Best grow lights for large/many plants?

reddit.com › r › RareHouseplants › comments › 1ja522b › best_grow_lights_for_largemany_plants

Sansi 36W grow lights are pretty good, they are efficient, work well and have a decently large beam angle. You can probably find a better deal in relation to your area etc than the link I sent you. Good luck :) Answer from plantsandstufff on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/houseplants › recommendations for grow lights!!

r/houseplants on Reddit: Recommendations for Grow Lights!!

September 27, 2023 -

I’m a fairly newish plant parent and I have some tropical plants. I was thinking of getting a grow light for the winter months, as I live in northern Canada.

I’ve heard some really positive things about grow lights, and people saying that they don’t help at all and are a waste of money

I would love to hear everyone’s recommendations on grow lights that work really well, especially during the winter months!! Budget isn’t a big factor as long as the grow lights are quality 🙂

Thanks in advance!!

They do work (source: I live in Stockholm, same lattitude as southern Alaska). Even a normal lightbulb can work as a grow light if it is strong and/or focused enough. People who say they don't work probably bought these crappy Amazon lights with 3 adjustable heads that are powered by USB and then tried to use them to light ten plants per head as their ridiculous marketing pictures suggest is possible. These are way too weak unless you put them literally next to a small plant, realistically you would need all three heads aimed at just one medium-sized plant to keep it happy. Sansi bulbs are my main recommendation for houseplants unless you have a plant cabinet, grow tent, terrarium or some other such setup where linear lights make more sense. The main things you need to understand about growlights are: Plants need way more light than you likely think. Human eyes are very good at adjusting to darkness, making us notoriously bad at judging light levels unless we have a direct comparison. A typical household lightbulb that humans consider "strong" (1000 lm) delivers less than 1% the light intensity of midday sun. That's too little even for a "shade-loving" plant unless you put the light right next to the plant or focus its light into a cone. As already hinted at above, distance and focus level are very important. A grow light that is not focused (only bulbs commonly are, strips and boards almost always aren't) needs to be very close to the plant to have the desired effect as it spreading at a 120 degree angle means that it is 4 times weaker at 60 cm distance than at 30 cm distance.

Sansi bulbs. 3+ yrs. Lots of growth over the yrs

reddit.com › r/rarehouseplants › best affordable grow light

r/RareHouseplants on Reddit: Best affordable grow light

June 13, 2024 - https://www.homedepot.com/b/Lighting-Light-Bulbs-Grow-Light-Bulbs/SANSI/N-5yc1vZc5sqZq6d · I think the two pack of 24 wats would be best bang for buck, especially if you're setting up multiple.

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reddit.com › r/vegetablegardening › a brief guide to indoor grow lights

r/vegetablegardening on Reddit: A Brief Guide to Indoor Grow Lights

April 2, 2025 -

EDIT: My intention with this post is to provide beginners purchasing their first grow lights with what I think is the most efficient way to spend their money. I am not claiming that those who have previously purchased and used T5/T8 style lights are bad people who will have zero success growing anything. If you have purchased and use these lights I wish you the best. My point is that for those purchasing new grow lights I think there are much better options, for the same or very similar cost, that are more suitable for home gardeners growing different plants at the same time. I welcome comments that disagree and provide general reasoning outside of your own personal experience using a shop light.

TL;DR Don't buy T5/T8 "shop light" style LED grow lights and definitely don't buy the clip on wand/bendy style of LED grow lights. These lights can work (and even work well for specific setups) but there are now much better alternatives for a home gardener who wants to prepare a variety of different plants indoors in order to transplant for their summer garden.

The first light on my list was specifically selected as a better alternative to a pack of the common T5/T8 "shop" light style of grow lights for approximately the same cost ($45-$60). Compared to the shop lights it provides much more light energy, uses less electricity and perhaps most importantly: allows you to grow a variety of different plants that are different sizes as you don't have to keep it so close to your plants. You won't have to constantly adjust the height and will be far less likely to produce a bunch of leggy seedlings - it's far more forgiving in this respect. It also provides enough light to grow almost any plant through it's entire lifecycle so if you end up having to keep your plants indoors for longer (e.g a cold spring) you will have this flexibility - not so with the shop lights. The other options on my list generally provide increased efficiency and/or grow area but are obviously a bit pricier.

