Views: 23 Author: ICEVER Publish Time: 2025-06-18 Origin: ICEVER
Disclaimer：The following content reflects my personal opinions and testing experience with different brands. It is provided for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. All trademarks and brand names mentioned belong to their respective owners. Readers should verify details independently before making any decisions or purchases.
In today's market, there is a wide variety of plant grow light brands, each offering diverse options tailored to different cultivation needs and user groups. From home gardening to commercial-scale farming, choosing the right grow light can not only increase crop yields but also optimize planting efficiency. Additionally, emerging brands are gradually capturing market share through differentiated product designs and innovative features.
When selecting a grow light, consumers need to focus not only on the brand's reputation and technical specifications but also on their own cultivation needs, such as the type of crops, growth stages, and the size of the planting space, to choose the most suitable grow light equipment.
In this article, we will share some of the most popular plant grow light brands currently on the market to help consumers gain a clearer understanding of each brand's characteristics. You'll learn what is important, what to look for in a supplier, and some valuable tips for purchasing the best products.
Part 1 ：Comprehensive Analysis of Each Brand →
Part 2 ：FAQ For Grow Light Selection Considerations →（Updating）
AC Infinity Inc. is a technology company focused on environmental controls. Their primary vision is to design truly innovative systems for audio-video, HVAC, and agricultural applications. AC Infinity specializes in ventilation and cooling systems. Their product designs incorporate research on sound and vibration caused by airflow, ensuring high efficiency while maintaining low noise levels.
Initially, AC Infinity concentrated on ventilation and cooling systems but later expanded into the plant lighting sector. Currently, their grow lights include three types: board type, strip type, and bar type. Among these models, AC Infinity uses LED chips from Samsung, Osram, and Seoul. These products provide either full-spectrum or UV light, with a spectrum range of 395-730nm.
Overall, grow lights are not AC Infinity’s main product line, so the variety is limited, and the types of chips used are not extensive. However, we believe that growers choose AC Infinity for its brand recognition and the opportunity to integrate grow lights with ventilation and other smart devices. Simplifying cultivation through intelligent control is undoubtedly a promising direction.
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California LightWorks is a U.S.-based company focused on energy-efficient LED greenhouse lighting. Since 2008, they have been providing high-efficiency LED grow lights and automation equipment for greenhouses and indoor gardening. Their mission is to apply advanced solid-state lighting and control technologies to offer competitively priced LED grow light systems to growers worldwide.
California LightWorks focuses on improving lighting performance and reducing costs by integrating the latest technologies. Their products are divided into four series, primarily including three types: board, strip, and bar. Earlier products were designed with centralized light sources and compact sizes to suit small spaces. However, this increased light intensity and created heat management issues, particularly due to their high red-light output.
The latest products, such as the 400 and 800 series, address these issues by increasing heat dissipation grille height or adopting a bar design. Their spectrum ranges from 400 to 735nm (according to their website), with a high proportion of red light, though specific LED chip types are not disclosed.
As a U.S.-based manufacturer, California LightWorks continues to optimize user experience by introducing multi-device connection solutions. It is particularly suitable for American consumers, who can easily access their products and enjoy professional support and after-sales service.
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Spider Farmer is a Chinese grow light manufacturer established in 2014, specializing in the innovative production of LED plant grow lights. Their products are widely used in indoor gardening and hydroponic cultivation, with users across the globe. Spider Farmer aims to help growers cultivate healthy and vibrant plants in various environments.
Spider Farmer offers three main types of grow lights: board type, strip type, and bar type. The grow lights primarily use LED chips from Samsung and Bridgelux. Their products range in power from 150W to 1000W, providing a variety of options for different needs.
