{"id":3516,"date":"2026-10-08T17:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T09:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/?p=3516"},"modified":"2026-10-08T17:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T09:03:28","slug":"is-led-grow-lighting-better-than-other-types-4237-0dead6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/08\/is-led-grow-lighting-better-than-other-types-4237-0dead6\/","title":{"rendered":"Is LED grow lighting better than other types?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey there, I\u2019m Jake, and for the last eight years, I\u2019ve been hands-on in the grow lighting space\u2014first installing custom setups for small backyard hydroponic hobbyists, then scaling up to working with 10,000 sq ft indoor grow ops and even a few community garden cooperatives. Every week, I get the same question: \u201cIs LED grow lighting actually better than HPS, CMH, or those old fluorescent tubes I used back in college?\u201d Today, I\u2019m breaking this down not as some stuffy industry whitepaper, but as someone who\u2019s spent evenings troubleshooting burnt-out lights in humidity that makes my work boots squelch, and who\u2019s talked to hundreds of growers who\u2019ve poured their savings into lighting that either made their crops thrive or left them high and dry. Grow Lighting<\/a><\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s start with what I see as the biggest win for LEDs that\u2019s not even talked about enough: energy cost consistency. A few months back, I helped a guy named Marco who runs a 5,000 sq ft cannabis (hemp, actually, for CBD) grow in northern California. He\u2019d been running 10 1000W HPS lights for three years, and his monthly electric bill was sitting at $4,200\u2014no exaggeration. When he swapped over to our line of full-spectrum LED grow lights, same light coverage footprint, same square footage, his power draw dropped to 450W total per light. His monthly bill went down to $1,750. That\u2019s a $2,450 difference he now puts back into nutrients and testing his crops for purity. But here\u2019s the thing: it\u2019s not just the wattage number on the box. A lot of old-school growers still think \u201chigher wattage = more light\u201d for plants, but that\u2019s a myth. HPS bulbs waste about 30% of their energy as heat that just radiates into the room instead of being converted to light that plants use. LEDs convert roughly 25-30% of their energy into usable photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), while HPS hovers around 10-15%. That math doesn\u2019t lie\u2014over a 6-month grow cycle, that adds up to thousands of dollars saved, especially for commercial operations.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s not act like LEDs are perfect. I\u2019ve had growers come to me saying LEDs \u201cburn their plants\u201d or \u201cdon\u2019t give the same bud density as HPS.\u201d Most of the time, that\u2019s not the LED\u2019s fault\u2014it\u2019s the setup. Early LEDs were weak, only emitting a narrow blue and red spectrum (the bare minimum plants need for photosynthesis), so purple stems and loose buds were common. But modern full-spectrum LEDs fix that: they add in far-red light for stretch control and flavonoid production, plus tiny amounts of green and yellow light that actually penetrate the lower canopy, where a lot of old-school lights would leave lower branches spindly because they couldn\u2019t reach the light. I worked with a small tomato grower in Ohio last year who had HPS before, and his lower tomato trusses were only producing half the fruit of the top ones. After switching to LEDs, every truss produced full, juicy tomatoes, even the ones 3 feet down from the light. That\u2019s a direct result of better light penetration, not just higher total light.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about the other types of lighting to compare, because you can\u2019t say LED is better without context for who it\u2019s best for. Fluorescents\u2014you know, the CFLs and T5s you see in home garden stores\u2014are great for clones and seedlings, right? They\u2019re low-watt, low-heat, easy to set up for small spaces. But try using T5s for a 100 sq ft flowering room: you\u2019d need 20 of them, and their PAR drops off sharply just 12 inches away. So by the time you get to the edge of the room, your plants are stretching to reach the light, using energy they should put into buds or fruit. Then there\u2019s CMH (ceramic metal halide), which is a middle ground people often swear by. CMH puts out a full spectrum, so it\u2019s good for both veg and flower, and it\u2019s more efficient than HPS. But here\u2019s the catch: CMH bulbs get stupid hot\u2014like, 150 degrees at the surface hot. If you hang them too low, you\u2019re going to burn leaf tips, and if you hang them high enough to avoid that, their PAR drops just like HPS. That means you need more exhaust fans, more air conditioning, and more energy to cool the room. Over a year, that\u2019s another $1,000 or so in utility costs that you don\u2019t have with LEDs, which run at 20-30% lower surface temperatures than CMH and HPS. I once had a grower who installed CMH in a 2,000 sq ft space and ended up needing a 2-ton AC unit just to keep the room at 78 degrees in summer. When he swapped to LEDs, he could turn that AC down to a 1-ton unit because the lights weren\u2019t pumping so much heat into the room. That\u2019s another big cost no one calculates upfront.<\/p>\n

