Best LED Grow Light Strips
Plants produce energy for their survival through photosynthesis, which is made possible by sunlight. But, what if you cannot get the required sunlight because of weather inconsistencies like in the wintertime.
To be able to continue to grow during winter, farms have turned to indoor farming. The issue with indoor growing is the lake of nature full-spectrum light. This is were LED light strips come in; they provide the necessary spectrum of light for the plants to photosynthesize.
In this review, we are going to give you a detailed informational analysis of the best LED grow light strips in the market. But, first of all, you need to know what LED lights offer and some tips on how to select the right one.
Contents
Advantages of LED Grow Light Strips
Before you start looking at what LED grow light strips are the best, let’s look at what makes LED lighting so much better than traditional lights.
Long Lifespan:
Longevity is directly proportional to a product’s durability and its material. A long-lasting LED grow light strip will be the one with the ability to dissipate energy efficiently.
When it comes to indoor farming, artificial lights play a vital role. The longevity of these lights depends mainly on the amount of energy they use. The LED lights produce less heat than conventional lights and have a lifespan of above 50,000 hours. Whereas traditional lights give off more heat, which makes their life shorter.
Energy Savers:
With the boom in technology, our energy consumption has multiplied. Today, the highest bills incurred in a household is electricity. To put a lid on it, we can opt for energy-saving devices and make our living energy efficient.
These LED lights not only extend their own lives by consuming less energy, they reduce your electricity bills too. The conventional lights consume 60% more energy than the LED lights; this means they utilize most of the energy for lighting, whereas there is a significant loss of energy in conventional lights.
Environmentally Friendly
The LED lights are recyclable, therefore, produce no footprint on the environment. Whereas, conventional lights such as HID lights, cannot be recycled and also contain toxic material like mercury.
IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | Header |
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(paid link) | Litever Grow Light Strip Kit 45W | (paid link) | |
(paid link) | Flexible OxyLED 13W 36 LED Grow Light strip for Indoor Plants | (paid link) | |
(paid link) | Sondiko Full Spectrum LED Grow Light Strip | (paid link) | |
(paid link) | Monios-L 6-pack LED Light Strips | (paid link) | |
(paid link) | MIXC 4 Dimmable LED Grow Light Strips for Indoor Growing | (paid link) | |
(paid link) | Lightimetunnel 150W LED Grow Light Strip | (paid link) |
![Monios-L [6-Pack] LED Grow Light Strips for Plants 2FT,...](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zrMTLQSiL._SL160_.jpg)
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Lightimetunnel 150W LED Grow Light Strip (paid link) (paid link) |
How to Pick a good Grow Light Strip?
While there are advanced techniques available to identify the quality of the grow light strips, you need expensive meters and time to test fully. Therefore, we will tell you the methods to spot a good grow light strip for yourself. After reading this, you will be able to pick a good quality LED grow strip light. Make sure to go through this part as it will guide you in choosing from the few of the best lights we have reviewed below.
Let’s look at the desirable attributes of any LED grow light strip.
Solder Joints Check
For the manufacturing of most top-notch LED strips, producers use solder paste, SMT patch process, and reflow soldering; this makes the soldered part smooth and almost undetectable, unlike the lesser quality LED strips in the market. It is important to mention that the welding spot starts from the FPC circuit board and ends at the LED electrode, making an arc shape.
Observe the Label
Over our years of experience, we have found that good quality manufactures will label there strip bags were the low-quality ones will not. I know this sounds like an odd way of judging an electrical component, but trust me, we have found this over and over again.
Is LED Light Belt Surface Clean?
LED light belts, when made through the SMT patch process, don’t have any impurity on their surfaces. However, if the light belt surfaces are made by hand soldering, their surfaces are typically stained with hand imprints; these stains are really difficult to get off.
The point is, whenever you are buying an LED light belt, check its surface; if it’s clean and smooth, it is likely made from the SMP patch process, which is a far better product then hand soldering.
Quality-Check of the FPC
The LED light strips use one of two types of FPC: one is copper plate FPC, and the other, calendared copper FPC. A danger in opting for an LED that uses the copper plate FPC is that you will have to be extra careful while handling the strip; the solder plate will likely fall off if you handle the strip carelessly, and the strip will malfunction.
It is, therefore, better to go for the calendared copper; it is attached strongly to the FPC, and little bending won’t make the solder plate come off.
Package Inspection for Accessories
LED strip connectors and clips are an essential part of top-notch LED strips. Quality products also come with specifications and user-manuals. So, keep an eye for the accessories as many fake products don’t have them in their packages.
Check for Anti-Static Coil Material
A good quality LED strip usually has an anti-static coil material of 5 to 10 meters long. Whereas, the LED strips not having an anti-static material are not recommended. Plus, the packages of the best products in the market are waterproof.
So, be mindful of the features listed above before making your final buying decision; an informed decision is an effective one.
We have listed and reviewed our best picks of LED grow light strips for you. Let’s have a comprehensive look at each of them.
Best LED Grow Light Strips 2020
#1
1) Litever Grow Light Strip Kit 45W
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The quality of the 45W grow light strip can be judged by its top-notch solder joints; this shows that the soldering method used is the SMT patch method, which is desirable. The manual joint is not very strong and can be easily spotted. Therefore, the soldered components won’t come off easily, which makes it durable.
A certified adapter for power makes this grow light strip long-lasting. Plus, the aluminum body minimizes heat production; this means less energy usage and, eventually, lesser bills. The product features a light spectrum that delivers 420-800nm wavelength.