In terms of spectrum, Spider Farmer does not specify exact details but offers some insights based on the LEDs used. Most of their lights feature warm white LEDs (3000K and 5000K), deep red LEDs (660nm), and IR diodes (760nm). This combination forms a full spectrum, with white LEDs providing the main light source and 660nm and 760nm red LEDs enhancing flowering by increasing red light intensity. Their advertised spectrum likely includes higher blue light levels but lacks UV light. For UV supplementation, Spider Farmer offers additional lights, making it possible to meet all plant lighting needs when used together.
Overall, Spider Farmer provides customers with a wide range of options and features suitable for home growers.
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Mars Hydro is a Chinese company established in 2009, specializing in the research, development, and production of LED grow lights and grow tents. The company operates a factory in Shenzhen and has warehouses in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., Germany, Russia, and Japan, making it suitable for small-scale online purchases.
Mars Hydro is committed to developing products that meet market demands. Their product lineup includes bar lights, board lights, greenhouse lights, supplemental lights, grow tent kits, and smart control systems, aiming to provide growers with efficient and energy-saving cultivation solutions.
Mars Hydro grow lights primarily use Bridgelux chips, with a spectrum of 660–665nm, 2800–3000K, and 4800–5000K. Similar to Spider Farmer, they use a combination of white LEDs and red LEDs to promote flowering. To enhance user experience, Mars Hydro has added simple features like Bluetooth dimming and knobs for manual adjustments. They may add more functions in the future.
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If you're looking for large-scale commercial grow lights, this company's products may not be the best fit. However, Soltech is an excellent choice for consumers seeking home plant lighting solutions. Soltech specializes in indoor plant lighting, using advanced LED technology to provide full-spectrum light that promotes plant health while enhancing indoor aesthetics.
Soltech's design philosophy combines functionality with aesthetics, offering lighting products that meet plant growth needs while improving the visual appeal of indoor environments. Their products feature a minimalist and elegant design, are easy to install, and aim to create a comfortable and vibrant indoor space for users.
Soltech's products are more suited for home plants, primarily using 3000K white LED lights. This spectrum leans toward the red light range, providing a warm and inviting look for human eyes. Additionally, 3000K LEDs produce less blue light, reducing potential harm to your eyes.
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ViparSpectra, established in 2011, specializes in providing innovative and affordable LED grow lights and related gardening products for indoor growers. Through continuous research and development, ViparSpectra is dedicated to delivering high-quality products that meet diverse cultivation needs.
The design philosophy of ViparSpectra is to use advanced LED technology to provide full-spectrum lighting that mimics natural sunlight, promoting healthy plant development at all growth stages. Their products focus on high efficiency, durability, and user-friendliness, aiming to enhance the overall growing experience.
ViparSpectra positions its products as cost-effective, but the pricing for small grow lights is not necessarily cheaper than competitors. Their large grow lights feature a combination of white and red LEDs, using 3000K, 5000K, and 660nm LEDs. To improve heat dissipation, ViparSpectra separates the power supply from the light fixtures and offers interfaces for linking multiple devices as well as control knobs. However, they do not provide detailed information about the linking functionality.
Their KS1000W grow light is more affordable than those of other manufacturers, but it has fewer diodes, with a total of 1260 LEDs and only 36 660nm red LEDs. (To their credit, they disclose these numbers transparently, allowing the spectrum to be inferred.) Overall, ViparSpectra grow lights are suitable for most use cases, and their products are a good choice for home growers.
On a side note, if you want to determine whether a product is truly worth it, check the manufacturer’s datasheet for the number of diodes. The quantity of diodes is a key factor in determining the cost. In the next section, we will discuss more about how to choose the right grow lights and analyze their pricing.
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Gavita, headquartered in the Netherlands, aims to provide assimilation lighting solutions for the professional horticulture and indoor growing industries. Known for its focus on innovation, Gavita products are frequently chosen for horticultural projects. While their HID fixtures and plasma lighting have received positive reviews, their LED products are still developing. However, Gavita's LED offerings show great potential due to their extensive customer base and research experience.
Gavita is committed to delivering efficient and reliable lighting solutions for professional growers through continuous innovation and high-quality products. According to their self-assessment, they emphasize product safety, ease of installation and use, and adaptability to various growing environments.