I recommend any of the following lights for approx. 2' x 2' - 3' x 5' grow areas. If you are growing in bigger areas I assume you know all this already and can make your own buying decisions:

Viparspectra P1000: Great entry level light for a 2' x 2' or even 3' x 3' (germination/initial seedling) growing area. Currently USD $58.
Spider Farmer SF1000: Another great light for a 2' x 2' or even 3' x 3' (germination/initial seedling) growing area. Slightly more efficient LED's than the Viparspectra P1000 above. Currently USD $90 or $76 for the version without a dimmer.
Spider Farmer SF2000: I personally have this light and really like it. Stated coverage is 2' x 4' or 3' x 5' (germination/initial seedling) but I think this latter value is a bit of a stretch. I would say max 2.5' x 4.5'. Currently USD $180.
Viparspectra P2000: Basically a larger version of the P1000. Great light if you need to cover a larger area, or just get two P1000's since they're on sale currently and work out cheaper. Currently USD $128.

Disclaimers:

I'm by no means an expert - this is only my second year gardening and starting seeds indoors.
Most of the supporting information I'm presenting is research done by others who are far more knowledgable than me. I have tried to balance supporting my arguments with keeping the post length reasonable but would be happy to provide additional support or make corrections if someone finds an error.
I'm not sponsored by or affiliated with any of the manufacturers of the lights I recommend.

I found myself replying to the posts of so many new gardeners with this information so I thought I would make a post about it. As I mentioned above I don't consider myself an expert but my personality is such that I spent a lot of time nerding out about the science and literature behind grow lights and their effects on plant growth.

Light, Defined

Light is a way of transferring the energy into plants that they require to grow. This light energy is referred to as photons. For plant growth we are interested in the photons that fall within a certain wavelength range and we refer to this range as "Photosynthetically Active Radiation" (PAR).

Measuring Light

We measure the output from a light by measuring the number of photons that fall within the PAR range referenced above. This is usually measured in micro moles of photons - per square meter - per second (μmol/m²/s). The name for this value is often called the Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD). If these two terms sound unnecessarily technical or complicated don't worry - all that's important is that you know that grow lights are measured by how much light energy they are providing to a specified area over a specified time period. Here is an example PPFD map (at 3 different heights) of a Viparspectra P1000 which I often recommend as a good light for a small area.

Since the area the light is designed to cover is 2' x 2', each square basically represents a 6" x 6" square area with the middle commonly getting more light energy than the outer/corner areas. Note that lowering the lights 4" from 16" to 12" above the plants makes a big difference - a 38% increase in light output. Generally lowering the light increases the light energy in the centre area but at the cost of decreasing the light spread and lowering the light energy towards the outer extents.

How Much Light Energy Do Plants Require?

Unsurprisingly the answer to this is: it depends. Some plants require more light than others and plants also require different amounts of light at different growing stages. There are resources provided with plant-specific information but in general:

Plants in their seedling stage require less light than the same plants in their vegetative growth stage. Plants in their vegetative growth stage require less light than the same plants in their fruiting stage.
Leafy greens generally require less light than fruiting plants/vegetables.
Roberto Lopez, Ph.D., researcher at Purdue University, developed a thorough set of guidelines to recommend the average daily light integral (DLI) for most common plants. His research showed that in order to produce crops at a high quality, most plants require a minimum DLI of 12-20 mols/m2/day.

Important: It's important to note that we refer to the amount of light required by plants as their daily light integral (DLI). Emphasis on daily. I'm pointing this out because when we choose a grow light we will want to look at it's PPFD map, which shows how might light energy is transferred in:

micro moles per square meter per second

Again - when we look at the DLI of plants the amount of light they require is generally expressed as:

moles per square meter per day (24h)

Therefore we need to convert those PPFD values to ensure that our grow lights put out adequate light energy for the type of plants we want to grow and also enough light energy into an area that is large enough to cover the amount of plants we plan to grow. For example, it's not very useful having a light that provides high light intensity (lots of photons) but only covers a 1' x 1' area if our seedling trays and pots fill up an entire 2' x 4' shelf. Conversely it's just as useless to have a light that covers your full 2' x 4' shelf but doesn't provide enough light intensity.

How Long Should Grow Lights Be On For?

I found this specific topic to be the most esoteric with some information indication slightly different answers. For home gardening and vegetable growing I feel that it's safe to assume the following:

Some plants are capable of handling 24hr light but some are not.
Beyond a certain point, however, more light energy becomes wasteful as plants can only use so much until other things become a bottleneck for photosynthesis.
We generally want more light-hours during seedling and vegetative states and then slightly fewer light-hours during the fruiting stage.
Most research points to ~16-18 hours of light per day for seedling/vegetative and ~12-14 hours during fruiting.

The most important takeaway here is when we calculate the DLI that we want to give our plants, we need to make sure we use the number of hours above and not 24 hours as our light will not be on 24/7.

