Grow light vs sunlight: which one is better for plants

  litescience          2021-10-14

The biggest challenge of indoor planting is to provide suitable light, because water, carbon dioxide, and light are necessary conditions for photosynthesis of plants. Without enough light, your plants will not be able to produce the nutrients needed for growth.

Although the current plant growth lamps do a good job of maintaining plant life, are they still better than sunlight?

Plants-growing-in-the-sun

Grow light vs sunlight :light quality

Sunlight can nourish the growth of everything because it can provide full-spectrum light. Plants mainly use red and blue light. Plants mainly use blue light to grow leaves and red light to flower. The current LED grow lights are spectrally capable of emitting full-spectrum light. In some cases (if you don't have a suitable outdoor space), the effect of the grow lights will be better. 

Grow light vs sunlight:light intensity 

The light intensity of the growth lamp is not as good as outdoor sunlight. 6 hours exposure to sunlight is equivalent to 12-14 hours exposure under the growth lamp. Moreover, the sunlight is free, and the growth lamp needs to pay a large amount of electricity. Of course , This is determined by the power of the device. Plants that need less light, such as plants that like to grow naturally in the shade or diffuse sunlight, only need to be exposed to a growing light for 6 hours a day.

Temperature regulation problem

Sunlight will increase the temperature, which is beneficial to heat-loving plants. However, plants that like to grow in colder conditions will be affected. Studies have shown that most plants can thrive at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Growers who use grow lights are generally equipped with a temperature control system that can control the growth environment of plants. If your plants have strict temperature requirements, grow lights are a better choice.

Grow light vs sunlight: which one is better for plants

If used properly, they can make plants grow well. Sunlight is a gift from nature. It is free and efficient. Growing lights allow us to grow plants indoors. This is the convenience brought to us by technological development.