Gavita's current LED grow lights retain the design of their main HPS products. These fixtures are compact yet weigh around 12kg. The advertised PPE for standard models is 3.5μmol/J, indicating high light efficiency, likely featuring a significant proportion of red LEDs. However, the compact design poses two challenges: concentrated light and heat dissipation. Gavita addresses these issues with wide-angle high-efficiency lenses, allowing the compact lights to cover a larger area. They also highlight their cooling technology but provide limited details. Based on the design, it is likely that they use thermal conductive materials (the 11.5kg weight suggests an aluminum alloy) to create heat dissipation grilles, which they refer to as the "chimney effect mind." The cooling appears to be lateral, potentially compatible with ventilation systems.
Their website provides limited product details but emphasizes their willingness to offer professional customization services. Gavita tailors lighting spectra for different plant species and highlights the importance of matching grow lights to specific growing environments. Their site also includes detailed calculation tools, enhancing trust in their professionalism.
If you plan to build a large greenhouse and don’t mind the appearance of these grow lights, it is highly recommended to inquire about their products and services.
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Fluence by OSRAM is a company based in Austin, Texas, offering high-efficiency LED products designed for commercial crop cultivation. In 2018, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of OSRAM. Fluence focuses on using innovative LED technology to support growers worldwide in achieving diverse cultivation goals. Their products are built with efficiency, durability, and adaptability in mind, catering to different crop types and growing environments.
Fluence designs all its lights in a bar-shaped format, categorized into three series based on application and design. Each series has a unique spectrum, all utilizing their proprietary PhysioSpec technology. Two of the series are notable for their high yellow light content (in the SPYDR series, yellow light exceeds red light). Many believe that increasing yellow and green light can enhance light penetration, a view shared by Samsung. However, the effectiveness still depends on plant species and specific objectives.
Taking the SPYDR series as an example, its PPE is 2.6μmol/J, which is lower compared to similar products in the market. However, this data is reliable. Fluence limits the use of red LEDs and includes more blue LEDs, keeping PPE within a balanced range. To summarize, Fluence aims to replicate natural light as closely as possible. For specific growth stage requirements, they also offer customization services upon request.
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BIOS Lighting, based in Carlsbad, California, was founded by former NASA scientists. The company draws on their experience designing lighting systems for astronauts aboard the International Space Station to revolutionize lighting technology on Earth.
BIOS Lighting aims to design products that support human circadian rhythms and meet plant growth requirements. Their products simulate natural light spectra, enhancing human health and productivity while providing optimized light conditions to boost plant growth and yields.
BIOS offers two types of plant grow lights. Like many others, their lights use a bar shape to ensure even light distribution. Their products feature a striking blue theme, offering a visually appealing design. The spectrum consists of a high proportion of blue and red light (U-shaped spectrum), resulting in a PPE of 2.6–2.8μmol/J. Their “Photosynthetically Optimized Broad Spectrum” clearly focuses on maximizing light efficiency for growth or flowering by minimizing green light. This approach aligns with traditional ideas in cultivation: using the most efficient light wavelengths.
BIOS and Fluence differ significantly in spectral philosophy. BIOS represents a mature theory by emphasizing red and blue light, while Fluence adopts a newer theory that incorporates more green light. Whether adding green light is worthwhile depends on cultivation results. From a health and growth perspective, I personally lean towards the inclusion of green light, which I will explain later.
Regarding their products, the datasheet does not specify the LED brands used. However, BIOS offers a 7-year warranty, indicating strong confidence in product quality. They may have optimized their circuitry to reduce current through the LEDs and used durable red LEDs. As long as the lights are not overworked, they should have a long lifespan. However, the lifespan of any product depends on its weakest component, so attention should also be paid to LEDs other than red light.