Calculations and Light Recommendations

Converting between PPFD (from our grow light) and DLI (amount of daily light energy our plants require) is relatively straightforward. There are 1,000,000 micro moles in 1 mole and 3600 seconds in 1 hour. Assuming our light is on a 16hr-on/ 8hr-off schedule and using the centre value in the 12" PPFD map above of 800 micro moles per square meter per second, we get the following DLI:

800 / 1,000,000 = 0.0008 moles per square meter per second
x 3600 seconds = 2.88 moles per square meter per hour
x16 hours = 46.08 moles per square meter per day

This is more than enough but this is also best case scenario - we're using the centre area with the highest output and with the light only 12" above the plants. If we work backwards to figure out the minimum PPFD we need from our light, based on the recommended minimum DLI of 20 moles per square meter per day:

20 x 1,000,000 = 20,000,000 micro moles per square meter per day
/ 16 hours of light on per day = 1,250,000 micro moles per square meter per hour
/ 3600 seconds ~ 350 micro moles per square meter per second.

So, we need a minimum of 350 in our light PPFD maps to grow our plants in their vegetative state and get them ready to transplant. Side note: for growing plants through fruiting, we want ~500 micro moles per square meter per second.

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make (and one I made initially as well) is not considering that different plants that were planted at different times are going to grow at different rates and some will be much taller than others. If you are a home gardener then you are likely not growing in a commercial environment where you a have a shelf of one crop that all germinate and grow at the same time/pace. You aren't going to be able to keep your light exactly 12" above all your different plants all the time. If your tomato plants are 6" taller than your pepper plants (very likely) and you place your light 12" above your tomatoes, the light is now 18" above your peppers. As we saw above, this makes a big difference. Therefore, you need some buffer. My goal is to have enough light, even at the corners, to provide at least 350 μmol/m²/s to my plants from 18" (preferably 24") above.

Now that I've explained my methodology I will go over some lights I recommend and some I specifically don't recommend. My recommendations are based on the assumption that you live in the northern hemisphere and have a shorter-than-ideal growing season, so your goal is to grow indoors for ~4-8 weeks before transplanting outside when the weather is warm enough.

I don't recommend the clip on wand/bendy style of LED grow lights, AKA:

None of these provide a PPFD map showing light output for obvious reasons. This is the first red flag of any grow light. They have nowhere near enough light to produce successful transplants - even when these are so close to your plants that you risk the heat burning their leaves. For most of these lights the PPFD is not even 200 when the light is basically touching the plant. At 12" you are lucky to get 100 and above that you are lucky to get 50. Totally useless beyond helping with seed germination and maybe supplementing small indoor house plants where they just sit right above them 24/7. Don't get conned by the product images on amazon showing utterly superfluous details about lumen output and the number/color of the LEDS. This is just there to make you think they actually put some thought into these lights.

I don't recommend T5/T8 "shop light" style LED grow lights, AKA:

I often see well-known youtubers recommending these while making the point that you don't have to spend a lot on grow lights. They hold one up and go on about how it was only $20 on sale at Home Depot - with the implication that you only need to spend $20 to grow seedlings indoors. Then they pan over to their grow shelf where they have at least 4 of them on one shelf sitting literally right on top of their seedling trays.

These lights are less useless than the clip-on ones above but they are still pretty useless and end up costing more than a proper grow light while being very limiting. Some actually do provide PPFD values though. Here are the PPFD values for one of the most popular versions of these lights (Barrina T5 Grow Lights) currently priced at $50 USD:

So at 7.87" above our plants we would get just over half of the minimum that they need to grow adequately. At 12" above the plants are getting less than half the minimums that we need and at 18-20" it's basically useless. Even worse: these are the values when the plant is directly (i.e lines up vertically) under the light. If your pot is 3" off to the side you wouldn't even get that amount of light energy. The cheapest grow light on the recommended list below is $8 more which is why these lights are a waste of your money and, more importantly, your time.

I recommend any of the following lights for small-ish (2' x 2' and 2' x 4') areas. If you are growing in bigger areas I assume you know all this already and can make your own buying decisions:

Viparspectra P1000: Great entry level light for a 2' x 2' or even 3' x 3' (germination/initial seedling) growing area. Currently USD $58.
Spider Farmer SF1000: Another great light for a 2' x 2' or even 3' x 3' (germination/initial seedling) growing area. Slightly more efficient LED's than the Viparspectra P1000 above. Currently USD $90 or $76 for the version without a dimmer.
Spider Farmer SF2000: I personally have this light and really like it. Stated coverage is 2' x 4' or 3' x 5' (germination/initial seedling) but I think this latter value is a bit of a stretch. I would say max 2' x 5'. Currently USD $180.
Viparspectra P2000: Basically a larger version of the P1000. Great light if you need to cover a larger area, or just get two P1000's since they're on sale currently and work out cheaper. Currently USD $128.

