If you're looking to garden indoors, you know that grow lights are a necessity.  However, most traditional light systems use a lot of energy, produce a lot of heat, and must be regularly replaced as bulbs burn out.  Wouldn't it be nice if there was a simpler form of grow light?

As it turns out, today's LED based grow lights are just such an alternative.  LED, or light emitting diode technology, produces light at high intensities with much less heat than other light sources.  Furthermore, LED grow lights are designed to have their maximum output at frequencies that plants can absorb and use effectively, greatly increasing their overall efficiency.

These lights also have a much longer overall lifespan when compared to traditional technologies.  Lifespans in the range of 15 years are not uncommon with these types of setups.  While the LED lights are more expensive up front, they certainly pay for themselves in the long run.

Additionally, LED light setups are often much more compact then there conventional brethren.  If you're growing in a tight space,  this can be useful.  Furthermore, using intense HID lights in a confined space can often require special ventilation.   With the LED lights, this is very often not needed. 

Another advantage to LED lights is that they do not produce any noise when running, unlike other types of lights that may have an associated transformer hum with them.  Their low weight also allows them to be hung more easily, allowing for stacked growing arrangements, further maximizing your space usage.

When purchasing LED grow lights, be sure that you get the right size for your needs.  Every manufacturer of LED light banks will have different guidelines for how much area one light can cover.  Of course, this area will depend upon the output of the light, and how high above the plants you plan on mounting them.  Pay careful attention to these measures when buying your lights.

Another factor to consider is the power supply.  LED lights require DC power, so there will almost always be some sort of special power supply between your home/greenhouse current and the lights themselves.  Sometimes this is integrated into the lights themselves, but be sure to check on this.  If you're powering your lights off of solar or a battery,  you won't need to convert from AC to DC, but there may be some voltage issues.  Again, research these before buying.

So, you can see that these LED grow lights have a lot of advantages for those gardening indoors.  If power consumption and heat are an issue, be sure to check into this technology.  It may be more expensive at first, but it will almost certainly pay for itself in the long run.