Why LEDs Lighting?

Why LEDs Grow Light?

Everyone hears about LED lighting and its implications for the future. What are Kessil®’s advantages and what other benefits does it hold specifically for the horticulture industry? Here are some answers:

Energy-efficiency
Traditional broadband grow lamps such as metal halides or HPS (high pressure sodium) emit nearly full spectrum light covering from UV to IR. However, plants only need red or blue light for photosynthesis, meaning most of the light (like UV, green, yellow, and IR) is wasted. By taking electricity to produce only the required red and blue light, no energy is wasted.

Specific wavelengths
Most indoor growers know that metal halide has more blue light for the vegetative phase, and HPS emits more of the red spectrum for the flowering phase. The question has always been: is there a light that can perform better than metal halide for vegetation, or HPS in flowering? LEDs are allowing us to search for that answer. Each LED chip produces light that peaks at a unique wavelength. By mixing various types of LEDs, complex spectrums can be created to serve different growth environments and the choices of spectrums will be even more than we have ever imagined.

Cool lighting
LEDs convert electricity to light efficiently and don’t emit IR light. The result is much less heat and a cooler running light. Besides lower A/C costs, the benefit is also in space saving. Unlike metal halide or high pressure sodium lights that have be hung many feet away, LED lights can be placed closely above the plants without scorching them.

No UV
The absence of harmful UV rays lets the grower work under LEDs with confidence that they won’t suffer skin damage. (And the joke of getting a red neck in the middle of winter can be eliminated.)

Robust
LEDs are shock resistant and durable, unlike fluorescent, metal halides, and HPS, which have glass bulbs and need to be handled with care. You don’t have to worry about breaking any glass and hurting yourself.

Long lasting
LEDs have a typical life expectancy of 30,000 hours or more (maintaining >90% lumen output), which translates to more than 7 years if you operate the lights 12 hours a day.

Green
LEDs contain no toxins, unlike fluorescent lights containing mercury. This attribute plus all the energy saving features makes LED illumination green and environmentally friendly.

Directional lighting
Compared to traditional point light sources (HPS for example), which emit widespread light that requires large reflectors to focus the light, LEDs produce directional light that needs a much smaller reflector to focus its beam.

Compact
Using DiCon's Dense Matrix LED™ platform, Kessil® is not just smaller than HPS or metal halides, but also smaller than other LED grow lights. It’s so small that you can hold it with just one hand.