Eh, I just pulled these out from under my cheap LED 4' shop lights and set them in my south facing window so I have room for some more seed starting trays. These were seeded a month ago. (I used seeds spirals so there are about four pepper plants in each of the 2 half-gallon pots that have peppers, four patio eggplants in the half gallon eggplant container, and four dwarf tomatoes in the other half gallon container - roughly 16 total plants in a 1010 tray. Looks like the eggplant could use some fertilizer.) I get the technical side of things, but the shop lights are working just fine for me. I wouldn't suggest that folks run out and buy new lights if they already have the cheap LED shop lights. I'm not selling my plants; I am growing them inside to transition outside into my veggie garden. This is good enough for me.

The T5/T8 "shop light" style LED grow lights like the Barrinas are perfectly fine for a budget setup or if you want to set up an area for just seedlings without breaking the bank on a $130 grow light. I agree that they probably should not be used to bring full size plants to bear fruit, But they work great for plants under 6 inches tall..

reddit.com › r/rarehouseplants › best grow lights for large/many plants?

r/RareHouseplants on Reddit: Best grow lights for large/many plants?

March 13, 2025 -

I recently went through a sudden and devastating breakup and am having to move suddenly with my jungle of house plants. Unfortunately this picture is only about half of them and while I'm doing my best to find a place with good light my options right now are limited. I've experienced so much loss already this year and I really can't take losing my plants too. If anyone has solutions that won't make me feel like I'm living in an illegal grow op in desperate for advice 😞

Sansi 36W grow lights are pretty good, they are efficient, work well and have a decently large beam angle. You can probably find a better deal in relation to your area etc than the link I sent you. Good luck :)

SANSI is my go to. Since you can put the bulbs into water fixture you want (assuming it can handle the wattage) you can really hang, stand, whatever their lights. They've also got many now that come on a stand, too. I like them because they are very affordable and give a pleasant light. I looked into the soltechs but they weren't all that much better but very very much more expensive. Though the aesthetic is ON POINT and I can't deny it. But SANSI has a lot of different shapes you can choose as well. Whatever you end up going with, make sure you put them all on auto timers. They make life sooooo much easier. I'm sorry to hear about your breakup. Stay strong. Your plants will help get you through. Consider checking Facebook for local plant groups. Instagram sometimes, too. I don't like Instagram, tbh, but all the plant ppl in my area use it so 🤷

reddit.com › r/houseplants › what are the best grow lights you recommend? i want to grab one this black friday.

r/houseplants on Reddit: What are the best grow lights you recommend? I want to grab one this Black Friday.

November 28, 2025 -

Hi everyone, honestly feeling a bit desperate here. Total newbie.😭

A friend gifted me some beautiful Monsteras a few months ago, and they were thriving... but now they look miserable and droopy, and I feel terrible about it.

I’m 99% sure it's the lack of light. I’m in Upstate NY and my apartment basically turns into a dark dungeon before 5 PM. It's brutal.

I’ve been scouring this sub for answers, and the consensus seems to be that a grow light is the only real fix. But honestly, I’ve been spiraling down the research rabbit hole and I am completely lost.

People are throwing around terms like 'PPFD,' 'µmol/J,' and 'Watts,' and as someone who is definitely NOT an electrical engineer, it just sounds like gibberish to me. I honestly have no clue which specs actually matter to keep them alive.

Does anyone have recommendations for lights you’ve used and actually liked? I really want to snag one during these Black Friday sales.

My Monstera is counting on you guys! Thanks!!!!

It is totally normal for a newbie to feel annoyed by terms like PPFD, µmol/J, and Watts. It’s just that you don't understand the meaning behind them yet.

I use a sansi grow light, one of the 36w bulbs! I see t5 lights are popular too but I have no first hand experience with them since I dont use bar lights in my area haha

reddit.com › r/indoorgarden › cheapest, best grow lights available?

r/IndoorGarden on Reddit: Cheapest, best grow lights available?

November 19, 2024 -

I’m looking to invest in some grow lights, but don’t know much about them. Please give me all suggestions on grow lights, including the best on the market (within a reasonable price).

I’ve been looking on Amazon, but have been told a lot of them are a rip-off!

Sansi brand is budget-friendly and decent. Soltech is budget-mean and super high quality. Those are the two brands I’d recommend

Barrina is my recommendation, great brand for its value.

reddit.com › r/containergardening › best led grow lights for small apartment food production?

r/containergardening on Reddit: Best LED grow lights for small apartment food production?

June 23, 2025 -

Hi, I am a seriously noob gardener.

I recently took a major interest in growing food, especially with the price increases and the disastrous state of U.S. ag right now.

All my plant growing is inside my apartment ( no balcony). I get 6 hours of sun through the window, but that's a very small space. I want to grow more things, but that means grow lights are needed. I have heard that LED lights are great for small-scale gardening: versatile, long-lasting, energy-efficient.........

