Choosing A Grow Light - LEDs vs the Rest of the World

LED Grow Lights vs Plasma, Fluorescent, and HID: Cost & Performance for Indoor & Hydroponic Growing

LED grow lights are now meeting the needs of both commercial and hobbyist growers. Because modern LED grow light fixtures come in many sizes and form factors, they work just as well in large multi-room commercial facilities as they do in a single grow tent or compact indoor grow space. For most growers, the key is choosing the LED grow light that best fits their crop, budget, and long-term cultivation goals.

GrowersHouse offers many solutions in LED grow lights because of the clear benefits these fixtures deliver: adjustable spectrum on many models; long service life, with fixtures often carrying a five-year warranty; low maintenance, with no annual bulb replacements and less need to run HVAC systems to dissipate heat; and reduced electrical costs compared with legacy grow light technologies.

Why LED Grow Lights Are So Popular

LED grow lights run cool relative to other technologies, but they are “hot” in the sense that nearly every indoor and hydroponic grower wants them. Commercial growers may want entire banks or rooms full of LED grow lights, while home growers often start with a single LED panel in a tent.

And why not? High-quality LED grow lights:

• Are highly reliable for indoor and hydroponic growing.
• Offer adjustable brightness and, on many fixtures, tunable spectrum for vegetative and flowering cycles.
• Emit close to full-spectrum light; Chip-on-Board (COB) LEDs are among the closest to natural sunlight.
• Use less power than most other indoor grow lights for the same photosynthetic output.
• Cut other power costs because they produce less heat and reduce the workload on cooling and ventilation equipment.
• Have extremely low spectrum degradation, with LEDs losing very little of their original spectrum and brightness each year.
• Do not require periodic bulb replacement.
• Last for years longer than most competing technologies (plasma being a notable exception) without needing fixture replacement.

In the long run, LEDs save money, especially compared with incandescent lighting, but also compared with most other types of grow lights. Today, incandescents are effectively obsolete for horticulture. While LED grow lights have a higher average purchase price than many traditional fixtures, plasma lights are typically the only category that exceeds them in upfront cost.

How much do LED grow lights cost? The average cost of an LED grow light fixture on GrowersHouse is approximately $775, which is still about $190 less than the average plasma grow light fixture.

Are LEDs right for everyone? Depending on circumstances—including budget, scale, and how committed a grower is to long-term indoor cultivation—other grow lights may sometimes serve better, especially for those just starting out who prefer a smaller initial investment.

Below, we’ll walk through the major grow light types—LED, plasma, fluorescent, and HID (MH, CMH, HPS)—and compare how they perform and what they cost when you consider both upfront and ongoing expenses. Note that this is not a comparison of individual fixtures. There are many variables not only by lighting type, but even from fixture to fixture within the same category.

Plasma Grow Lights

Plasma grow lights are a relative newcomer in horticultural lighting and bring several attractive attributes to indoor and hydroponic cultivation.

Plasma lights are effective in all plant phases. While they are not spectrum-adjustable on the fly, they are available with bulbs weighted toward blue or red, which enhances their versatility across propagation, vegetative, and flowering stages. A plasma grow light emits a broad, full-spectrum output.

Like LED grow lights, plasma fixtures have no moving parts and no filament to burn out, which contributes to their long life. Plasma bulbs contain a mixture of gases that glow when a magnetron or radio frequency power amplifier ionizes an electromagnetic field connected to the bulb.

For most growers, the decision comes down to whether they are comfortable with the higher initial investment compared to other grow light technologies.

How much do plasma grow lights cost? The average price of a plasma grow light fixture on GrowersHouse is about $965, a figure that may decrease over time as plasma product development and competition increase.

Plasma positives:

• Among the closest electric grow lights to a full spectrum that mimics natural sunlight.
• Relatively cheap to run in terms of energy use per unit of light output.
• Long-lasting, with extended fixture service life.
• No need for annual bulb replacement.
• No need for supplemental lighting in any plant phase when properly sized and deployed.

Plasma negatives:

• Highest initial cost of any type of grow light sold by GrowersHouse, at an average of about $965 per fixture.
• Fewer fixture choices compared with LED, fluorescent, and HID grow lights.
• Generate considerably more heat than LED grow lights, requiring air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and fans to work harder and likely reducing or eliminating the energy savings that LEDs deliver on auxiliary equipment.

Great choice for:

Established indoor and hydroponic growers who plan to continue cultivating long term and are prepared to amortize the higher upfront plasma grow light cost over several years of use.

