Instead of high intensity discharge (HID) lights or metal halide (MH) lamps, may plant growers, including both greenhouses and at home are turning to Light emitting diode (LED) Apollo grow lights. HID and MH lights consume a great deal of power, LED lights on the other hand are very efficient, on average they use only 25 percent of the power of other light sources. Regardless of whether LED grow lights are installed for commercial or domestic purposes, they save money and are extremely simple to set up.
Manufacturers and distributors of Apollo LED grow lights measure the light output in lumens. The luminosity, or lux, is a measure of just how bright the area appears when the lights are on. This measurement however has no bearing on how well seedlings and plants will grow as lumens are not based on PAR, photo-synthetically active radiation which the part of the spectrum that is needed by plants as they germinate and grow. It is not possible for the human eye to detect more than 50-60 percent of the light that Apollo grow lights put out so lumens and lux measurements can often be deceiving as it is hard to tell just how much light the plant is actually getting.
Apollo grow lights can be single or multiple LED bulbs. In the case of multiple LEDS, they are mounted in a common light bar which makes it very easy to install and suspend over the plants or plant bed. Regardless of whether it is a light bar or a single LED bulb, they are positioned about 12 inches maximum above the plants. The numbers of light bars that are needed are strictly resulting from the number of plants being grown. Most growers suspend the lights using light duty chain; this makes it easy to raise the bars as the plants begin to grow taller.
LED grow lights are used as they can deliver the proper light that is needed by the plant in an indoor environment. This method of starting plants allows the homeowner to extend the growing season as the plats can be well along when the weather outdoors is conducive to setting the plants out.
LED grow lights are virtually noiseless, not so with HID lights which have ballast which can be quite noisy. Apollo grow lights have a typical life span exceeding 50 thousand hours, whereas HID lights are often less than half of that.