My question is: what is a good brand?........

Where do I get them? .................

How do I know which bulbs are worth the money?.................

Are there cheaper alternatives that work as well?.............

Standard light bulbs ( like for an ordinary lamp) probably won't do it , if I understand right........

And if you use grow lights, what works for your setup and why?

Thank you for your advice.

Do you have space for an indoor greenhouse? There's products for sale that are like bookshelves with grow lights and a plastic cover to make the plants nicely humid and keep any bugs out of your house. You can grow a good amount in there - leafy greens, herbs, small veg like radishes. It's a good set up for hobby indoor gardening. To be frank, indoor gardening (unless done on a large scale) won't offset grocery prices by much. If anything, it may cost a little more to get it started

I used to grow vegetables in my apartment. I used a wire rack, so that I could clip the lights (Barrina plant lights, off Amazon) above the plants. Leave enough space between the shelves so you can lower then raise the lights - plants get taller than you expect. And choose dwarf or mini varieties of plants, unless you don't mind the potential chaos. Be aware that if you buy plant starts, you might be bringing home aphids. Not so bad in an outdoor garden, but gross inside your home. Much more annoying trying to eradicate it inside your home. (Not impossible though).

reddit.com › r/microgrowery › what companies make the highest quality grow lights in 2024-2025?

r/microgrowery on Reddit: What companies make the highest quality grow lights in 2024-2025?

December 13, 2024 -

Not looking for best bang for your buck. I'm willing to pay more for higher quality parts, service, warranties.

i’d focus on lights that just feel solid and reliable instead of whatever flashy specs they throw at you. the ones that are built well, stay cool, and last without drama make growing way more enjoyable no weird hot spots, no flickering, just steady light that keeps your plants happy. also good customer support and a real warranty go a long way when something does eventually fail (because it will eventually). going to link a decent option here

OP ghosted everyone.

Find elsewhere

Google Bing Mojeek

reddit.com › r/houseplants › what grow lights do you use?

r/houseplants on Reddit: What grow lights do you use?

January 17, 2024 -

What grow lights are people using. I have a few smaller house plants huddled by a window for the winter months, and I’m thinking it might be beneficial to add a small grow light to the area. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Ha! I love that I was on an anxiety-fueled, plant light deep dive yesterday as well. 😂 I had researched this topic last year, yet I still got unsure if my conclusion was correct. My schefflera was dropping leaves like crazy after I moved to a primarily north-facing apartment. Using a Philips Hue light strip has been helpful when placed directly over it for the winter months. From what I have gathered, using LED light sources, the “specs” you should focus on are lumens and kelvin. This is for the general light sources. There are other measurements like nanometers and micromoles which are used in photosynthesis. Kelvin indicates the color temperature. Based on the needs of the plant you choose the color temperature. The ‘cool white’ is usually the strongest, and also the closest to the natural daylight. This is around 5000-7000K depending on the weather. For green plants and seedlings you should look for cool white colors. This is 4000K and up. Preferably 6500K. Keep in mind that it is pretty blue. If you have blooming plants you should go for the red end of the spectrum and up, which ranges from 3000-5000K. Remember, white light contains both the blues and the reds in its spectrum. Lumens indicate the intensity, or brightness, of the light. Normal light bulbs usually have up to 806 lumen, which is comfortable and nice at home. However, I recommend aiming for at least 1000 lumens to be strong enough for your plants. This also makes it easier to cover more of the plant in light. LED lights are the safest since they do not get hot and burn the plant, however, it’s important to have the light at a distance from the plant where the whole plant is covered. You can use this information as a reference on how to keep your plants alive during the winter months, or if you have limited natural lighting. However, it does not replace the attributes of sunlight or some plant lights. There are some specs in the grow light that make them different from the general LED-lights that you can buy. I think this is more in the range of micromoles and nanometers which supply more of the true colors in the appropriate wavelength for the plant to use. Some grow lights are too weak though, especially the generic ones you get at the department/hardware/plant store. Sorry for the wall of text. I do hope you find it helpful! ☺️

The grow lightbulbs are used in my overhead light fixtures and these spotlight fixtures from Walmart.

reddit.com › r/growbuddy › best grow lights

r/GrowBuddy on Reddit: Best Grow Lights

June 10, 2025 -

What’s the best LED grow light currently on the market for a 4x4 grow tent, suitable for both veg and bloom?

I’ve been looking at options from AC Infinity, Spider Farmer, and Vivosun, but I’m having trouble deciding between them.

I’m open to other reputable brands as well, especially those known for new technology (using diodes at low power instead of their full potential) , high efficiency, and real-world performance.

If anyone has firsthand experience or insights into which models offer the best spectrum, PAR output, coverage, and long-term reliability, I’d really appreciate the input.

