Grow Light Installation for Cannabis Plants

When growing indoor plants, properly planning your grow light setup is crucial. It’s likely common sense to the experienced grower, but the better your grow light plan, the better health (and yield) from your plants. Still, it’s more complicated than finding the most expensive lights and putting them up in your grow room. In this article, we will walk you through how to install grow lights to maximize your growth.

Grow Light Installation for Cannabis Plants

While outdoor plants can rely on the power of the sun, indoor growing requires extra considerations. There are many decisions to make, from choosing between full-spectrum grow lights or alternating between red and blue light bulbs during different growth phases to determining light height. Before installing your grow room lights, ensure you address the basics and set yourself up for successful plant growth and yield.

1. Consider Heat Production

Different lights will generate different amounts of heat in your grow space. The wattage of your lights will determine how much heat they will generate. Depending on the climate, your operation may benefit from switching your grow light system to encourage ideal growing conditions. For instance, those in a warmer environment may benefit from switching HPS grow lights to more energy-efficient full-spectrum LEDs to reduce the need for air conditioning.

2. Address Light Intensity

A professional grow light plan will include a target light intensity or distribution of photons, also known as PPFD. The height you hang your grow lights impacts the intensity and amount of light that your plants receive. Plus, it will determine the coverage area and evenness of the light in your setup. This is also where the Inverse Square Law comes into play.

3. Determine the Height of Your Indoor Grow Lights

PPFD varies depending on the type of plant you’re growing as well as growth stages throughout photosynthesis. Just like how fruits and vegetables in an indoor garden need more plant light when fruiting, cannabis plants need more PPFD during the flowering phase. Too much light can burn or harm your plants, while too little can limit growth. For this reason, it’s often best to use an adjustable lighting system to optimize your light source throughout the life cycle of your plants.

Whether you have HIDs, Medal Halides, HPS, or LED grow lights, Lift and Grow’s one-of-a-kind systems can help you harness the power of adjustable light lifts. Our overhead lifts not only increase production but can also integrate with your ERP and cannabis grow room software for a single system control that can move your light fixtures and manage aeration and drainage systems.