Garden Grow Lights

There are three main types of hydroponic grow lights: Incandescent, fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge (HID). Incandescent lights are generally a poor choice for garden grow lights due to their inefficiency and limited light spectrum. HID grow lights are more efficient and produce more light (up to 10x more lumens/watt than an incandescent light), but also produce more heat, are more expensive, and will require the additional maintenance and expense of a ballast. You should be aware that HID hydroponic grow lights will be slow to warm up to their full strength. It can take up to 100 hours of burning before the light intensity and color will stabilize.

You can also use natural sunlight to grow indoors and skip the expense of purchasing garden grow lights. This can be done with a greenhouse, solar room, or even a large window that gets plenty of sunlight. You can also do the reverse of this and grow outdoors hydroponically. Hydroponics only means that the growing system is soilless, not necessarily that it is an indoor setup.

A general rule for your garden's required lighting is that 1000W will adequately penetrate about 16-25 square feet of plant area. To make your indoor gardening system more efficient, you should consider using a reflector and/or light mover. Also, don't forget that many types of hydroponic grow lighting require a ballast to ignite the bulb.


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