Getting the right kind of light for your plants, to help them grow, is essential to make sure that they stay at their healthiest. These "grow lights" must be the right wavelength and offer light for the right duration. There are two primary forms of grow lights: the fluorescent light and the LED light. Let's examine why the LED grow light is the better choice for you.
The Fluorescent Grow Light
A fluorescent grow light is beneficial only in the first stages of a plant's life cycle. They're better for use on vegetative plants and leafy plants--but even then, they're not as helpful during the plant's later life stages. Plants that grow fruits or which bloom do not benefit so much from fluorescent grow lights. That's because it's been discovered that fluorescent light is not good for promoting flowering within plants.
Fluorescent lights, as well as metal halide bulbs, don't shine with quite the intensity of other light bulbs. They are fairly cool and burn efficiently, but still, the emitted light isn't enough for most plants to fully benefit from the light which is emitted. You could place the lights closer to the plant, which would help solve the problem. This creates another problem, though--that of the heat dehydrating the plant. One other problem with fluorescent grow lights is that they contain mercury and, if they're not properly disposed of, could harm the environment.
LED Grow Light
In comparison, the LED grow light is friendlier to the environment (There's no mercury and the cool-lighting uses very little power). Although the LED light was first used for display screens in various electronics devices, they've now expanded to a wide range of applications. One of these is to help grow indoor plants. There is almost no heat produced, which means you save money on electricity costs. They're just as bright as halogen bulbs, but with longer life spans. A typical LED growth light bulb will last for up to 60,000 hours, compared to the 10,000 hours for a fluorescent bulb.
Cost of the LED Growth Light
It's true that LED growth lights tend to be priced higher than fluorescent growth lights. However, this is more than made up for by how little energy they use and how long they last. These two factors make LED growth lights the better bargain in the long run.
Choosing Your Growth Light
When you choose a growth light for your indoor plants, your own intentions and plans for the plants should be an important consideration. If your only need is to move a few outdoor plants inside, or if you live in a place where there's not much sunlight in the winter months (for instance, in Alaska), then a fluorescent light might be the more economical way to go. However, if you plan to grow more than one or two plants indoors, and plan to have them inside on a permanent basis, or if you have some exotic plants that you need to nourish, then you need to buy LED growth lights. They will provide your plants with the nourishing light so essential for their survival.
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