Best Practices for LED Greenhouse Lighting?

[delightfulbags]

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring LED lighting options for my greenhouse and wanted to get some advice from experienced growers. I’m particularly interested in understanding the optimal light spectrum, intensity, and duration for promoting plant growth throughout different stages, including seedling, vegetative, and flowering.

How do LED setups compare to traditional HPS or fluorescent lights in terms of energy efficiency and yield? Are there specific brands or models you’ve found reliable? I’m also curious about potential heat issues and whether supplemental lighting is ever needed.

Any tips on placement, scheduling, or cost-effective strategies would be greatly appreciated!

 

[delightfulbags]

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring LED lighting options for my greenhouse and wanted to get some advice from experienced growers. I’m particularly interested in understanding the optimal light spectrum, intensity, and duration for promoting plant growth throughout different stages, including seedling, vegetative, and flowering.

How do LED setups compare to traditional HPS or fluorescent lights in terms of energy efficiency and yield? Are there specific brands or models you’ve found reliable? I’m also curious about potential heat issues and whether supplemental lighting is ever needed.

Any tips on placement of LED greenhouse lighting, scheduling, or cost-effective strategies would be greatly appreciated!

thanks in advance for any help

 

[gardenstart]

After doing a bunch of research, I got these Sunblaster Prismatic ones a couple years ago and they are great:

PRISMATIC LED LIGHT STRIP LIGHTS

www.sunblasterlighting.com

They're very powerful, full-spectrum, and not too expensive for what you get.
I don't need too much red (purple) light since I'm not growing anything that flowers, and I read that's what that type of light is for.
These are used for tomato seedlings, wheatgrass, microgreens, lettuce, etc.

 

[cpp gardener]

If you're growing all kinds of stuff, get the strongest full-spectrum fixtures you can find.

 

[oneeye]

The main reason to use a LED in the greenhouse is to regulate the photoperiod. It doesn't take that many watts to do that. The daylight hrs during the Winter is enough to keep a greenhouse producing plenty if the photoperiod is extended. Using high intensity discharge lamps like HPS are mainly used as a heating source in hard Winter settings. The most importing thing with supplementing light is consistency. Timers are as important as the lights so make sure you get a quality timer. Please keep us posted on you project.

 

[GFTL]

I would like to know a good answer for this question as well. Most information out there talks about grow room lighting and not greenhouse lighting. Covering a 102 square foot area is easily accomplished but when you're talking about a larger area, even something as small as an 8x10 greenhouse, that information seems to go out the window.

 

[cpp gardener]

Mostly because natural light in a greenhouse is so much brighter than anything you can affordably get from artificial lighting.
BTW an 8’x10’ greenhouse is 80 sq ft so the same lighting you use in a 102 sq ft grow room would work fine. Natural sunlight would be quite sufficient, unless you’re growing under a solid roof.

 

[GFTL]

Mostly because natural light in a greenhouse is so much brighter than anything you can affordably get from artificial lighting.
BTW an 8’x10’ greenhouse is 80 sq ft so the same lighting you use in a 102 sq ft grow room would work fine. Natural sunlight would be quite sufficient, unless you’re growing under a solid roof.

I guess I misspoke when I said grow room. I was thinking more along the lines of seedling starts on a shelf. All of the "experiments" you see on YouTube are done in a small area when testing lights.