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Hortilux Schréder is a Netherlands-based company that initially specialized in producing high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps, a traditional plant lighting solution widely used in greenhouses and agricultural applications. With advancements in lighting technology, Hortilux has gradually introduced LED technology and expanded its product line to include LED grow lights. The company focuses on providing comprehensive plant lighting solutions for international greenhouse horticulture and indoor farming. Through knowledge sharing and tailored solutions, Hortilux aims to help growers worldwide maximize the benefits of plant lighting and improve yields.
Regarding products, Hortilux offers three types of LED grow lights, two of which closely resemble the appearance of HPS lamps, while the third is a smaller supplemental light. Their grow lights feature standard light recipes that include blue, green, red, and far-red wavelengths. The limited data provided on their website indicates a spectrum range of 400–800nm, but the intensity of each wavelength is not disclosed.
According to the NXTLED series specifications, the maximum PPE can reach 4.1 μmol/J, far exceeding the efficiency of most grow lights on the market. This suggests the lights likely contain a significant number of red LEDs, possibly more than other grow lights mentioned earlier. However, PPE is not the sole parameter determining the effectiveness of a grow light. Professional growers should focus on selecting a spectrum tailored to their goals, such as flowering, germination, or enhancing CBD production.
Hortilux highlights several features of their grow lights, including the ability to individually switch off green and far-red light (Boost function) and a dimming function. These features are highly suitable for cultivation and offer flexibility for growers.
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Valoya Oy, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, specializes in providing high-end, energy-efficient LED grow lights for the biotechnology and horticulture industries. Since its establishment in 2009, Valoya has focused on extensive plant photobiology research to develop proprietary LED technologies, offering solutions for crop science, vertical farming, and medicinal plant cultivation. In 2022, Valoya merged with Greenlux Finland Oy to form Greenlux Lighting Solutions, aiming to provide a broader product portfolio and a more efficient supply chain.
Valoya's design philosophy is rooted in in-depth plant photobiology research, focusing on customized broad-spectrum LED lighting to optimize plant growth and development. Their products emphasize efficiency, durability, and adaptability to meet the needs of different crops and growing environments. Valoya also holds numerous patents in horticultural lighting.
In terms of products, Valoya offers three types of grow lights with varying designs but does not disclose the LED chips used. Most grow lights are under 1000W, with the majority being small to medium-sized. Taking the RF-Series as an example, Valoya's grow lights typically have PPE below 2.7μmol/J and feature a spectrum that includes blue, green, red, and small amounts of UV and IR. Valoya provides detailed data reports, and the LED ratios reveal that their spectrum mimics natural sunlight with added beneficial red and blue light.
This approach differs from that of Hortilux. Hortilux achieves higher PPE than market averages by emphasizing red light, while Valoya focuses on a sunlight-based spectrum, enhancing it with customer-specific light requirements, resulting in PPE lower than market averages. The choice between these approaches depends on the grower's needs. Red light is highly effective during flowering stages but may cause excessive growth during vegetative stages. Therefore, high-red-light grow lights are more suitable for flowering rooms than vegetative rooms.
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SANlight GmbH, located in Vorarlberg, Austria, claims expertise in horticulture, photonics, and semiconductor technology, aiming to design efficient LED grow lights. SANlight’s design philosophy focuses on the plants themselves, providing optimal lighting conditions to promote healthy growth. The company grows various plants in its in-house laboratory for research and rapidly integrates the findings into their products. Additionally, SANlight collaborates with universities and research institutions to further enhance their R&D capabilities.
SANlight offers two types of grow lights: one with a staircase-like design and the other in a traditional flat-panel form. Both are compact, making them suitable for small rooms or grow tents. SANlight uses LED chips from Seoul Semiconductor in Korea and Osram in Germany, featuring a classic red-and-white spectrum. This spectrum performs well in the red range but has relatively less blue light. The PPE of their grow lights is approximately 3.0μmol/J, and the lights include a knob for adjusting intensity.
