There are many reasons to use LED lights when growing cannabis.
1. Affordability
For many, the main reason is that they are relatively cheap compared to pricier HID configurations. This is especially true if you have fewer plants. When LEDs first gained acceptance among growers, the technology was fairly new and not yet fully developed. Think how expensive and inconvenient a cutting-edge technology like a smartphone was when it first came out, and often not worth it. For example, many believed that the first-generation iPhone was not the best. However, today's smartphones are more affordable and ubiquitous.
2. Energy saving and privacy
Another thing to consider is how much energy bills LED cannabis grow lights will be able to save. The amount of energy used by HID lights can cause a user's electricity bill to skyrocket. Not only is this expensive, it also draws unwanted attention from landlords, neighbours and the police. When people have to keep their marijuana cultivation activities private, skyrocketing electricity bills often make them give up. While marijuana is now legal in many areas, that doesn't necessarily mean the user wants the entire community to know what he's doing.
3. Reduce water consumption
Not only are LED lights more energy efficient, they also save water. Since HID lights use a lot of energy, they generate more heat, which can significantly raise the temperature in the grow room, causing plants to consume more water. Compared to other plants, cannabis itself requires a large amount of water, and even growing a small number of plants can consume a lot of water. Anything that reduces water usage is good for the environment, not to mention good for users' utility bills.
4. Durability
LED lights last longer than HID or CFL bulbs, ensuring years of good service before needing replacement. Traditional cannabis grow lights only last 20,000 hours. In contrast, LED bulbs have a lifespan of more than twice that, up to 50,000 hours, and sometimes 100,000 hours (but to distinguish it from light decay).
5.Spectrum
Cost isn't the only reason users turn to LED lights. Experienced growers know that seedlings and plants in the vegetative stage benefit more from blue light, while flowering plants need red light to thrive. Before the advent of LEDs, growers had to buy two different types of lamps: metal halide lamps, which are used for plant growth or with sufficient blue light, and high pressure sodium lamps, which are used in the final flowering stage.
With LED cannabis plant lights, this is not the case. LEDs in different light bands enable growers to manipulate the spectrum, allowing users to use the same light settings for both growth stages. Not only does this eliminate the need to purchase two different types of lighting setups, but it also guarantees the best results for the user's plants!
If users want to grow multiple plants, they don't have to buy more expensive HID lights, just add a few larger LED lights to the greenhouse. If the user chooses the latter, they need to make sure that the plants and lights are spaced properly, as the user wants to make sure that each plant gets enough light, using too few lights will cause stretching, and using too many lights will expose the user to Risk of plant burns by light and excessive energy consumption.