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LED Grow Lights - Getting Started Guide

by Nebula Haze

Table of Contents

Introduction

LEDs vs CFLs
LEDs vs HPS Grow Lights
How to Use LEDs
How to Avoid Problems with LEDs

Which Brands Can Be Trusted?

Advanced Platinum
Blackstar
GalaxyHydro
Pro-Grow
Other LED Grow Light Brands

Choose LED grow lights if...

You want to use the most cutting-edge indoor cannabis grow lights
You are willing to do some research to determine the best LED grow light for your space (this article should help guide you)
You have some extra money to spend on your initial setup (LEDs are expensive!)
Quality (potency, smell, trichome development) is more important to you than yields

LEDs vs CFLs

LEDs get better yields for the same amount of electricity, because LEDs are much more efficient (produce more light for the same amount of electricity) than CFLs
Unlike CFLs, LEDs don't need to be adjusted almost daily
LEDs do not give off any more heat than a CFL setup with the same amount of watts, but LEDs come with additional cooling options like heatsinks and built-in fans, which can make it easier for growers to maintain comfortable temperatures.
Many grower believe that LEDs seem to produce higher quality buds (more trichomes, higher potency, and they bring out the natural taste and smell of buds) than any other type of grow light.

Important Note about LEDs: LEDs are a popular choice for upgrading grow lights from CFLs, though it’s important to realize that good LED grow lights are still very expensive, and also that 400W of LED is not going to give you more yields than 400W of HPS, no matter what the manufacturer claims about equivalency. Unfortunately when it comes to growing cannabis, multiple tests by growers demonstrate that LEDs don’t live up to the hype of somehow magically increasing yields with far less power. Most tests indicate that yields/watt are actually higher with an HPS light in the flowering stage than LEDs. The price for LEDs is dropping each year, but remember they’re still very pricey compared to a similar wattage MH/HPS light.

LEDs vs MH/HPS

Many growers choose to mix LEDs with their HPS bulbs. In fact, combining MH/HPS with a quality LED panel is a great way to improve the quality of your harvested buds. LEDs seem to increase potency and density, as well as bring out the natural smell/taste of your strain. Some growers believe that HPS tends to produce "prettier" buds.

If you’re most concerned with improving your yields, skip the LEDs and get an HPS grow light for your flowering stage. MH/HPS will tend to give you a bigger return on yields when it comes to how much electricity is being used.
MH/HPS grow lights are much cheaper to get started with than LEDs.
LED grow lights are not as standardized as MH/HPS grow lights. While you can follow standard rules for MH/HPS grow lights, with LED grow lights it's important to contact the manufacturer for information since each model is different
Many growers believe that LEDs seem to produce higher quality buds (more trichomes, higher potency, and bring out the natural taste and smell of buds). The best results seem to come from mixing both HPS and LEDS in the flowering stage, which gives the best of both worlds.

How to Use LED Grow Lights

With LED grow lights, you will generally get better results with more smaller LED panels than a few big LED panels. For example, you will often get better results with 2 x 125W LEDs (total 250W) than you would with a single LED model that produces 250W. This is because more panels makes it easier for you to spread the light to where it's needed.

When it comes to growing cannabis, LED models with 2W or 3W chipsets (each individual bulb is 2 or 3W) seem to get some of the best yields/watt of all LED models without a lot of worry about light-burning your plants.

With LEDs, always look at the “actual power draw” or "actual power consumption" which is the amount of electricity the LED panel actually pulls from the wall. When comparing different LED grow lights, this is the closest you get to a side-by-side comparison.

Generally your goal with LED panels should be 50-60 watts per square foot of grow space to get the best results.

The most important thing to remember about LED grow lights….

You Get What You Pay For!

How to Avoid Problems with LEDs

One thing to know about LED grow lights - they grow cannabis differently than other grow lights!

Things to know about LED grow lights...

LEDs often cause cannabis leaves to become discolored or look like they have nutrient deficiencies, even if nutrient levels are fine. This is especially common in the flowering/budding phase. Discolored leaves doesn't necessarily mean you've done anything wrong. As long as plant is growing healthfully and not losing leaves, this isn't something to be immediately alarmed about.
There's no one distance LED lights should be from the tops of your plants. Each model is different. It's important to ask the manufacturer how far to keep LEDs from your plants.
If just the tops of your plants are getting burned, chances are that your LED lights are too close.
While LED grow lights usually get lower yields than HPS grow lights, buds grown under LEDs are known for producing sticky, strong and smelly buds

Now that you know which problems to look out for, are you ready to get your lights?

Which brands can be trusted?

There are many more brands of LED grow lights, and a lot of them are probably great for growing cannabis, but I’m only listing brands that I personally know for certain (through testing on real cannabis plants) whose LED grow lights will work well for growing cannabis.

Advanced Platinum Grow Lights (breakdown of models)
Blackstar LED Grow Lights (breakdown of models)
HydroGalaxy LED Grow Lights (breakdown of models)
Pro-Grow LED Grow Lights (breakdown of models)
Other LED Grow Light Brands for growing cannabis

Advanced Platinum LED Grow Lights

A relatively new name on the scene, Advanded Platinum LED grow lights are definitely being sold at a premium price, but they are also getting really great results for a lot of growers.

This company is known for great customer service and a 5-year warranty on all their lights.