A notable feature of SANlight products is the use of individual lenses for each LED. These lenses make the emitted light softer and allow for a wider coverage area. They also protect the LEDs and make cleaning easier. However, there is a drawback—blue light loss. Blue and UV light tend to lose energy when passing through materials.
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Kroptek is an agricultural technology company based in the UK, offering products such as LED horticultural lighting systems, modified container farms, and services for hydroponic and aeroponic farming systems. Kroptek aims to help farmers grow high-quality crops sustainably throughout the year. They collaborate with large commercial partners, research centers, and universities to develop controlled environment agriculture (CEA) solutions for various crops and growing conditions. Kroptek is one of the first UK companies to convert containers into farms, producing flavorful and aromatic crops. They have also received funding from Innovate UK to conduct CEA research with their partners.
Kroptek offers multiple product series tailored to different plant types, with their highest-powered model being the SUNLAST series. According to the datasheet, their grow lights range in power from 300 to 1000W, with a PPE of 2.7μmol/J. In terms of spectrum, Kroptek provides five standard spectrum options and offers customization services. For cannabis cultivation, their KP08 spectrum is recommended, which mimics sunlight while adding more red and blue light, with an emphasis on blue light. The website does not disclose information about the chips used.
Since Kroptek's products target a wide variety of plants, their spectra are more general. If you choose their products, it is advisable to design a customized spectrum based on your specific crops.
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Photontek, based in Montpellier, France, specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of LED grow lights. Their goal is to provide lighting that supports the entire plant growth cycle, helping growers achieve higher returns on investment. The design philosophy of Photontek revolves around "balance and high intensity," aiming to create optimal lighting conditions for plants throughout their growth stages. Their LED grow lights use branded diodes and drivers, offering maximum photon efficiency and the lowest cost per micromole.
Photontek grow lights feature a striking red theme and come in two designs: bar-shaped and rectangular. The rectangular design is relatively uncommon and can be considered a specialized bar design, both providing uniform light distribution. Some of their grow lights use LEDs from Osram and Philips, while others do not specify the brand. The spectrum ranges from 400 to 730nm, with some models including IR light. The PPE of their grow lights ranges between 2.5 and 2.9μmol/J, utilizing an optimized sunlight spectrum.
Compared to other manufacturers, Photontek offers a separately purchasable controller for their grow lights. This controller functions similarly to an advanced timer, allowing users to control on/off times, adjust light intensity, monitor temperature, and calculate PPFD. However, it is important to note that PPFD calculations are for reference only, as actual PPFD is influenced by various factors and requires direct measurement.
Every brand has its own philosophy when it comes to designing light spectra. Generally, these can be divided into traditional red-blue spectra and full-spectrum lighting. Currently, the market tends to favor full-spectrum lighting, which adds green and yellow light to the classic red-blue combination.
For example, BIOS Lighting leans toward reducing green light, while brands like Fluence prefer using a full spectrum. So, the main disagreement lies in whether green light is necessary.
Let's take a look at the characteristics of green light: Green light helps balance red and blue light, turning the overall color from pink to white, allowing you to see your plants more clearly. But that's just the surface-level effect. Adding green light also reduces the strain blue light puts on human eyes and stimulates green leaf tissues, boosting photosynthesis in a different way. This is explained further in the article "Optimized full spectrum LED grow light for Plant at all stages."
Now, back to full-spectrum lighting — there are various types. For instance, Fluence by OSRAM has its own interpretation. They lean toward natural light spectra and name their approach PhysioSpec. They add specific wavelengths to the natural spectrum to enhance targeted aspects of plant growth, but the additions are minimal.
Currently, the main grow light structures on the market are PCB and BAR types. By adjusting light angle, coverage area, wattage, and installation method, you can get many different variations.
The PCB type concentrates LEDs in a small area, which provides more focused light. At the same height, it can deliver higher PPF. Additionally, its compact size helps save space — but heat dissipation becomes a challenge. This type is ideal for small or medium-scale setups, such as home growing, plant racks, or greenhouse supplemental lighting.
