Lighting Solutions
LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes)
Starting with the most economical options we have the blue/red (blurple) LED grow lights. While there are a ton of that make these grow lights 2 brands have consistently impressed me, the Visparspectra line for its great build quality:
The 300w (136w Actual) LED Light is useful for a single plant setup
The 600w (269w Actual) LED Light is useful for filling a 2'x2'x4' tent
And the Mars Hydro line for its reliability as a budget option:
The 300w (132w Actual) LED Light is useful for a single plant setup
The 600w (265w Actual) LED Light is useful for filling a 2'x2'x4' tent with plants
For a light option to cover a larger space, I recommend taking a look at chip on board (COB) grow lights, which are more intense and have the benefit of typically being full spectrum (yellow-ish white in color) making it easier on the eyes:
The 240w Actual COB Grow Light is useful for filling a 2'x2'x4' tent with plants
The 360w Actual COB Grow Light is useful for filling a 3'x3'x6' tent with plants
Looking for supplemental lighting for outdoor use? If you're looking to extend the hours of light a day a plant receives to keep it in the vegetative stage, a simple and cheap:
50w Actual Waterproof COB Grow Light
Will do the trick.
CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) & HID (High Intensity Discharge)
Even though LEDs in my opinion are the best light option for beginners due to their low learning curve, ease of setup, and ease of maintenance from my experiences HID lights still do have an advantage over the basic LEDs in terms of yields. So for beginners that are growing in cold climates I could recommend a basic all in one setup:
Sun System HPS 150W Complete System
Which will work similarly to a 300w Equivalent LED grow light listed above and produce similar if not better yields but at the cost of running hotter and needing a bulb change after about 2 grows.
CFLs on the other hand are the least efficient of the three but makes up for it by being the ultimate budget option. Due to their practically free price tag and wide availability these are great for shoestring budgets and DIY setups. While any lamp could power the bulbs the most common setup used by growers is the:
That is typically used for lighting in photo shoots but works great as a DIY grow light.
