Thursday 7 January 2016

A Comprehensive Overview On The Use Of LED Grow Lights In Crop Production

By Cynthia Hayes


LED stands for Light Emitting Diodes and the ones used for growing plants are a bit different from the regular ones in electronics. For agricultural purposes these diodes are placed more closely and this makes them more powerful thereby making their lighting capabilities a little more powerful. Throughout this guide you will be given all the necessary information concerning the LED grow lights.

For LEDs a single wavelength can be emitted as required. This is not however the case for the common light bulbs. These bulbs emit a wide range of wavelengths which form the final white light by combining the wavelengths together. Power adjustments are done by increasing the number of diodes or even by controlling the brightness of these diodes.

There have been several studies which have been carried out to determine the effect of the light from the sun. It has come to be known that the sun, although beneficial to the plants, it produces some wavelengths which can hinder the development of chlorophyll. This necessitated the need for developing a source which does not pose those effects to plants. This made the diodes a better option.

This technological advancement came to help allow people to grow crops even in areas with the minimum exposure to the sun. This is seen to pose a challenge to the growth of plants as chlorophyll production cannot take place in those conditions. Some localities also never have enough space for growing their plants in the outdoors. This makes them seek for alternative farming areas indoors.

The minute levels of heat emission experience by the use of diodes make it a good fit for agriculture. This allows the diodes to be strategically fixed near the plants so as to help the plants take advantage of proximity of all wavelengths. This helps facilitate plant growth and it is possible only because diodes do not use produce a lot of heat as a result of low energy consumption.

These diodes also eliminate the need for massive water quantities to be set aside for agriculture. Conventional bubs would cause significant increases in the atmospheric temperature within a space. This will make the plants lose considerable amounts of water as a result of excessive transpiration. The height of the plants is easily determinable due to all the sensitivity that most plants possess towards the proximity of certain wave lengths.

With diodes there is no need for a ballast to be incorporated within the system. These ballasts are often placed in other growing technologies with the view of preventing the system from destroying itself. Apart from being bulky, it uses a significant amount of energy to sustain operation. When such a unit is excluded using diodes, the cost of energy can be reduced to sustainable levels.

The intensity that the wavelengths are transmitted to the plants is easily adjustable by controlling the degree of brightness produced by the diodes. Scientists have also associated the increase in the anti-oxidation abilities of plants to ability to vary the intensity of the wavelength. For agricultural purposes one should consider the different benefits availed by the different products in the market. The energy consumption should be determined to be efficient and the unit should have the ability to cool itself. The spectrum produced must be deemed suitable for that very purpose.




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