How Long Do LED Grow Lights Last? Complete Guide

How Long Do LED Grow Lights Last: In-depth Calculations: LED lights have been very popular lately for indoor gardening. They’re excellent for providing necessary heat to plants. If you’re also planning to purchase them, you should know how long do LED grow lights last. It will help you to plan appropriately.

Indoor gardening is the process of growing plants inside a room. Grow lights work as a substitute for the sun. Due to a lot of benefits, gardeners use LED grow lights. In this article, we’ll try to help you find the actual lifespan of LED grow lights.

How Long Do LED Grow Lights Last in Reality?

 

 

How long LED grow lights will last depends on several factors. Some of the factors to consider are:

• Wattage
• PAR output,
• Lumen

Usually, companies claim to have 50,000 to 100,000 hours of lifespans for LED bulbs. But that doesn’t give a clear idea of how long they will work before you need to replace them.

Therefore, we’ll do some basic maths to find out how long LED grow lights last.

If we divide the hours by 24, we will get a number of days. So, let’s do it first:

(50,000÷24)=2,083 Days (Approximately)

(100,000÷24)=4,167 Days (Approximately)

So, you can expect a lifespan of 2000 to 4000 days on average. But does that give you a clear idea now? No.

We can further calculate the months and years. But that would be worthless as you won’t keep the lights turned on 24 hours. Therefore, we’ll approach a different method.

Calculating the Actual Lifespan of Grow Lights

We’ll calculate that first as you’ll use the light for a specific amount of hours per day. And then match it with the expected lifespan to find out how long the lights will last.

Follow the steps below to calculate the lifespan of grow lights for your garden:

Determine the Hours You’ll Use the Lights

 

 

Different plants require different amounts of lighting. Most plants will require at least 13 hours during the veg cycle and 12 hours during the flowering stage.

However, gardeners usually turn on the lights for 16-18 hours during the vegetation. That’s because LED lights aren’t harmful to plants. So, we’re assuming you’ll use the lights for 16 hours per day during the vegetation cycle. And 12 hours per day during blooming.

Again, how long both cycles will be, is dependent on the plants you’re growing. On average, the vegetation stage lasts 90 days. The flowering stage will probably last around 60 days.

Find the Total Hours Per Season

Now we’re going to multiply the number of hours by the days.

So, first, calculate how many hours the lights will be on during vegetation:

(16 hours x 90 days) = 1,472 hours

Repeat the process to find out the hours during flowering:

(12 hours x 60 days) = 720 hours

Now, add the numbers to find the total hours for one season:

(1,472+720)=2,192 hours per season

So, every time you grow plants, it will take around 2,192 hours from the lifespan of the grow lights.

Calculate the Lifespan of the Grow Lights

Assuming that you’ll cultivate plants twice a year, the lights will be on for 4,384 hours in a year.

Now divide the number by the expected lifespan of the grow lights:

(50,000÷4384) = 11.4 Years (Approximately)

(100,000÷4384) = 22.8 Years (Approximately)

That means smaller models will last for at least 11 years. On the other hand, high-end models can last as long as 22 years. That says, if you purchase high-end grow lights, you won’t have to worry about them for around two decades.

Benefits of Using Grow Lights

That was all about the lifespan of grow lights. We’ve found out it’s pretty huge. Usually, other lights last for half the years of LED lights. But is that the only reason people use these bulbs? The answer is obviously “No.”

The following are some of the benefits of using grow lights for indoor gardening:

• LED lights consume less power than traditional ones. Therefore, the cost of using lights becomes much lower.
• High heat can harm plants. And LED lights produce minimal heat. So, they’re perfect for indoor lighting plants.
• Some high-end companies are adding special features to their LED bulbs. It includes scheduling, dimming, and a lot more. These are pretty helpful for gardening.

Though there are many more reasons to use LED grow lights, these are some of the major benefits.

Conclusion: How Long Do LED Grow Lights Last?

How long LED grow lights last is a major consideration when purchasing grow lights. We suggest you go for LEDs without any thinking. Other lights aren’t as efficient as these lights. A bonus tip for you is to purchase lights with red and blue colour combinations. The ratio should be around 5:1. This is best for lighting plants. In the end, if you have any questions in mind, let us know.

Frequently Answered Questions

Do LED lights make good grow lights?

LED lights are better than most of the other lights for growing plants indoors. They produce less heat and consume less electricity. These things make LED lights most efficient for indoor gardening.

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How far should my LED grow lights be from my plants?

The average distance should be around 20 to 35 inches. As LED grow lights produce minimal heat, you can keep them closer to most plants.

Should I turn off the grow lights during nighttime?

Indoor plants need a dark-light cycle like outdoor plants. Therefore, it’s recommended that you turn off the grow lights at night and turn them on in the morning.