I'm not sure where you're from or how interesting this is for you, but in Europe, most people agree that SANlight is the most reliable and highest-quality manufacturer. We joke that it's the iPhone of lamps. Personally, I've had nothing but positive experiences with it. Here are a few details: PPF value: 725 µmol/s Module efficiency: over 3 µmol/J High-performance cooling and special secondary optics High-performance chips from Osram and Seoul Semiconductor Daisy-chain capable and dimmable (dimmer sold separately) Mesh control via Bluetooth possible (dimmer sold separately) Lifespan: 10% loss of brightness after 90,000 hours of operation (LM90) Dirt and water jet resistant Protection class: IP65 Beam angle: 90 – 112° 90% The first-class, three-dimensional secondary optics. Made of high-quality PMMA plastic, the secondary optics reliably protect the LEDs from dirt, moisture, and mechanical influences. Each individual LED chip is equipped with its own lens, thus focusing 95% of the generated light. The beam angle is ideally 90° to 112°. Maximum efficiency and the best LED chips. The EVO 1.5 uses UX3 high-power chips from Osram and highly efficient white LED chips from Korean manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor. This combination combines the best red and white LED chips on the market in one product, achieving a module efficiency of over 3 µmol/J (PPF).

If money isn't an issue and you actually want the best, check out HLG or grandmaster

reddit.com › r/gardening › what are some decent cheap grow lights? i dont think mine is bright enough and all my plants are dying

r/gardening on Reddit: What are some decent cheap grow lights? I dont think mine is bright enough and all my plants are dying

January 5, 2024 -

This is basically what I have but with more color settings and one additional light. I use it to light up a two person tent which has all my plants.

Spiderfarmer is the brand I found that's kind of affordable but high quality. You can get them on Amazon or buy directly. I spent enough on cheap crappy lights with fake reviews that it ended up being cheaper to just buy good lights at a higher price.

Anything that looks like that is dookie. Actual grow lights are pricey. Cheap grow lights break quickly, the LEDs are cheap and overdriven and burn out. Real led grow lights have fans to cool them and they put out an insane amount of light. A good led grow light for a 2 foot by 2 foot tent would be 150 watts or so.

reddit.com › r/indoorplants › can someone recommend a good brand of indoor grow light?

r/IndoorPlants on Reddit: Can someone recommend a good brand of indoor grow light?

October 21, 2025 -

I’m building a greenhouse out of IKEA furniture to house my most favorite plants. Can anyone recommend a good brand of indoor grow lights? I want the best for my babies!

Someone recommended Finnix brand lights. They are intended for aquariums but I’ve heard people will use them for greenhouses since they are waterproof.

Thoughts?

Sansi or Barrina. I switched from the cheap Amazon lights to Sansi and it’s made a huge difference.

Barrina and Sansi. On Sansi actual website they are having a Halloween special right now. Some are 50% off and others are buy 2 get 1 free.

reddit.com › r/vegetablegardening › on my own: best grow light?

r/vegetablegardening on Reddit: On My Own: Best Grow Light?

January 22, 2024 -

In past years, I grew my veggies from a mix of plants (started by friends or at local nurseries) and direct sow.

This year, I really want to start my own seeds, but there is too much information out there. It's a bit overwhelming, to be honest.

So I thought I'd just toss out a question: What Grow Lights do YOU all personally use and rate highly?

Most shop lights are sufficient, I went with the LED ones in the link below vs the florescent ones I already have. Much cheaper to run LED, these are linkable, 4ft long, single light fixtures. They don't come with chains/hooks (2nd link) and are a reasonable price. They're not as strong as some people may suggest, but they're really bright! Lights https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HBT3BVM?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image Chain/hook https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09Q5LYB5B?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

I use the sunblaster 2’ LED strip lights. I have seen cheaper ones but I like these because they are reasonably bright but don’t blind me as I have my plants in the same room as my office. I used to use the fluorescent ones before which are slightly cheaper but they heat up a lot and it was becoming an issue as I have a lot of plants packed into a small area and I run them all year round.

reddit.com › r/cannabiscultivation › best home grow light mfg 2024

r/cannabiscultivation on Reddit: Best Home grow light MFG 2024

October 24, 2024 -

I currently have a 4x4 and i am looking for a light that will give me the best bang for my buck. I constantly see HLG, GML, and Mammoth mentioned for good customer service. Currently eying the Mammoth 6bar at about $650, HLG blackbird $550 HLG tomohawk $720, or GML tent ultimate at $800. My main concern is customer service/ warranty incase of issues that arise. This is mainly for flowering as ill use my SF G4500 for veg. Dont use C02. Just wondering if ide be making a mistake getting the mammoth vs the other three. Seems best for cost per watt. And i have seen good reviews on their customer service. Any advice is appreciated. HLG sale ends tmw so i gotta make a decision asap. If you have a mammoth light any pros or cons to note would be great. Thanks!

