Do LED Lights Work?

It is true that some people swear by LED lights for growing purposes and others think that they are a complete sham. Those in favor of LED grow lights point to their cost and environmental savings. Those opposed to the lights argue that the lights are overly-expensive and ineffective. If you want to start a fight in a garden shop, then simply bring up this subject with two people who have opposing views. You would be surprised at how heated this topic can get with gardeners. The truth about whether these lights work or not is, as always, somewhere in the middle.

I’m not going to lie; I’m not some great scientist. I have studied the scientific method in great lengths and have read some of the most popular books on science over the past 100 years. That being said I don’t know a whole lot about natural sciences (still learning you could say). Because of my lack of knowledge in this area, I won’t go into great extent about the science behind why LED lights do and don’t work. I will try to present the information as I understand it.

Most people who don’t have a personal interest seem to think that LED grow lights do work. These unbiased people believe that LED’s have some limitations as well. For example a common problem seems to be that LED lights don’t emit the same amount of heat onto the plant. This may make it so the plant doesn’t grow as well. In addition, during side by side comparisons between LED lights and HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights, the plants under the HID lights almost always outperform the plants under the LED lights.

Arguments That LED Grow Lights Work

There is no evidence like actual trial and error. There have been many people who have simply tried out LED grow lights and have proven them to work (myself included). Many of these people think that the technology still needs to develop a little bit. They would like to see brighter lights at lower costs before they completely switch away from traditional HID (High Intensity Discharge) lighting. They would also like to see healthier plant growth.

Arguments against LED Grow Lights

LED Grow Lights Don’t Work!

Some plant enthusiasts claim that LED lights can’t possibly work that well because plants need a certain type of visible light to grow. They claim that this special type of light can only exist when there is plasma in the light. These people then point out that LED lights don’t have plasma and thus cannot possibly help plants grow. Other experts have pointed out that these claims are bogus. Most rational opponents of LED grow lights have given up on the argument that LED lights flat out don’t work. Their arguments are now based on whether LED lights are the best lights to be using for indoor growing.

The bottom line is that you can grow plants with LED lights. Are they as effective as traditional sunlight and HID lights? At this point in time, probably not. Will they be in the future? If interest and money continue to be poured into this technology, then LED grow lights will probably be just as effective as HID lights in the future.

Have an opinion on the matter? Please feel free to sound off below, but please keep it civil.