Grow Lights : Fluorescent and Metal Halide

Types of Grow Lights

Whether you're growing a full crop of lettuce and herbs or taking care of a houseplant, you have several different types of technology when selecting a grow light bulb for your indoor plants. All of these indoor grow lights are used in grow light fixtures, most of which have a reflector to aim the light down at your growing bed. Mounting height and distance from the plants will vary based on the growth cycle, type of grow light bulb, and type of plant. These plant lights may also be used in hydroponic and greenhouse setups.

• Metal Halide Grow Lights or MH grow lights emit strong, cool white light that results in compact, leafy vegetation. This makes them most popular for leafy vegetables like lettuce and herbs. Life hours range from 6,000 to 20,000 hours. We offer these MH HID lights in a variety of wattages and from brands such as Plantmax, SunPulse, Hortilux, Ultrasun, and Xtrasun. Not all MH bulbs offer a universal burn position, so check on the product page to see if the bulbs are universal or horizontal burn.
• T5 Fluorescent Grow Tubes operate at low wattages and temperatures. We offer them in different color temperatures to promote growth at the different stages of a plants life cycle. Halogen white lamps (3000K) are intended for the flowering period, and full spectrum daylight lamps (6400K and 6500K) are intended for the seedlings, cuttings, and vegetative period. Green T5 fluorescent tubes offer light that is not as visible to the plants, but allow you to see and move through the space. These grow lights are used primarily at night to keep the plants on an appropriate day/night schedule while not hindering your ability to walk through the grow room. Green light has also been shown to create shorter, denser yields. PowerVeg spectrum boosters offer additional light in specific wavelengths to help increase yield during different stages of the grow cycle.
• High Pressure Sodium Grow Lights or HID grow lights produce high output ideal for stimulating plant growth. HPS grow lights emit strong, warm white light that promote flowering. We offer these HD HPS lights in wattages ranging from 150 Watts to 1500 Watts in brands such as Hortilux, SunPulse, Plantmax, Ultra Sun, DigiMax, GE, PLT, Ushio, and Xtrasun.
• Conversion Grow Lights are either metal halide lights that are used with high pressure sodium ballasts (MH conversion lamps) or high pressure sodium lights that are used with metal halide ballasts (HPS conversion lamps). A conversion bulb offers you the opportunity to switch the light in your MH or HPS fixture without changing ballasts. It is also a convenient option when you only have room for a single fixture but want the advantages of both HPS and MH lighting. Since MH grow lights maximize growth during the vegetative cycle and HPS lamps maximize flowering, conversion grow lights are an easy way to take advantage of both technologies while only requiring one fixture.
• CFL Grow Lights operate at low wattages and temperatures. CFL lamps are a good choice for offices and residences where space is limited because the light bulb can be placed up to 6" away from the plant without burning it. Available in different color temperatures, you can maximize plant growth during different stages of the plant life cycle. Lower color temperatures are ideal for larger leaves during the flowering stage and higher color temperatures maximize plant height, used predominantly for seedlings, cuttings, and the vegetative stage.
• Incandescent Grow Lights imitate natural light to assist plant growth. Our selection includes R20, R25, R30, and R40 options. Incandescent bulbs are typically best for the flowering stage because of the low color temperatures.

Indoor Grow Cycles

Growing plants indoors allow you more control over the plant's environment than even a greenhouse. By controlling not only how long lights are on or off, but also the Kelvin of the lights being used, you can trick plants into thinking it's the right season to bloom. Start a vegetable garden inside and guarantee fresh herbs and sides for your holiday roast regardless of whether the plants are normally in-season. Each plant has different light requirements and different times of year that it's in bloom or in season. By sectioning off your grow room with individual light systems, you can grow winter and summer plants in the same room by adjusting the light patterns for each fixture separately as long as the plants don't also require drastically different temperatures or humidity.