The comparison between LED lighting and all the others lighting is simple.  When done right and built correctly the LED’s will last ten times longer, with 50% to 90% less energy used on a constant basis.

It is really easy to see, for instance; A 4 ft florescent tube uses 40w’s for 8,000 hrs (that is 333.334 days or less than one year at 24 hours a day use)

The best fluorescent 18w 4ft tubes will last for 50,000 hours “minimally” and will have run for over 80,000 hours of testing in a lab (that is 2083.334 days or 5.71 years of continual use minimally to 3333.334 days or 9.13 years with continual use) all with more light output.

The conventional lighting with the equivalent output and coverage uses 250w minimum.

Incandescent (regular light bulbs and conventional lighting) and fluorescent tubes and even “energy saving” bulbs all have horrible toxic, dangerous and explosive chemicals in them, some of which leach out into the air. All of it will end up in the ground as these are not recycleable. It is likely that most people don’t know they are toxic and so just throw them away.

For the purposes of indoor gardening, LED lights are used as a substitute for the natural light of the sun.  A grow light refers to an electric lamp, which is designed to promote plant growth by way of emitting an electromagnetic spectrum which is appropriate for photosynthesis. This light spectrum resembles the light of the sun and allows indoor growth of the plants. Since natural daylight carries a high color temperature and appears bluish in color, a color rendering index is used for getting the bluish appearance.

Different spectrums are used during different stages of growth. In the initial stages of vegetation, a blue spectrum of light is required, whereas during the later stages, red-orange spectrums are usually used. You can buy lights of different color spectrums specifically for different stages of vegetation, or you may buy a full spectrum bulb which can be used during all the stages of growth.

I’ve just discovered “The Emerald” Supper Budding light. It’s apparently the only 90W five Band Grow light.  These new LED grow lights produce a better yield per watt at a lower cost. They save 90% on electricity and 100% on landfills.  All lights are 100% recyclable and you can replace your regular light bulbs and CFL’s . Using these lights will eliminate truly toxic gases like argon and vaporized mercury from your home.

Low heat emission eliminates the need for ducting and heat exhaust fans.  The replacements for your standard bulbs and fuorescents come in any required wavelength from 2500k to 7000k depending on your lighting requirements.

It is a common myth that plants can’t utilize more than 12 hours of light per day and require a dark period. It isn’t true. Try to imagine a plant’s growth cycle is similar to an animal, the more you feed it, the fatter and bigger it gets. If you never decided to switch to 12 hours of darkness your plants would continue to grow until they reached an unmanageable size!

It is recommended that you start the flowering stage, which is when you start the 12 hours of darkness, once your plants reach 10-18inches in height. During all stages of growth your light hood should be around 5 inches from the growing tips of your plants. Since the reflector stays cool to the touch there is no risk of your plants burning. Move the reflector up as your plants continue to grow taller.

It could be that a lot of the problems with lighting indoor gardens is being solved with LED lighting.  A new technology, which is able to expand the conventional way of lighting, offers many benefits related to running costs and efficiency.  For those who know about such things, LED grow lights are the way to go.

Since the life of an LED light is about 10 years, this fact makes it a sensible buy.  Comparing it to a conventional light, a lot of money can be saved.  LED lights are great for saving money because they are are very good on energy conservation. The average light bulb or incandescent light will draw a large amount of energy over the course of a year. LED lights require a fraction of the energy to operate and will illuminate an area proportional to the amount a normal light will.

Metal halide light bulbs are known to produce an abundance of light in the blue spectrum.  The blue color of light encourages plant growth and is especially good for green, leafy growth.  It also helps in keeping plants compact.  This is the best type of light to use as a primary light source if little or no natural sunlight is available.

The average lifespan of a metal halide bulb is about 10,000 cumulative hours.  You can keep using the bulb beyond this time and it will keep lighting up.  Due to its gradual decline, however, you would be wise to replace the bulb for full efficiency.

Comparing the metal halide’s lumen, or brightness, per unit of energy consumed, they produce up to 125 lumens per watt compared to 39 lumens per watt with standard fluorescent lights and 18 lumens per watt for standard incandescent bulbs.

Last century was a period of major scientific developments. LED was one of them. LED, or light-emitting diode, refers to an electronic light source. It was invented in Russia sometime in the 1920s by Oleg Vladimirovich Losev, who was a radio technician. Losev found out that the diodes used in radio receivers emitted light as current was passed through them. In the year 1927, the details of the first LED were published by him in a Russian journal.

In 1962, the system was introduced into America in the form of a practical electronic component.  All the early devices used to emit low-intensity red light.  However, the modern LED lights are available with visible, ultraviolet as well as infra red wavelengths and carry very high brightness.  This is perfect for growing plants indoors.

If you love to grow plants, it can really be a sad when winter approaches and puts a chilly end to your outdoor gardening. However, you don’t have to stop growing if you would like to try hydroponics gardening. You don’t need any soil for this type of gardening.  Instead, you grow your plants in mineral nutrient solutions. It’s quite easy to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers indoors, even in the depth of a bitter winter, when you choose hydroponics gardening as a hobby.

The easiest way to get started in with this style of gardening is by purchasing a kit. All plants need adequate light in order for them to grow and thrive, so grow lights are an important part of your hydroponics system. Grow light kits are available which include all the parts you will need, grow lights, digital ballast and reflectors. Many gardeners are now turning to LED grow lights, because they are small but don’t overheat and don’t neet a ballast or reflector. They also produce a tremendous amount of light efficiently in the light color spectrums you will need for your plants to flourish.

Never, under any circumstances, should soil be introduced to your hydroponic system. Soil is full of natural microbes that will contaminate and damage system. Don’t use soil as a medium for a hydroponic system and if you ever decide to move a plant from soil to hydroponics, make sure to thoroughly clean all the soil from the plant roots first.

Obviously, plants need nutrients and they normally get them from the soil. Hydroponic systems don’t use soil so those nutrients have to be delivered through another method. This is done by using nutrient solutions, which are distilled water mixed with Liquid fertilizer or nutrients that are important to the plants. The three most important nutrients are potassium, phosphorous and nitrogen so, for best growth, make sure your solution is rich in these three.

The main advantage of hydroponics is that plants can be successfully grown indoors, anywhere you have space to do so. This will probably mean that plants will not be exposed to direct sunlight for very long, or at all. If this is the case, you have to provide them with the light they need yourself for them to flourish. Indoor grow lights offer a solution that allows you to flood your plants with the light they need, anywhere, anytime.

Metal halide light bulbs are every indoor gardener’s friend. They offer a great solution for growing the best plants and flowers in the most efficient way. However, metal halide lighting isn’t the right solution for every plant or every situation. Metal halide light bulbs give off a blue-white light, which is ideal for young plants.

This particular type of lighting can help young plants to mature and maintain that maturity much longer and more effectively than any other type of lamp out there. Like other fluorescent light bulbs, the metal halide light bulb cannot function without a proper ballast. You need to make sure that you choose the right ballast for the amount of light you need.  Also that you find a ballast or grow fixture that is affordable and works for your indoor garden.