Which LED model should I get from Advanced Platinum for my grow space? Matching the right lamp(s) for the space is crucial. A rough ballpark…

Breakdown of Different Advanced Platinum LED Models:

Advanced Platinum P150

Grow Space: 1.5'x2' or 2'x2.5’
Actual Power Consumption: 50W in veg, 100W in flowering (this model has a separate vegetatve and flowering mode)
How Far to Keep from Plants: 22-36" is the standard starting distance for the vegetative stage. You can move it to 18" away in the flowering stage, or possibly even a few inches closer for light-loving strains.
Expected Yields: 1.5 - 3.5 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

Advanced Platinum P300

Grow Space: 2'x2.5' or 2.5'x3'
Actual Power Consumption: 93W in veg, 185W in flowering (this model has a separate vegetatve and flowering mode)
How Far to Keep from Plants: 24-38" is the standard starting distance for the vegetative stage. You can move it to 18-20" away in the flowering stage, or possibly even a few inches closer for light-loving strains.
Expected Yields: 3 - 6.5 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

Advanced Platinum P450

Grow Space: 2'x3' or 3'x3.5'
Actual Power Consumption: 93W in veg, 185W in flowering (this model has a separate vegetatve and flowering mode)
How Far to Keep from Plants: 24-38" is the standard starting distance for the vegetative stage. You can move it to 18-20" away in the flowering stage, or possibly even a few inches closer for light-loving strains.
Expected Yields: 3 - 6.5 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

Advanced Platinum P600

Grow Space: 3'x4' or 3'x5'
Actual Power Consumption: 184W in veg, 368W in flowering (this model has a separate vegetatve and flowering mode)
How Far to Keep from Plants: 24-38" is the standard starting distance for the vegetative stage. You can move it to 18-20" away in the flowering stage, or possibly even a few inches closer for light-loving strains.
Expected Yields: 6.5 - 13 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

Blackstar LED Grow Lights

Blackstar LED grow lights are relatively inexpensive compared to other LED grow lights, okay quality but one of the best options for the price. Come with a 1-year warranty. You may need to use your warranty as sometimes these lights will blow out their bulbs or need a replacement transformer.

Which LED model should I get from Blackstar for my grow space? Matching the right lamp(s) for the space is crucial. A rough ballpark…

Breakdown of Different BlackStar LED Models:
(I recommend "2W" or “3W” chipset models for growing cannabis)

100W BlackStar

Grow Space: 1'x1’
Actual Power Consumption: 65W
Expected Yields: 1 - 2 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

500W BlackStar LED Grow Panel

Grow Space: 4' x 2 or 4' x 3'
Actual Power Consumption: 300W
Expected Yields: 5 - 11 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

720W BlackStar LED Grow Panel

Grow Space: 4’ x 4’
Actual Power Consumption: 450W
Expected Yields: 8 - 16 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

900W BlackStar LED Grow Panel

Grow Space: 4.5’ x 3.5’
Actual Power Consumption: 520W
Expected Yields: 9 - 18 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

GalaxyHydro LED Grow Lights

GalaxyHydro LED panels are relatively new on the market compared to some of the other popular brands, but they produce consistently good results with growing cannabis. I've only included models before that have gone through extensive testing, though the company does offer bigger and smaller LED grow lights, as well as different form factors.

Which LED model should I get from GalaxyHydro for my grow space? Matching the right lamp(s) for the space is crucial….

GalaxyHydro 300W LED panel
GalaxyHydro 300W LED grow light panel

Breakdown of Different GalaxyHydro LED Models:

GalaxyHydro 180W LED Grow Light

Grow Space: 2'x2' or 3x3’
Actual Power Consumption: 85W
How Far to Keep From Plants: Generally you should keep this light more than 10 inches away or you may burn your plants. Keep it further away during the vegetative stage.
Expected Yields: 1.5 - 3 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow make a huge difference in your final yields

GalaxyHydro 300W LED Grow Light

Grow Space: 3'x3’ to 3'x4’
Actual Power Consumption: 135W
How Far to Keep From Plants: Keep the light more than 15 inches from the tops of your plants to encourage the best growth. Keep it further away during the vegetative stage.
Expected Yields: 2 - 4.5 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow make a huge difference in your final yields.

GalaxyHydro 600W LED Grow Light

Grow Space: 3'x4’ to 4'x5’
Actual Power Consumption: 270W
How Far to Keep From Plants: Keep the light more than 19 inches from the tops of your plants to encourage the best growth. Keep it further away during the vegetative stage.
Expected Yields: 4 - 9.5 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow make a huge difference in your final yields.

Pro-Grow LED Grow Lights

Pro-Grow LED panels are very high-quality LED lights with a great guarantee, these LEDs are expensive but get some of the best results for growing cannabis of all the LED grow lights we’ve seen. See a full grow journal featuring a 250W Pro-Grow LED light.

Which LED model should I get from Pro-Grow for my grow space? Matching the right lamp(s) for the space is crucial….

Breakdown of Different Pro-Grow LED Models:
(I recommend their “3W” chipset models for growing cannabis - models listed below)

PG-180 LED Grow Light

Grow Space: 2'x2' or 2x3’
Actual Power Consumption: 165W
Expected Yields: 3 - 6 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

PG-400 LED Grow Light (their best-selling LED panel)

Grow Space: 3'x3’ to 3'x4’
Actual Power Consumption: 250W
Expected Yields: 5 - 9 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields. Check out one grower who harvested just under a POUND with the PG-400 in about 4 months!

Cannabis plants under a PG400 LED grow light

PG-400X LED Grow Light

Grow Space: 3'x3’ to 3'x4’
Actual Power Consumption: 350W
Expected Yields: 6 - 12.5 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields

PG-750 LED Grow Light

Grow Space: 4'x4’ or 4’x5’
Actual Power Consumption: 750W
Expected Yields: 13 - 26 ounces - less for beginners, more for the pros - get the biggest yields by filling the entire grow area with a wide even canopy and remember that the strain (genetics) you grow with also makes a huge difference in your final yields