The BAR type spreads the LEDs out, allowing it to cover a larger area with more uniform light distribution. Since the LEDs are distributed across different zones, heat dissipation is excellent. However, it requires more space for installation. It's best suited for large-scale growing environments, like greenhouses, cannabis farms, or commercial cultivation.
Actually, choosing a grow light involves considering:
No. | Factor | Note |
1 | Installation | Space size, height, other equipment present |
2 | Plant characteristics | What light intensity is needed, temperature sensitivity |
3 | Heat dissipation | Any extra cooling, full-power usage duration |
4 | Usage intensity | Daily usage time, frequency of use |
5 | Price | Most depend on the quantity of LEDs |
6 | Features | UV, dimming knobs, daisy-chaining, independent switches |
Once you understand your own needs, it's easier to look at products from different brands and see the logic behind their designs.
Let's look at a few interesting examples:
Gavita’s only LED grow light uses a PCB setup and resembles their other products in appearance. From photos on their website, you can see the chips are packed tightly, so heat dissipation becomes the key factor affecting its lifespan. Compared to other grow lights, it takes up less space and won’t block sunlight in large-scale greenhouses. But on the flip side, you’ll need to invest more effort in managing heat.
Photontek has a product that uses a rectangular ring design. Their goal is to combine the high PPFD of a PCB structure with the strong cooling of BAR lights. The ring design also leaves a strong visual impression. Compared to other grow lights, you'll need to pay more attention to the hanging height to reduce overlapping light zones that may cause negative effects
PPE is important — but not so important as you thought. It depends on how you understand it.
From a user’s perspective, PPE is a number that indicates how energy-efficient a product is. But if you blindly chase high PPE values, you might overlook other, more important factors.
There are several ways to increase PPE:
Using higher-efficiency LED chips
Adding more red LEDs
Boosting the PPF of the tested fixture
When it comes to LED chip specs, PPE varies across brands and models. We’ve spent a lot of time comparing PPE performance across different chips, and based on the test results, we chose the brands we use now:
For white light chips, we found that Samsung LEDs have the highest PPE at specific driving currents, while also maintaining great stability.
For red light chips, Osram performed the best. Even though its raw red output isn't the highest, it excels in lifespan. Osram’s lenses are highly integrated and don’t fall off easily, and the light decay is minimal.
Cree and Seoul chips also performed decently.
If you have DIY skills, you can build your own spectrum using well-regarded branded chips — achieving both high PPE and quality.
But still, higher PPE isn’t always better.
If you look at LED chip data sheets, you’ll see that red light has the highest PPE, while UV has the lowest. So here’s what can happen: A grow light may use an excessive amount of red light, reduce blue and UV, and reach a PPE above 4.0. This kind of light may perform extremely well in the flowering phase, but poorly in other growth stages.
So, when choosing a full-spectrum grow light, you should avoid focusing too much on PPE. Instead, ask: Is the spectrum effective?
One last thing — PPE can be increased by using higher current during testing. But high current doesn’t reflect normal usage, and this kind of testing is meaningless. Worse, it shortens the lifespan of the LED chip.
Let's briefly introduce what PPFD is.
PPFD, or Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density, refers to the number of light particles (photons) that land on a square meter per second within the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range.
You can think of light as raindrops falling from LED chips. PPFD tells us how many of those drops fall on a specific area at a specific height each second. Since light spreads as it travels, PPFD decreases as the coverage area increases.
Factors affecting PPFD:
From a design perspective, the key factors are:
The distribution of LED chips
The beam angle of the light
The main difference between board-style (PCB) and bar-style (BAR) lights lies in how the chips are arranged. Board lights concentrate LEDs in a small area, while bar lights spread them out. So even at the same power, their light uniformity is different.
It's like using a flashlight — with a fixed power, you can’t get both a wide beam and high brightness at the same time.
