While there are many challenges associated with growing healthy plants indoors, one of the biggest of them is ensuring that there is adequate light available to the plants.
After all, plants need the energy in light in order to assemble the sugars and other compounds in their tissues; without it, they will die.
But even if the issue is not that extreme, plants that are not furnished with adequate light will become leggy and etiolated, and will struggle to develop healthy foliage, blossoms or fruit.
Let’s take a closer look at how much light is needed to grow plants indoors, from a high level, along with a few other considerations.
How Much Light Power Is Needed?
Ultimately, the answer to this question depends on what you are trying to grow. Some shade tolerant plants need far less light than others.
As a very general rule, flowering plants need between 12-16 hours of light per day. This is a little higher than the “8 hours of full sun” recommended for these plants grown outdoors because the sun is invariably more powerful than any indoor grow lights.
There’s more than one way to qualify a light for indoor growing; some metrics suggest you need 10-20 watts of power per square foot of growing space; others suggest up to 100 watts per plant. By this latter metric a 1000 watt LED grow light would cover approximately 10 plants.
Of course, this depends heavily on what you are growing and whether the plant is a seedling, in its active vegetative stage, or blossoming and producing fruit, as well as what the specific needs are for that species or cultivar. It also depends on how close you position the grow light to the plants. Luminous intensity rapidly diminishes as distance increases.
Remember also that darkness is important, too, since that’s when plants use that captured energy to assemble the necessary nutrients they need to leave. Therefore, you absolutely must not leave your lights on all the time.
Will a 1000 Watt LED Grow Light Suffice?
One of the most commonly searched-for grow lights is a “1000 watt LED grow light,” but whether or not this will prove adequate depends on what you are growing, how much you are growing, and how far away you position the light.
Types of Grow Lights and Bulbs
The three most common types of grow lights are incandescent, fluorescent, and LED lights. The least expensive and most accessible are incandescent lights, but they are inefficient and waste a lot of energy as heat.
Fluorescent lights are more efficient and produce less heat. They also last longer than incandescent bulbs, but you pay for it – they are slightly more expensive.
LED grow lights are by far the most energy efficient of all grow lights. They also last the longest and are the most environmentally friendly (fluorescent lights contain toxic compounds). Many LED grow lights also offer you the flexibility to control luminous output as well as the color or wavelength of the light.
Is There a Best Color?
Full spectrum light is one of the best lights for growing plants indoors because it mimics natural sunlight; it also balances the green, blue and red wavelengths.
Blue light encourages plant growth and is ideal for seedlings as well as for plants that have short photoperiods.
Red light stimulates the production of flowers and fruits and so is most suitable for plants that are entering the flowering and fruiting stage. It is also suitable for plants with long photoperiods.
Green light is not as critical as red and blue light, but it does help plants regulate their energy intake and growth and so can be effective for plants that are shade-tolerant.
All in all, though, full-spectrum lights will cover all of these bases.
Get Started Planning Today
Now that you know a little bit more about where to start, you can refine your approach to indoor lighting based on the plants you are growing. Your next step should be to look into the specific needs of the species or cultivar you intend to grow, and take it from there.
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