Last updated: March 28, 2020
LEDs, being relatively new on the market, can be a bit difficult to pick through as far as reviews are concerned.
Specifically, when dealing with growing cannabis, some LEDs might come highly recommended for general growth but won’t cut it when aiming for high-yielding plants.
It takes research and experience to understand the differences between these products, so we’ve curated some of the best options available at this time.
Check them out and peruse the listings. We’ll talk about price, durability, light spectrum and other important considerations about UFO LED grow lights.
Model | Price | Power | Editor's Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Growstar Full Spectrum![]() (Best Overall) | Check Price | 150W | 4.95/5 |
Shengsite Full Spectrum![]() (Best Value) | Check Price | 75W | 4.85/5 |
Apollo Horticulture![]() (Premium Choice) | Check Price | 180W 240W 600W & more | 4.70/5 |
Roledro Red Blue Spectrum![]() | Check Price | 300W | 4.40/5 |
CANAGROW Waterproof ![]() | Check Price | 100W | 4.30/5 |
One of our favorites for a long time here, in fact, it’s basically a go-to in simple setups, Growstar offers reliability and power at an unbeatable price. This is a 150W LED that covers the full light spectrum. It comes with a cooling fan that gets tested at the factory.
It’s ideal for the all-in-one style of lights, however, there are better options specifically for the flowering stage. The 3000k light spectrum is a bit on the cool side for flowering plants, though it will still sate their basic needs.
It’s a notably reliable piece of tech. It is especially good if used in tandem with a light that offers a 6500k light spectrum, but will suffice by itself as well.
Very much a classic style of the UFO LED, it’s a great choice for small grows. This is another full-spectrum light that will handle both vegetative and flowering stages. Similar to the last item on the list, it doesn’t quite have the proper spectrum for massive flowering growths, but will still do the job just fine.
It lacks a bit of the power of the first one, thus the number 2 spot. This isn’t recommended for more than 1, maybe 2, medium-sized plants and must be kept quite close to ensure light penetration.
For low power and cheap options, this is probably the best UFO LED grow light for the money.
Here’s the most powerful of our top 3. This boasts a 180W LED that is capable of handling 3-4 plants all the way to the flowering stage. But once again, we run into the flowering stage issue that a lot of these LED lights have.
Listen, these will work for flowering. It’s just that for massive yields, swapping these out for a red spectrum light is almost always the best choice. All this being said, this is an awesome light for growing multiple plants, while also not being a huge drain on energy compared to an HID system.
Finally, we can talk about something that’ll really flower a plant. This is a high-powered 300W LED, with light reaching into that red spectrum flowering plants crave. It’s a high-quality product that will not get too hot, though some ventilation is needed for the entire room as usual.
The reason this isn’t in the top 3 is that it has more of a niche appeal. New growers don’t want to have to swap out lights during the vegetative stage or make two purchases.
This isn’t the light to grow a plant from a seedling, this is the one to turn on once flowering begins to get high yields.
Sturdy, and reliable, but comes a bit short when accounting for light spread. This also would have made it into the top three, but our second pick is a very similar design that has a bit more penetration. However, this one is waterproof. Making it the smart choice for growers who wish to supplement outdoor light or are worried about moisture problems in their grow room.
The 100W light needs to be kept close to the plants throughout their growing period to make the most of the available light. Not recommended for more than 1 or 2 plants, nor during flowering stages when density can get in the way.
Finally, the price is really good for this product. We talked it down a bit here, but it’s a great budget choice.
An excellent seedling bulb that for a great price, but it’s not suited for much else. The spectrum on this lamp trends towards the cooler colors, which make it a great choice for the early stages of growth, but leaves a lot to be desired once the plants are more established.
The price point is hard to beat, using this to begin growth gently before swapping to a more high-powered lamp is a great idea. We’re leaving it at number 6 mostly because, unless it’s being used specifically for nurseries, it’s just not going to cut it compared to the previous entries.
Mimicking daylight at low power may seem like a good idea, but it’s not powerful enough for the flowering stage and isn’t the ideal spectrum for young plants.
It might be better for a tomato plant than Cannabis. It’s a solid light, don’t get us wrong, but it’s the wrong color spectrum at the wrong power level.
Growers use cooler light spectrums with low power for the early stage of plant development, this is a daylight spectrum light at low power. It will make the corona of a plant fairly happy while leaving most everything else in the shadow.
It could see some niche use as a low-budget light for a highly trained plant, otherwise, there are better options.
LED light’s functional wattage is different from what is on the label. They produce about 40-50% more light than other lights under the same amount of power. Meaning a 100W LED is similar to a 150W HID. This is a big thing to keep in mind when trying to math out the best light for a grow.
Another thing to pay attention to is the light spectrum. LED’s work great for Cannabis, but a lot of manufacturers try to target multiple audiences with full-spectrum lights. These are not ideal for flowering plants, like we mentioned a few times, but will work.
There’s a lot of reviews out there from people that are just happy they managed to make a plant grow indoors, but we’re looking for lights that are capable of good yields.
LED grow lights operate on a lot less power than an HID system, while also dramatically producing less heat. However, some heat is still an issue. Good cooling systems and heat sinks are needed in these rigs, and a product with sub-par cooling is going to go out fairly quickly.
These are a few of the things we think about when going over these LED lights. They are issues that every grower is going to face when choosing them.
The final thing we think about is the price point. Luckily, as the tech has grown the prices have dropped dramatically while still maintaining a quality product.
Don’t be turned off by the fact that LEDs are quite inexpensive when compared to HIDs. It’s a good thing.
If there’s something to take away, it’s that the Growstar UFO Led Grow Light is a great product. This has very obvious use as an excellent light for closet or small grow tent operations.
It might not be the best for red light like the Roledro LED Grow Lights, but it’ll handle 1 or 2 medium plants just fine to flowering.
Both of them have been a go-to product for a few years now, and when we’ve used them together the results are pretty spectacular for the amount of investment and power consumption.
They are a great way to go about this if choosing the LED style of plant growing.
Featured Image: LED UFO Grow Light/Apollo Horticulture, Amazon
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