For the many growers who are unable to cultivate cannabis outside in the free abundant sunshine, grow lights are necessary to successfully grow cannabis indoors. Grow lights take the place of the sun, and power the growth of your plants and their buds. Light is like "food" for your plants, so without a lot of bright light, even a healthy cannabis plant won't produce much bud at all. More Light = Bigger Yields! (up to a point, it is possible to give your plant too much light!) There are lots of options for grow lights that work well for growing cannabis indoors but in the end they boil down to 3 major types: 2.) High Intensity Discharge (HID) Grow Lights Note: Some growers may have heard of "Induction" grow lights, which are pretty rare these days but still pop up from time to time. There are two types: "Magnetic Induction" grow lights do okay for growing cannabis but they're pretty much glorified fluorescent lights. "Plasma Induction" grow lights actually perform pretty poorly at growing cannabis.

Some types of induction lights are well suited to stadium lighting but honestly they just aren't that great for growing cannabis and they come with huge price tags. Even a lot of LEDs are cheaper and you'll get better results with them. You can learn more about induction grow lights here. Note 2: Incandescent light bulbs (old fashioned light bulbs) are NOT suitable for growing marijuana!Used Book Stores Pueblo Co Fluorescent grow lights come in many different shapes and sizes, from twisty bulbs to long tubes. T Shirt Printing Murphy NcFluorescents are popular because they make efficient and pleasant lighting for humans, and also work great for herb gardens and other types of low-key indoor gardening without using a lot of electricity.Laptops On Emi 0 Interest

Read full tutorial on CFL grow lights Read full tutorial on T5 grow lights CFL grow lights are the twisty-looking bulbs you can find anywhere you normally buy light bulbs. They produce a great spectrum for growing cannabis and can be used in tiny spaces where no other grow light would fit such as the inside of a cabinet. Keeping CFLs close results in the best yields and growth T5 grow lights are one of the most easily available types of grow lights and are used to grow many different types of plants. As a result, they're available in many garden and home improvement stores. T5s are much bigger/wider than CFLs and usually come as part of a panel, but they can still be kept mere inches away from your plants without worrying about burning them. These cannabis plants are thriving under T5 grow lights Learn more about T5 grow lights Cannabis plants under a T5 grow light - when plants are trained (like these ones in a Scrog setup) you can get pretty decent yields from fluorescents.

Read more about CFLs vs T5s Example of CFL grow setup which yields up to half ounce per month Fluorescents are a great choice for clones, young plants, supplemental lighting and can save you money on electricity in the vegetative stage compared to using high power lights when plants are too young to use it all anyway. They can also be used to flower plants in spaces that are shorter than what's possible with other grow lights (aka 'stealth growing'). That being said, when it comes to the flowering/budding stage, if you can fit a bigger light you will get significantly better yields/watt by using an HID or LED grow light! You might be interested... More on CFLs vs T5s 2.) High Intensity Discharge (HID) Grow Lights HID grow lights are much more efficient than fluorescent lights and are powered by large, oddly-shaped bulbs. They are usually screwed into a reflector or hood to reflect more light down onto the plants. HIDs are great at growing cannabis, but they also get very hot and are usually hooked up to an exhaust to help vent out heat.

Full tutorial on MH & HPS grow lights (most common grow light combination for cannabis) Full tutorial on CMH / LEC grow lights (LEC stands for "Light Emitting Ceramic" and is a type of Metal Halide bulb that is built with ceramic like an HPS - basically it's sort of like a blend between MH and HPS bulbs) Metal Halide (MH) Grow Lights Metal Halide grow lights are generally used for the vegetative stage because they produce a bluish light that vegetative plants love, though this type of light can also be used all the way to harvest. The light from a Metal Halide appears a little bluish, and is well suited to growing cannabis plants in the vegetative stage Learn more about MH grow lights High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Grow Lights High Pressure Sodium grow lights are often used during the flowering stage because they are very efficient and their yellow light stimulates bud production. HPS grow lights in the flowering stage get better yields per watt of electricity than any other type of grow light available today, which is a big part of why they are so popular.

The light from an HPS appears yellow, and is great for flowering plants because the light spectrum stimulates bud production Learn more about HPS Grow Lights Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH) & Light Emitting Ceramic (LEC) Grow Lights These are actually just two names for the same thing. This type of metal halide bulb uses ceramic as part of the lamp just like an HPS. As a result, CMH bulbs are more efficient than regular MH lights (though still not as efficient as HPS bulbs). Lately I've been seeing CMH grow lights these labeled as "LEC" lights, which stands for "Light Emitting Ceramics." Since LECs are the same thing as CMH lights, personally I think the term "LEC" is used to make this seem like some new type of light, and in order to ride on the popularity of LEDs.... "LEC" and "CMH" both refer to Ceramic Metal Halide grow lights, which is a type of HID light that is a bit more efficient than a regular Metal Halide light Learn more about CMH / LEC grow lights

Pros and Cons of HID Grow Lights Example of MH/HPS Setups That Yield 1-5 Ounces/Month 1-2 oz per month Electricity: $69/month (including electricity for fans) Initial Setup Cost: $605.00 1.5 - 3.5 oz per month Electricity: $96/month (including electricity for fans) Initial Setup Cost: $744.00 2.5 - 5 oz per month Electricity: $128/month (including electricity for fans) Initial Setup Cost: $780.00 There is a larger size MH/HPS grow light available (1000W), but at that size it starts going outside the scope of a "hobbyist" grower as far as ease and yields. In addition to needing a lot of extra cooling which costs electricity, a 1000W HPS grow light is less efficient compared to a 600W grow light (as far as how much light is put out for electricity used). I think most hobbyist growers would be happier with a 600W, or even two 600W lights, over a 1000W :) HIDs are very well suited to growing cannabis and very easy to use once they're set up.

If your main goal is to get the highest yields possible, then HIDs are the way to go! However, they do require extra setup compared to the other grow lights because chances are you will need a fan to vent out heat from your grow space. Learn more about MH / HPS grow lights LED grow lights are very popular among cannabis growers as an alternative to HPS grow lights. They tend to run cooler and also usually come with built-in cooling. They can often be plugged into a wall and simply hung over plants which is definitely easier than setting up an HID grow light. LEDs also have great penetration so they don't need to be moved frequently like fluorescents. Simply hang an LED light over your plants and start growing! Learn more about growing cannabis with LED grow lights You might be interested: 5 Barriers to Total LED Grow Light Domination! If you get very high-wattage LEDs, you may need to vent out heat to keep the grow space cool For growers who are looking to harvest 1/2 to 1 ounce of cannabis a month, LEDs may be your best choice.