Busting six myths about LED grow lights - part 1: Yield

Many myths surround the use of LED lamps for indoor and greenhouse commercial growing. Many of these myths are based on unproven and possibly inaccurate information. The most common myth about growroom LED lamps is that yield suffers but quality of product may be achieved.

Underpowered, inferior and surprisingly low cost LED lamps permeate the market. Their poor performance negatively (and unfairly) affects the overall general perception of genuinely reliable high-powered, high-performing units from market leaders. This is one reason many growers remain skeptical about the technology, never mind the fact that the industry bought into LED technology before it was mature enough to deliver next to HID lamp technology.

Indoor and greenhouse growers who are contemplating the proper lighting equipment for their grow facilities inevitably arrive at the dilemma of HID vs. LED, so the Heliospectra team will the next three weeks go Myth-buster for you with our list of SIX (6) LED MYTHS … easily disproven … involving key performance and benefits areas that, though often misunderstood, still help growers determine their final grow light choices.

Let’s start with one subject all growers focus on - Yield

Busted:

This is the number one Myth, because it is generally true, but, like Heliospectra lamps and other higher quality LED technology has proven, yield is achievable. The primary reason yield has suffered (and continues to with most lamps) is simple - lamps are generally incapable of pushing photons deep into the canopy in a uniform manner. Without optics, high quality parts, superior engineering and a highly engineered heat dissipation solution, a lamp will not deliver a comparable (much less better) yield. Look for lamps that deliver light - on par (pun intended) with - HID. Light intensity is measurable - combined with the right spectrum, lamps like the Heliospectra LX60 models are capable of delivering industry standard yields.

Our experience from working with our customers is that yield is achievable for both vegetable and flower crops. Using our targeted spectrum we have customers who have decreased flowering by up to 14 days thereby achieving faster time to market and better than average yields. Among our greenhouse growers we have seen not only a standard yield but also a higher quality in the crops grown compared to HPS lighting.

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