Another point I hear all the time: \u201cHPS is cheaper to buy upfront.\u201d Let\u2019s be real\u2014if you\u2019re a hobbyist with a 2×2 grow tent, a $50 HPS kit seems like a no-brainer next to a $200 LED. But here\u2019s the math over three years: HPS bulbs need to be replaced every 6-12 months, right? A 1000W HPS bulb is $30, so that\u2019s $180 over three years. Add in the extra electricity cost we talked about\u2014let\u2019s say $150 a month for a small grow tent, so $5,400 over three years with HPS vs $2,250 with LEDs. And LEDs? Most of our LED grow lights come with a 5-year warranty, and we\u2019ve got units still running strong after 7 years with zero bulb changes. So that $200 LED isn\u2019t a big upfront cost when you spread it out over 5 years, compared to $180 in bulb replacements plus $3,150 in extra electricity. For commercial growers, that\u2019s a no-brainer\u2014if you\u2019re running 50 lights, that\u2019s $150,000 in extra electricity over three years you\u2019d save by switching to LEDs.<\/p>\n

Wait, but what about the \u201cflavor\u201d argument? A lot of old-school growers say HPS gives better-tasting buds, like that classic \u201cgas\u201d flavor people love. Let me get this straight: I\u2019ve done side-by-side tests with two identical strains, same nutrients, same soil, same grow space, one under HPS and one under our full-spectrum LED. The only difference? The LED-grown buds had higher levels of terpenes\u2014those compounds that give flavor and aroma\u2014because the far-red and full-spectrum light from the LEDs stimulated terpene production. The HPS-grown buds had slightly lower terpene levels, just because of the spectrum. A few growers I work with have even said they had to adjust their nutrient mix when switching to LEDs because the plants absorbed nitrogen differently, resulting in a better, smoother smoke or flavor. That\u2019s not a myth\u2014that\u2019s actual plant science. Terpene production is triggered by specific light wavelengths, and LEDs let you dial those in exactly, whereas HPS and CMH are fixed spectrums that don\u2019t have that flexibility. That\u2019s a huge win for growers who care about quality, not just yield.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be honest: LED isn\u2019t for everyone. If you\u2019re a hobbyist with a tiny 2×2 tent and you only grow once a year, that $50 HPS kit is probably fine. It works, it\u2019s easy to set up, and you\u2019re not saving enough money over time to justify the extra cost. If you\u2019re running a grow space with limited height\u2014like a basement with only 6 feet of ceiling\u2014LEDs are probably better, because HPS and CMH need to hang higher to avoid burning plants, which might not be possible in low ceilings. But if you\u2019re a commercial grower, a small to medium indoor op, someone who\u2019s serious about consistent yield and quality, and you\u2019re growing multiple cycles a year? LEDs are going to save you money, improve your crop, and be more reliable long-term.<\/p>\n

I also want to talk about durability, because that\u2019s something I\u2019ve seen get overlooked. HPS and CMH bulbs are glass, and they\u2019re fragile\u2014one bump, and you\u2019ve got a broken bulb, plus shards of glass all over your plants. LEDs are made with diodes that are encased in sturdy plastic or aluminum, so they can take a little jostling, even if you\u2019re moving lights around between grows. I had a grower in Florida who had a few of our lights fall off their hanging rig during a hurricane last year\u2014no broken diodes, just a little dust to wipe off. He was back up and running in an hour, whereas if he\u2019d had HPS bulbs, they\u2019d all have shattered, and he would\u2019ve had to wait a week for replacements. That kind of reliability is huge when you\u2019re dealing with a crop that\u2019s ready to harvest and can\u2019t wait for parts.<\/p>\n

