When searching for the best grow lights there are few considerations that must be taken into account.
What you will be growing beneath the light and where you will be growing it are two of the main concerns.
What sort of unit the light will be housed in and if it will need to be raised or lowered during the growing cycle must all be thought about along with if the unit will need to be set to an automatic timer.
Some of the best grow lights are HID.
This stands for high intensity discharge and this type of horticultural lighting is manufactured in two fashions.
The first is MH or Metal Halide.
These lights are perfect for encouraging the growth of leafy greens.
They are also helpful in keeping the plants you grow compact.
If you are growing indoors, without the addition of sunlight, then this is the best grow light to choose.
The second type is the HPS or High Pressure Sodium.
These produce light in the orange-red spectrum and are great when used as a supplement to the natural light of the sun.
They also last much longer than their Metal Halide counterparts.
This savings in energy efficiency can be put toward other areas of your growing project such as fertilizers and nutrients.
With the invention of CFL, fluorescent lighting is now an effective way to promote plant growth.
This new technology increases the formerly low output of these types of lights.
These bulbs are much smaller than the former kind and when many are used they can provide the power needed to grow.
They are also energy efficient and considered a green technology by many.
The best grow lights on the lower end of the cost spectrum are incandescent lights.
These are the most cost effective lighting source but also put out the least amount of power.
These are the best grow lights to place near house plants in order that they may add to the effect of the rays of natural sunlight the plant receives.