HPS VS LED

There are many different types of artificial lighting technology on the market to provide light to your plants. In this article we are going to give you more details of HPS and LED technology. HPS is the cheapest option out of the two and offer more heat per watt so you see a better return on yield and growth of your plants. LED technology for many years has never been able to compete with HPS, due to not being able to produce the same yield quality as a standard HPS lamp. LED lighting have also been very expensive to purchase in the past making them not a go to option for serious and starter growers. However, over the years LED technology has been constantly evolving to the point where they can compete with HPS. LED technology can now produce the same quality yield off plants at a fraction of the running cost of an HPS lamp.

Advantages and disadvantages of HPS

Advantage of HPS

1. Gives off heat in your grow room which helps your plants in the winter.
2. Replacing a HPS lamp is very inexpensive compared to an LED grow light.
3. Effective at fast growth and provide big yields.

Disadvantage of HPS

1. HPS lamps need replacing every 6 months to a year which can be a pain if your lamp suddenly goes out one day and you don’t have a replacement lamp lying around.
2. If you don’t handle HPS lamps correctly you have a chance of the lamp exploding on you which could cause an injury to yourself.
3. HPS lamps can give off a lot of heat which can burn your plants if your plants touch the lamp. The heat off your HPS can risk killing off your plant in cases if you don’t provide optimal environment temperature.

Advantages and disadvantages of LED

Advantage of LED

1. LED lighting are easy to set up as they can be plugged into the wall without purchasing any separate ballast which makes set up a breeze. Typically, the ballasts which are built into the LED ballasts produce about a quarter of the heat of a traditional external ballast.
2. You don’t need to worry about expensive bills each month as LED technology don’t require much electricity to function which mean less expensive energy bills each month.
3. LED lighting also has Low maintenance as there are less parts to replace on a frequent basis. Which results in LED being easier to grow with compared to other lighting.
4. Some LED lighting is very customisable providing new modules when a manufacture improves their technology rather than replacing a grower’s entire LED unit. There are also a large range of colour spectra available which can be adjusted depending on what stage of development your plant is in rather than changing the light fixture in your grow room.
5. LED run at cooler temperatures which means the changes of burning your plants is considerably less than an HPS. You are able to hold an LED light strip within your hands without causing any serious burns to your hands.
6. Long lifespan some LED lighting could last up to 10 years which you spend less time worrying that your light will suddenly stop working and more time letting your plants grow.
7. LED lighting have no warm up or cool down periods which making turning on light quick ensuring the plants are not left for too long without any light which may affect the light cycle of your plant.

Disadvantage of LED

1. Doesn’t give off much heat to your grow room which you may need to add heaters into your grow room in the winter.
2. Some manufacturers of LED lighting are not always strong enough for the flowering phase. So, it’s best off doing your research before purchasing an LED light. We don’t sell cheap LED lighting. All lighting we sell online and instore have enough technology in them to ensure success.