Nowadays, LED growing lights play an indispensable part in indoor plant cultivation, especially seedlings. This type of lighting saves energy and doesn’t release much heat when placed near the plants.
But how do LED grow lights work? We shall reveal the answer to you in today’s article. Let’s dig deeper with us!
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How Do LED Grow Lights Work?
LED growing lights are small electronic ingredients with multiple diodes.
So, the way that that LED grow light works is a piece of cake to understand the light-emitting principle of diodes. In short, it refers to the flowing of electric current that causes holes and electrons to collide, thus releasing energy.
The Work Of Light-Emitting Diode To Generate Light
Light is emitted from a diode when a current is running through it.
The light-emitting diode has two layers. Each layer has a different mixture of impurity. One layer is a negative charge (having excess electrons), the other layer is a positive charge (lacking electrons) called p-type.
When an n-type and a p-type layer are put to each other, the n-type layer contains free electrons’ potential to initiate filling the holes in the p-type layer. The process occurs in the “depletion zone” where the two components meet.
Positive particles are repelled from the positive charge and sent toward the depletion zone to combine with the negative particles, which are repelled and sent to the middle from the negative charge in the n-type side.
The combination of electrons and electron holes leads to the release of photons energy, thus creating light. The light’s colours shall depend on the amount of energy required for the electrons to cross the depletion zone.
Tips On Using LED Grow Lights On Your Plants
Pay Attention To The Quality
It’s important to consider buying LED grow lights from reputable brands to have the best durability and efficiency. Don’t forget to go through the customer review section of each brand to find out what other gardeners thought about their purchases.
It would be best if you went for lights coming with a high-quality semiconductor chip (conducting the conversion of electricity to light), which serves your needs adequately.
Consider The Energy Of Input & The Power Of Output
Consider how efficient your LED grow lights shall be and how much electricity they shall use. Be aware of the energy needed for Input as you’re going to run your lights for at least 10 hours a day in the winter. Also, check the output quality of the LED lights. Does its power release the suitable sources of light for you?
Know The Plant You’re Growing
As you know, different plants require different wavelengths for the best development. And in different stages of growth, they need different light wavelengths, too. So, research to know about your plants and go for suitable light wavelengths.
Consider How Much Space Needs Lighting
Perform the measurements for your growing area to decide on the type of LED growing lights needed. In general, each square foot of high-light plants (such as tomatoes) needs an actual 32-watt power. For plants like lettuce, the power should be between 11-18 watts.
Conclusion
We hope our today’s answer to “how do LED grow lights work?” has satisfied you. With the help of some useful tips on using this equipment, the next time, you shall understand it more and utilize it effectively on growing plants indoors.
That is the end of our today’s article. Goodbye and see you at the next articles!