The light spectrum it produces is suitable for all stages of crop growth, whether it be germination or fruition. Lastly, the 45W grow light strip comes with all necessary accessories and is easy to set up. A user manual is also provided in case the user faces any issues.
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#2
2) Flexible OxyLED 13W 36 LED Grow Light strip for Indoor Plants
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The OxyLED grow light strip has 3 packs, is flexible, and suitable for indoor farming. This grow light strip is highly energy efficient; it uses 13 Watts of energy and produces a bright glow. You can always adjust the brightness according to your demand. It has dimming levels of up to five, which enables you to adjust the intensity of the light.
Plus, the combination of blue and red light provides extra functionality; the blue light is suitable for germination, whereas the red light aids photosynthesis. You can set a time for the lights to turn off with the preset timer as well. The feature lets you choose 3 hours, 6 hours, or 12 hours; however, the default setting is set to 24 hours, and no need to change the setting if you want the lights to remain functioning all the time.
Additionally, the light strip is waterproof and made with aluminum; this metal makes the heat dissipation efficient, minimizing the risk of your crops catching fire.
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#3
3) Sondiko Full Spectrum LED Grow Light Strip
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The Sondilo LED light strip makes it to the list of our best grow light strips because of its quality. With a wavelength selection of 420nm to 800nm, the Sondiko light strip features a full-spectrum light. The grow light strip has top-notch 48 LED bulbs, providing a great indoor farming experience. Chlorophyll formulation and seed germination are two important phases of crop growth; the LED has 36 red lights and 12 blue lights, which help the crops in their germination and chlorophyll formulation phases. The combination of red and blue provide a healthy environment for your plants.
The lights are dimmable, so whenever you want them to be at 75%, 50%, or 25%, you can easily do that. This feature is great for saving electricity as you won’t need 100% brightness all the time, why not save energy when you need lesser light. Additionally, the Sondiko full spectrum grow light strip offers an automatic on and off feature, offering you peace of mind. You just have to pre-program and forget about it.
Plus, it has a 50,000 lifespan, which is great when compared to other products in the market. The company’s customer service is great; you can contact them any time you encounter a problem in the product, and they will fix it.
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#4
4) Monios-L 6-pack LED Light Strips
![Monios-L [6-Pack] LED Grow Light Strips for Plants 2FT,...](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zrMTLQSiL.jpg)
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The 6-pack LED light strips come with connector cords that are used to join together the individual lights; you can use them separately or join the strips together to form one grow light. The product is 2-feet and gives off 10 watts per light strip.
You can also turn the individual lights on or off even after joining them by the connector cord. Although great for vegetables, flowers, and verbena, the Monios-L light strips are not that great for tree fruits. The product comes with all the necessary accessories, including the connector cord, clips, screws, pads, and cable ties.
Unlike most devices, the Monios-L has screws or adhesive pads for joining the lights as well as a user manual. Lastly, the 2-year warranty gives you peace of mind while making your final decision. If there is an issue within the 24 months, you can opt to have the lights repaired or replaced.
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#5
5) MIXC 4 Dimmable LED Grow Light Strips for Indoor Growing
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The MIXC 4 is a robust LED light that combines a perfect blue-red light combination for optimal crop growth. With each strip having 16 LED chips in blue color and 40 LED chips in red color, they provide an optimal atmosphere for crop growth; germination, chlorophyll synthesis, flowering, photosynthesis, and fruition are helped with both colors working together.
The light given off to the plants falls in the wavelength range of 460nm to 680nm, which is what the plants require.
The automatic on and off feature lets you pre-program your lights to go on or off at a specific time. This provides peace of mind as you won’t have to worry about it again. The lights are adjustable, so you can dim them whenever you want lower intensity light for your plants; this also saves electricity.
Additionally, the MIXC 4 grow light is made up of aluminum material, which helps it to dissipate heat efficiently.
The aluminum material is beneficial because it will not let the heat shoot up the temperature, minimizing the chance of your crops catching fire. Finally, the three installation options help you set up this dimmable grow light easily; you can install the device by using cable ties, tapes, or magnets.
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#6
6) Lightimetunnel 150W LED Grow Light Strip
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Last but not least is the Lightimetunnel 150W LED light strip. This makes it to our list of best grow light strips because of its suitability to all your plant’s needs. The strip features a professional spectrum of blue and red light wavelengths, which ranges from 470nm to 660nm. It is effective; helps in germination, photosynthesis, and blooming of your fruit crops.
Plus, if you want to set up your water sprinklers somewhere near the device, you can go for it without fretting; the producers of this light have used the IP65 material for making it waterproof so that the water won’t hurt the lights. For an efficient heat dissipation, which is an essential feature of this device, it is made up of aluminum material. As you should have learned by now that the aluminum material dissipates heat well and saves your plants from catching fire.
You can easily install this grow light strip; it comes with adjustable 180-degree brackets with these brackets you can move the lights wherever and whenever you want. Plus, the mounting bar is strong and sturdy and has the potential to last for a long time.
Peace of mind is what every customer wants, right? The Lightimetunnel LED grow light strip comes with a 1-year warranty, which ensures initial as well as long-lasting peace of mind. Lastly, the company even has a 30-day money-back guarantee, so even if you don’t like the product within the 30-day period after your purchase, you can return it.
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Conclusion
We hope you liked the detailed review of the best LED grow lights for your indoor gardening needs.
We vouch for the quality of all products reviewed above, however, if we had to pick only one, we would recommend going with the Litever 45W LED; because it’s the most durable and gives off excellent light.
#1