Whether you grow cannabis as a hobby or commercially, you appreciate the importance of using quality grow lights in your indoor grow center.
Metal halide grow lights have been garnering huge popularity for their capacity to give off quality light, and thus help promote plant health and yield.
Metal halide grow lights belong in the HID category and consist of a quartz tube and gaseous matter that produces a broad spectrum of light.
Quality metal halide grow lights are durable. You can draw some 19 – 21 thousand hours out of metal halide grow lights, and despite their higher heat release, they are reliable.
10 Best Metal Halide Grow Lights
Pros and Cons of Metal Halide Grow Lights
The metal halide lamps typically simulate the early summer seasonal sun, and these lamps produce a white light, which is excellent for plants at the vegetative stage. On the other hand, these types of lamps can emit excessive heat, which causes various issues.
The following are some of the pros and cons of metal halide grow lights:
1. Broad Spectrum Light
Metal halide lamps contain a gas that is illuminated to give off a quality light, and these lamps produce a light that features varying wavelengths, making them efficient. These grow lamps particularly feature blue and violet light spectrums.
2. High Efficiency
Light is an essential element of photosynthesis. When you compare metal halide grow lamps with fluorescent lights, the metal halide grow lights are light years ahead. The metal halide grow lamps feature a robust arc tube and gaseous matter that enhances the emission of broad spectrum light.
3. Unstable Build
Metal halide grow lights are not on the same level as ceramic metal halide grow lights when it comes to consistency. Ceramic metal halide grow lamps usually have a ceramic arc tube, which is powerful and highly resistant to breakdown. And for this reason, the ceramic metal halide lamps can last over long periods without lowered performance. However, metal halide grow lights have a quartz arc tube, and gaseous substance, which makes these lamps susceptible to slow and drawn-out degradation. In other words, the metal halide grow lights typically lose efficiency slowly through the years.
Tips for Boosting Efficiency When Using Metal Halide Grow Lights
Metal halide grow lights are efficient when it comes to indoor hemp and marijuana growing. However, there are certain tips you must keep in mind to ensure outstanding results.
Don’t put the lights too near to the plants: metal halide grow lights usually emit a higher level of heat, and if you position the grow lights too close to plants, the heat produced might damage plant structure or cause damage to plant phyto-compounds.
Don’t put the lights too far from plants: in the same breath, avoid placing the lights too far off the plants. Greater distances typically water down the light intensity, which causes the plants to receive fewer photons, and potentially lowers the efficiency of grow lamps.
Know when to replace the bulbs: metal halide grow lamps typically experience degradation through their lifetime, and some of the factors that may affect the rate of their degradation include maintenance and extent of use. And so, when your lamps lose a substantial output, it’s ideal to replace them.
Install quality ventilation: when growing plants in an indoor setup, you need to supply the plants with a constant stream of fresh air, which promotes good health in plants, and raises the harvest. Ventilation is particularly helpful in eliminating heat energy, which would otherwise affect plant structure, or damage cannabis chemical elements. And so, it’s critical to install quality ventilation systems in your indoor grow center.
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