Another important aspect is the beam angle. LEDs can be equipped with lenses to control how wide or narrow the light spreads — like focusing a laser pointer.
One example is SANlight GmbH, which uses lenses to extend the coverage of its compact board-style lights. The result is a small fixture with light uniformity similar to a bar light — all thanks to the lens.
However, this design comes with risks:
If the lens material is low quality → light loss → heat buildup → lens aging → more light loss.
This creates a vicious cycle. That's why it's important to pay attention to both lens quality and heat dissipation. SANlight GmbH seems aware of this and highlights both features in their marketing.
That's the general idea behind LED layout and beam angles. But product design goes deeper — and one critical issue is light overlap.
Light overlap doesn't just happen between different lights. Even within a single fixture, each LED chip emits overlapping light patterns. That’s why more detail-oriented manufacturers calculate LED density rather than just spacing them evenly.
From a usage perspective, the main factors are:
Mounting height & Light placement
Raise the light, and PPFD drops. Lower it, and PPFD increases. When two lights are placed close together, the overlapping zone gets a higher PPFD.
With these principles, you can adjust your setup to achieve the ideal PPFD for your plants.
How to read manufacturer PPFD charts:
Check the testing height — some charts are measured at 30cm, others at 60cm. Different heights lead to very different PPFD values.
Check the uniformity — a good grow light isn't just bright, it spreads light evenly.
Look at how much the numbers vary across the chart. If the center is 1200 µmol/m²/s but the edges are only 500, it’s better suited for small grow areas.
Finally, consider buying a PPFD meter. It's a simple tool that lets you measure light at different positions. You’ll be able to fine-tune your grow light height and spacing, making your entire lighting system more precise and efficien
Many papers and studies have highlighted the benefits of UV, and almost all of the grow light brands we’ve mentioned — such as AC INFINITY and California Lightworks — offer UV-equipped products.
But UV also comes with a fair share of challenges:
Drawback | Cause | Possible Solution |
Short lifespan | UV LED chips are highly sensitive to static | Avoid physical contact; handle carefully during installation |
Rapid light decay | UV output drops quickly and becomes ineffective | / |
High replacement cost | UV is often built together with other LEDs, making it hard to replace individually | / |
Because of their short wavelength, UV rays are easily absorbed or blocked by materials. That creates a design dilemma:
If you use protective materials, the UV effect becomes weak.
If you don’t use protection, the UV chips are vulnerable to environmental damage, and problems may go unnoticed.
UV chips also tend to fail early if they're powered on along with other LEDs for long periods.
Common UV Design Approaches on the Market
Lighting designers face these same problems, and several solutions are now used across different brands:
Method | Pros & Cons | Brands Using It |
Protective cover with high UV transparency | Reduces UV exposure to dust and water while preserving light transmission; but prone to aging or cracking | Most manufacturers |
Separate UV switch | Allows you to turn UV off when not needed, extending chip lifespan | Scynce LED |
Independent UV light bars | Easy to replace and control; requires more space and extra power | Mars Hydro, ViparSpectra |
Replaceable UV modules | Lowers replacement cost; UV can be swapped out independently | / |
So far, no product on the market fully solves the UV problem — but our design team has developed a more balanced approach.
In our custom models, we integrate UV into the full-spectrum design, but with some key differences:
UV LEDs are mounted on a separate PCB, located at the center of the grow light.
The UV module has a dedicated connector on the side, protected by a cap.
The PCB is elevated, preventing accidental contact during stacking or installation.
UV can be controlled independently via a switch or smartphone Bluetooth — so it doesn’t run continuously.
If the UV module fails, it can be replaced by hand without affecting the rest of the light.
The replacement module includes all the same protections and control features.
Flexibility for Future Use
UV's role still needs more long-term market validation. If you don't need UV for now, our design still works for you — the reserved connector allows you to add UV anytime later, without changing your current grow setup.
UPDATING......
Where light grows, so does knowledge. Hope everyone is inspired by sharing!