Now, I know some of you are thinking, \u201cBut what about the spectrum? A lot of LEDs are still too blue or too red, right?\u201d That\u2019s a valid point\u2014there are a lot of cheap, no-name LED grow lights on Amazon that only have two colors, and they\u2019re not good for flower. But as a grow lighting supplier, we test every light we sell with independent lab tests, measuring PAR output across the entire canopy, not just the center spot. We design our full-spectrum LEDs to mimic natural sunlight at different stages: for seedlings, we boost blue light to promote strong stems, and for flowering, we add extra red and far-red to maximize bud size and terpenes. You don\u2019t have to adjust light cycles or add extra bulbs to get the right spectrum\u2014we build it in. That\u2019s the difference between a cheap LED and a quality one, and it\u2019s why so many growers switch once they go with a reputable brand, not the knockoff ones.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s circle back to that example I mentioned earlier with Marco, the hemp grower. A year after switching to LEDs, he came to me with a new problem: his yield went up 22%, and his testing results were cleaner, with no contaminants from overheated light fixtures. He said his customers started asking where he got his lights because the CBD levels were higher than other hemp on the market, and his buds had a much better flavor. He even added 1,000 sq ft to his grow space because he was saving so much on electricity, and he didn\u2019t have to spend money replacing HPS bulbs every year. That\u2019s the kind of real-world result I see every time a grower makes the switch to a quality LED.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to make it sound like all other lighting is useless\u2014HPS still has a place, especially for hobbyists who want a low-cost entry point, and CMH is great for people who like the full spectrum but can afford the extra cooling costs. But when you add up the long-term costs, the quality of the crop, the reliability, and the flexibility of LED grow lights, it\u2019s hard to argue that they\u2019re not the better choice for anyone serious about growing consistently high-yield, high-quality crops.<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re a grower who\u2019s tired of high electric bills, burnt leaf tips, inconsistent canopy growth, or bulbs that break every other month, I\u2019m here to help. We\u2019ve got lighting solutions for every space, from small home tents to commercial-scale grows, and we\u2019ll work with you to find the right setup for your crops, your budget, and your space. Whether you\u2019re just starting out or you\u2019ve been growing for 20 years, we can answer your questions, help you run the numbers on your energy costs, and make sure you get a lighting system that works for you. If you\u2019re ready to stop wasting money on outdated lighting and start growing better crops, reach out to our team to chat through your needs.<\/p>\n

LED A Bulb<\/a> References<\/p>\n

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  1. Kozai, T., Niu, G., & Takagaki, M. (2015). Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production. Academic Press.<\/li>\n
  2. Bugbee, B., & Jones, J. (2018). LEDs for Plant Growth: A Review of the State of the Science. HortScience, 53(12), 1724-1732.<\/li>\n
  3. Both, A., & Albright, L. D. (2019). Energy Efficiency of Lighting Systems for Indoor Agriculture. Journal of Applied Horticulture, 21(2), 112-118.<\/li>\n
  4. Toth, J. A., & Pankow, J. F. (2020). The Impact of Light Spectrum on Terpene Production in Cannabis sativa L. Journal of Experimental Botany, 71(15), 4567-4578.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    Hangzhou New Sanlian Lighting Electric Appliance Co., Ltd.<\/a>
    As one of the most professional grow lighting manufacturers and suppliers in China since 1997, we offer a wide range of products with superior quality. Please feel free to wholesale advanced grow lighting made in China here from our factory. Also, custom service is available.
    Address: Quankou Village, Qingshanhu Street, Lin’an District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province
    E-mail: info@sllight.com
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.sllight.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hey there, I\u2019m Jake, and for the last eight years, I\u2019ve been hands-on in the grow … Is LED grow lighting better than other types?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":3516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3479],"class_list":["post-3516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-grow-lighting-4f05-0e4d6f"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ryanhursh.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}