I had an HLG driver go out in flower. I switched to an HID system and called HLG. No questions asked other than the model number. They gave me the option of mailing the light to them, or they could just mail me the driver. I had them mail the driver to save shipping time, and I changed it myself. I can not say enough about their customer service.

I've honestly gotten solid results from the $375 floraflex lights. I had some HLGs and some SF 7000s that I replaced trying to get my heat load down. Light spread seems better, penetration seems better, Bud seems just as dense and Frosty a with the others.

reddit.com › r/microgrowery › which grow light brand is really the best for cannabis?

r/microgrowery on Reddit: Which grow light brand is really the best for cannabis?

March 3, 2026 -

Hey everyone, which grow light brand is truly the best? Would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

There is no "best" brand. Experts, Manifacturers and Growers can't even decide on the spectrum or if HPS is better. HorticultureLightingGroup, GrandMasterLeds, Mammoth and Dimlux are definetly top choices for different needs or beliefs.

I heard a lot of people recommend Viparspectra for the money and I can say the XS1500 PRO is treating my well.

reddit.com › r/houseplants › overwhelmed by information about grow lights

r/houseplants on Reddit: Overwhelmed by information about grow lights

June 7, 2024 -

There’s a lot of info out there that is probably really helpful but that i don’t actually understand. Like you need growlights because they have wavelengths that ordinary lights don’t have. But also that any light with about 65000k should be good so what i am wondering i guess is can i just use whatever floor lamp with a 24W CFL globe that has a colour temperature of 65000k. Or do i have to use a special growlight. If so what growlights do you guys use because when i search online i can only really see temu ads which i don’t want so i don’t know where to buy from and what’s reliable and on top of that, what is actually available in Australia… I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the different things that need to be considered… help…

Give me a sec I'll edit this comment, I've made a superb one some time ago I just need to find it Edit 2 coming, answering your questions more specifically. I don't know what's available in Australia, but try to find the brands I mention below if possible, or similar ones in terms of how they look. The bottom line is that most of them are knockoffs of each other... When you see color temperature, and I'm guessing you mean 6500k, not 65000k (I'm not sure if that exists). These numbers relate to the warm to cold color spectrum: cold (blues) is the higher numbers, and warm (reds/yellows/oranges) is lower numbers. The blue spectrum relates to vegetation (roots, leaves, stems), the red relates to blooming (quantity and quality of produce and flowers). In the bottom line white is the combination of all visible light wavelengths. It's important to keep in mind that plants want all light wavelengths, ultra violet to ultra red, including the green wavelengths. Any article that claims differently isn't trust worthy. Same goes for any product that's blue/red/purple and the like, you want a proper full spectrum light. Fun fact: I learned a lot of the above during my military service (I was a tank technician, I handled optics among other things). Special Grow Lights? Yes. I'd say so. Get a proper grow light and some way of making it automatic (smart or timer based plugs are awesome for that), and you won't have to think about it, or worry about leaving them on when on vacation, etc. Edit: I made this comment in the context of adeniums. They need a lot of light. If you want pictures, let me know, I'll post some. So this part is far more technical, and discusses hardware rather than lightware (I'm puntastic like that) To measure light, download an app similar to Lux . These apps are usually within ±5-10% of the accurate measurement, depending on the light sensor in your specific phone (my Samsung 20 plus is about 3% off from my light reading device when I point them at the same source). If you want a professional device, they run from pretty cheap to holy crap. I'm using this Btmeter Light Meter. It's decent, nothing special though. I've had mine for a 4 years, I think it's starting to show its age but only slightly. If the app says anything short of 10,000lux, you need more light. EDIT: I accidentally mixed up the inches and feet symbols! All of the below is in inches, NOT ft!!! My grow lights recommendations, based on the ones I own: Distance is an estimate, lux is based on the app above. Mars Hydro - SP150. Best one I have. >20k lux @ 8'-10'. Good light spread. Good color spectrum. Strongly recommended. I bought it over 3.5 years ago, and excluding one panel dying about 6-8 months ago, it works amazing. SpeePlant LED Grow Lights 1.4FT - I have two. 15k lux @ 8'. Ok light spread, good color spectrum. Got em a month 3 months ago. So far so good, and good value for money (so far). CANAGROW 300W COB LED Grow Light - very concentrated light, measured it at >30k lux @ 15'. Good color spectrum. Used for about 18 months, works well in the specific spot it points at. Good for 1 or maybe 2 mature adeniums. SunBlaster 12" Prismatic Lens LED 12W HO Strip Light 6400K - 7000 lux @ 6'. Low light spread, reasonable color spectrum, but a bit heavy on the blue). Not dis recommended, but I won't be getting another. Kihung LED Grow Light, 2FT LED Grow Light , Barrina LED Grow Light, 2FT LED Grow Light . Measured: ~8k lux @ <6' when they work together as a large group and placed close together. Low light spread. Ok-ish color color spectrum. Not recommended at all. The same manufacturers with different brand names. LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants measurd: <8k lux @ 8'. Ok-ish color color spectrum Not recommended at all. All of my lights are used 13 hours a day. I use smart plugs to turn them on and off, I really recommend doing that, or timed outlets if you prefer, that's also a good idea. Reputable brands I know are considered good: Mars Hydro, Spider Farmer, and Horticultural Lighting Group (Sometimes they go by HLG) are all good. There are other similar brands around as well. When it comes to meeting your plants' need for photosynthesis, just remember: follow the light! ;)

