Common LED Grow Light Problems
Your grow lights are the lifeblood of your indoor plants.Without light, plants die. Problems with grow lights hurt your plants and the operation’s productivity. Let’s take a look at some of the most common led grow light problems. We’ll discuss what causes them, their impact on your plants and a few solutions for each.
01.Too Much Heat
LED grow lights produce less heat than other types of grow lights, but they do generate heat. And they may produce too much heat. This can push the grow tent or green house above the ideal temperature for your plants. Or it increases the air conditioning costs associated with keeping your growing operation at the ideal temperature.
Check fans on the grow lights, and keep them running. If they’re clogged with dirt and debris, clean them. Give the fans and heat sinks adequate space and air flow so that they can cool the grow lights down. And do your research before you buy grow lights. If the plants are heat sensitive, you may want to buy grow lights that don’t generate as much heat.
02.Electrical Shorts
Grow lights may have bulbs burn out due to electrical shorts, and the entire grow light itself may short out. You can minimize the odds of losing all grow lights by having surge protectors on the power strip. Don’t daisy chain grow lights that aren’t made to be daisy chained, either, and don’t connect more lights in a chain than the manufacturer recommends.
Don’t let grow lights get wet if they aren’t rated for the moisture or water. This means keeping misters directed down at the plants instead of accidentally spraying the lamps. Don’t use grow lights outside that aren’t rated for that. Don’t put grow lights over an aquarium if they can’t handle the occasional splash.
03.Burnouts / Dying Bulbs
Bulbs in grow lights will burn out periodically. Research the quality of the system before you buy it. Some models say their light bulbs or light chips could last 100,000 hours but start dying at 1,000 hours of use. You may want to buy grow lights that have easily replaced bulbs instead of buying LED light chip arrays that require you to replace the entire circuit board or learn how to solder to fix shorts.
You may end up with burned out bulbs if the grow lamp is overheating or receiving poor power quality. Don’t let the grow lamp get too hot or wet, and don’t try to run grow lamps from power plugs that aren’t rated for the demand.
04.Insufficient Light
There are several ways insufficient light can come from LED grow lights. One possibility is that you’ve put broad spectrum lights over your plants when you want heavy red or blue light. A healthy plant will die if it only gets blue light or too much blue light in a flowering phase. And a sun-loving plant will wither if it is getting the same level of light as a house plant that’s evolved to live in the shade.
You can also run into problems when you’re trying to grow lights full time under grow lights that are only suitable for supplemental light, such as when you’re trying to grow plants indoors under grow lights that are ideal for improving yield in your window garden.
A common mistake is putting the lights too far above the plants. Now the plants get a fraction of the light intensity they need, though the plant itself is getting adequate coverage. Understand the lumens the light puts out at various elevations relative to the needs of the plant. Know when you need spot lighting for the undergrowth of the plant to get a strong healthy stem. The light intensity information should be provided with the grow lamp.
05.Sunburn
Sunburn on plants may be the result of light that’s too bright or lights that are too hot. This can happen when the lights are brighter than you expected. The most common cause of this is having the lights too low above the plant. Another common cause is that you’ve turned on a concentrator, burning the area you’re trying to improve. In general, buy grow lights that provide the right level of light, and don’t use concentrating lenses. A side effect of the concentrator focusing light on one area is that the rest of the plant isn’t getting enough light.
06.Plants that Don’t Grow Right Despite the Light
Your light usage can kill your plants if you’re making mistakes. It is obvious when you aren’t turning on the lights each day, so the plants aren’t getting enough light. A more common issue is when someone turns on the lights and leaves them on. Plants need night and downtime. Have the lights on 12 hours a day for most plants, and run the lights 16-18 hours when flowering.
If the grow light isn’t following its schedule, check the timer. If the grow lights aren’t coming on, make certain the timer is turned on and wasn’t burned out.