Fluorescent Grow Lights

Growers have been using fluorescent grow lights successfully for decades. Their blue-white spectrum makes them excellent for nurturing seeds, clones, and young plants, and they perform well as vegetative grow lights. Fluorescents may, however, require red augmentation during flowering for best results.

One major advantage of fluorescent grow light fixtures with tubes is that they are relatively short and run cooler than many HID grow lights. This makes them ideal for vertical or multi-layer grow spaces, effectively increasing productive canopy area per square foot—particularly valuable for commercial growers where space is one of the highest costs.

How much do fluorescent grow lights cost? At an average price of about $130, complete fluorescent fixtures are by far the least expensive grow light fixtures to purchase on the GrowersHouse site.

Fluorescent positives:

• Extremely reasonable purchase cost—ideal for beginners and budget-conscious growers.
• Long fixture life when properly maintained.
• Good coverage for seedlings, clones, and vegetative plants.
• A near-daylight blue-white spectrum well suited to vegetative growth.
• Lower energy use compared with many High Intensity Discharge (HID) grow lights.
• Multiple form factors available—long tubes like T5s and compact fluorescents (CFLs) with screw-in mogul bases that fit standard fixtures.
• Produce much less heat than HID lamps; bulbs are not excessively hot to the touch.
• Available in high output (HO) versions for stronger light intensity.
• Many CFLs include an integrated ballast and can fit almost any compatible socket.

Fluorescent negatives:

• Use tubes rather than standard bulbs, which are more awkward to handle and can break if mishandled (CFLs are more bulb-like in shape).
• Lose a significant percentage of lumen output each year.
• Require annual bulb replacement; HO tubes average about $10 each.
• Often need red spectrum augmentation for flowering; swapping in red tubes is simple but adds ongoing cost, with some red tubes as low as $6.35 each.

Great choice for:

• Growers using multiple layers in a grow tent or grow room for propagation and vegetative growth.
• Growers running one primary light in a single tent with a focus on seedlings, clones, and vegetative plants.

HID Grow Lights (MH, CMH, HPS)

The following grow light types are all considered High Intensity Discharge (HID) grow lights. In general, fixtures made for one will work with the others as long as ballasts are correctly matched. The average HID fixture cost, including bulbs, on GrowersHouse is about $414.

Metal halide (MH), ceramic metal halide (CMH), and high pressure sodium (HPS) grow lights all fall into this HID category. With compatible ballasts, some fixtures can run multiple bulb types, offering flexibility to tailor spectrum to vegetative or flowering stages.

MH (Metal Halide) Grow Lights

Long a standard for indoor grow lights, MH bulbs come in single-ended and double-ended versions. Each type requires its own fixture, but bulb brands are typically interchangeable from fixture to fixture as long as wattages and sockets match. MH bulbs emit light when electric current excites the gas inside the bulb. The gas replaces a traditional filament, so MH bulbs last longer than incandescent bulbs did.

The MH spectrum is very close to daylight, making metal halide grow lights useful in all growth phases. Their strong blue output makes them especially favorable for propagation and vegetative growth, and they also provide decent UV light. Flowering, however, may require red supplementation when using MH as the primary grow light.

MH positives:

• Low purchase price, with the average price on GrowersHouse for an MH fixture with bulb(s) being about $414.
• Produces strong blue light that aids propagation and early vegetative growth.
• Produces substantial green light that supports robust vegetation.
• Provides good canopy penetration due to a spike in the yellow part of the spectrum.
• Tends to discourage excessive plant stretching.
• Available in a wide range of wattages, including 400W, 600W, and 1,000W.
• Delivers high lumen output per watt.
• Compatible with a variety of ballast options.

MH negatives:

• More expensive to run than LED grow lights.
• Rated life of around 20,000 hours but with rapid degradation of original light spectrum, requiring annual replacement; the average MH bulb price on GrowersHouse is about $82.83.
• May require supplemental CMH or HPS lighting during flowering for more red output.
• Spectrum is not as full or tunable as that of many LED grow lights.
• Higher electrical consumption than LEDs for equivalent photosynthetic light.
• Generate significant heat, forcing ventilation and cooling equipment to work harder.
• Bulbs become extremely hot and can cause burns if touched.

Great choice for:

• All-around lighting when budget is limited and ceiling height is sufficient.
• Grow rooms with high ceilings where heat can dissipate more easily.
• New commercial growers who are not yet fully committed to long-term indoor growing but need a low purchase cost to get started.

CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide) Grow Lights

Shown above: Nanolux 100W - 3K CMH light.

CMH grow lights are another relative newcomer and have become popular because they are both effective and reasonably economical for many growers. The CMH spectrum combines elements of what MH and HPS bulbs provide, but without as strong a red bias as HPS. The average CMH fixture purchase price, although higher than fluorescents, HPS, or MH fixtures, is still lower than LED grow lights and plasma grow lights.

How much do CMH grow lights cost? The average CMH grow light fixture on GrowersHouse costs about $425. Like all HID lights, CMH bulbs require a ballast; depending on the fixture, that may add around $100. Some MH fixtures, when paired with the correct ballast, can run MH, CMH, or HPS bulbs.

The CMH spectrum is an all-around light usable for all stages of plant life. For flowering, however, supplementing CMH with additional red or swapping bulbs for MH or, better yet, HPS lamps is often recommended. This becomes easier if the fixture and ballast combination is designed to handle CMH alongside other HID bulb types. Note: digital ballasts must be matched to digital bulbs of equal wattage. Many digital ballasts can run either MH or HPS bulbs as long as the wattages match.

CMH bulbs are more robust than MH and HPS, maintaining about the same percentage of their original spectrum at 20,000 hours as MH and HPS bulbs maintain after only about 10,000 hours. However, they still should be replaced annually in most serious grow operations. Because of yearly bulb costs and any supplemental lighting needs, replacement costs over time are considerably higher than for LED grow lights. For a detailed comparison, see our in-depth LED vs. CMH Grow Light Cost Comparison.

CMH positives:

• Higher reliability than many MH and HPS grow lights.
• Lower upfront costs than LED grow lights; the average CMH fixture on GrowersHouse, including bulb and ballast, costs about $425.
• Lower electrical costs than MH and HPS, partly because lower wattages can deliver equivalent lumens and PAR.
• Can be mounted lower above the canopy because of lower wattages and somewhat reduced heat.
• Good canopy penetration thanks to strong green and yellow spectrum components.

CMH negatives:

• Initial purchase price is still relatively high compared with MH and HPS fixtures.
• Requires yearly bulb replacements to maintain consistent output.
• Supplemental red lighting is often recommended for optimum flowering performance.

Great choice for:

• Home gardeners using a single grow light in a tent who want a balanced HID spectrum.
• Growers going commercial who have not yet fully committed long-term and want a middle ground between MH/HPS and LED grow lights.
• Commercial growers seeking lower electrical bills who can economically switch by using existing MH fixtures and ballasts or by adding compatible ballasts to existing fixtures.

HPS (High Pressure Sodium) Grow Lights

Above: The Digilux Double Ended 1000W.

HPS grow lights are a classic HID option recognized by their visible orange glow when powered on. Their spectrum is heavily weighted toward orange and red, which makes high pressure sodium grow lights especially valuable during the flowering stage. They require a ballast and, with the proper ballast, can sometimes be used in fixtures originally designed for MH or CMH bulbs.

How much do HPS grow lights cost? A typical HPS grow light fixture averages about $414 per fixture.

Because HPS lights do not provide significant blue or green spectrum, they are less than optimal for vegetative growth compared with MH, CMH, or full-spectrum LED grow lights.

HPS bulbs consume a substantial amount of electricity—similar to MH lights—and convert much of that energy into heat. This heat load increases the energy required to run fans, dehumidifiers, and air conditioners. As a result, HPS grow lights will not deliver the same savings on accessories that LED grow lights can, though they may still be more economical to run than some MH setups for flowering.

HPS positives:

• Broad spectrum with strong orange-red output, excellent for flowering and fruiting.
• Reasonable purchase price, with the average HPS fixture around $500 in many configurations.
• High lumen output and better PAR efficiency than fluorescent lights; 600W HPS lamps are especially efficient at producing photosynthetically useful light.

HPS negatives:

• Produce substantial heat, increasing cooling and dehumidification costs.
• Use roughly the same amount of electricity as MH lamps and much more than equivalent LED grow lights, raising long-term operating costs.
• Can burn plant tops if mounted too close to the canopy, especially at 600W and 1,000W.
• Require yearly bulb replacement due to lumen loss and spectrum drift over time; the average HPS bulb price on GrowersHouse is about $68.53.
• Often require supplemental MH or CMH lighting to provide more blue during propagation and vegetative growth.

Great choice for:

Supplementing fluorescent, MH, or CMH grow lights during flowering when a boost in orange-red spectrum is desired without immediately transitioning to a full LED grow light system.