Horticulturalist here with a lot of experience with grow lights. Here’s the deal, as long as you’re not running an indoor farm and trying to maximize yield, they’re all going to be just fine. If you want to get more specific, you need to be concerned about what wave length a light puts off, basically what colours is the light emitting. You want red and blue light. But seriously just about any grow light is going to be fine. For my house plants I usually use white grow lights because I find the red/blue ones harder on my eyes.

reddit.com › r/houseplants › can someone recommend me amazon grow light that work or are they not worth purchasing?

r/houseplants on Reddit: Can someone recommend me amazon grow light that work or are they not worth purchasing?

July 13, 2023 -

Are there any amazon grow light that actually work or is it best to buy elsewhere? I don't want to spend too much which is why I'm considering Amazon lights. However, if they're not worth it can I get recommendations of some that I can get on a different site?

$84 for a 20w bulb that has 3000K color sounds like a bad deal. It really depends on your environment. Growing on a stand that you can affix bars to? Get some barrina t5 lights. Need an actual bulb just find a cheap one. They are like 8 bucks for a pack of two grow bulbs. You can get twenty for the price of one. Also look for a higher color rating than 3000k. That’s in the redder spectrum. More for flowering plants. So good for orchids or anything that flowers. 4000K and yo better for ornamentals that don’t flower much or are not the main focus.

reddit.com › r/indoorgarden › 🌱 what grow lights do you use for your houseplants? looking for recommendations!

r/IndoorGarden on Reddit: 🌱 What grow lights do you use for your houseplants? Looking for recommendations!

October 13, 2025 -

Hey everyone, I’m thinking about getting some grow lights for my houseplants since the days are getting shorter and darker now in fall/winter.

I’d love to know:

What lights or brands do you personally use?
Do you go for full-spectrum lights or specific “plant grow” ones?
Any tips for placement or how long to keep them on each day?

Thanks in advance! 🌿

I have not purchased yet but after some research I decided I was going to buy Sansi grow bulbs... Just looking for the right base unit.

I have barina t5s and sansi gooseneck. I like both of them very much.

reddit.com › r/microgrowery › community opinion. what is the best grow light?

r/microgrowery on Reddit: Community opinion. What is the best grow light?

February 5, 2022 - The metal halide light i had can go up to 650 watts and probably grow 5 plants or more under it but thats not what i needed. If youre looking for “the best” you should get one with variable output, has good light spectrum, and the size that fits your needs.

reddit.com › r/indoorgarden › budget grow light for indoor lights ?

r/IndoorGarden on Reddit: Budget grow light for indoor lights ?

October 15, 2024 -

Can anyone advise if there are any quality grow lights that can be effective for indoor plants (lemon tree, mandarin tree, banana tree,...) like the one in the picture ? All i find that are supposed to be good are expensive lights shaped like squares and im sceptical about such as in the picture from aliexpress that cost 50 eur. Can you point me in any directions ?

Sansi gooseneck clamp lights. They are bulbs, not bars, but they are far more powerful than any bar. I have many barina bars, and although they are great for cabinets and other tight spaces, they do not produce the levels of light sansi bulbs do, nor do they have the penetration to rich lower growth. Most of the bar type lights are just diodes in a row with no proper lens, so the light scatters we quickly, making it lose intensity very quickly as you get further away. A quality grow light will be lensed so the light is focused and does not scatter as soon as it leaves the diode. This means you get a much stronger light that falls off much slower than a non lensed bar.

Reddit is famous for shaming cheap grow lights. I got downvoated so much I had to delete my post all for a cheap light I used as a default image to ask this same question. People here are grow light snobs. And, make sure if it’s USB plug with an adapter use the adapter they come with. Mine came with 30W adapters for the USB wall wort. Not all USB block are equal power distribution, and cheap blocks only provide a couple Watts at best.