, excessive heat may cause plants to be "baked".

Disadvantages 2. Single spectrum

The spectrum of HPS illumination is relatively simple, generally red light is the mainstay, which is more suitable for flowering plants. For plants at other growth stages, a single red light is not enough.

Disadvantages 3. High energy consumption

HPS releases strong light and high heat, so the energy consumption is also very large, almost twice that of LEDs of the same wattage.

Disadvantages 4. It is troublesome to deal with

Because of the characteristics of HPS, bulbs or tubes must be replaced every once in a while. Most HPS uses mercury, which is a pollutant and cannot be discarded casually, so it is a bit troublesome to handle.

In conclusion

Because of the characteristics and advantages of LED, LED Grow Light can perfectly replace the effect that HPS brings to indoor growers, and can do better. The disadvantage is that you need to invest a lot of money in the early stage, but if you have long-term indoor planting In terms of crop planning, I personally suggest that LED Grow Light is better than HPS.

Recommend led grow light

In the end, I recommend a very good Grow Light, that is, the PG03 LED Grow Light produced by HISHINE. It has a PPFD of up to 2.8 µmol/J, which can provide plants with ultra-high photon efficiency flux and help plants grow quickly. More flowers and fruits are grown, and additional crop yields are increased. It is very friendly to novice growers, it is very convenient to install and use, and the intelligent control allows users to modulate the lights with their mobile phones, making your indoor planting easier.