Best LED Grow Light Bulbs (for Cannabis)

Investing in high-quality LED grow lights is one of the first steps towards successfully growing marijuana indoors. But even if you buy the best lights on the market, if you’re not using the proper light bulbs, then your efforts may end up wasted.

We’ve compiled our favorite energy-efficient LED light bulbs that pair perfectly with the LED lights in your indoor garden. On this list, you’ll find lights for beginners as well as more advanced bulbs for when you want to up your game even more.

The Most Popular LED Grow Light Bulbs

Yeuloum LED Grow Light Bulb

The Yeuloum LED bulbs have a ribbed design and polished aluminum body. The ribbed design provides a high luminosity and keeps the light cool during continuous use. Its color spectrum covers up to 120 degrees. The recommended vertical distance from your plants is 13 inches.

The unit is rated at 80W, and it is equipped with 120 LED chips, including 6 UV, 6 IR, 6 White, 24 blue, and 78 red.  The red light promotes sprout, photosynthesis, and blossom, whereas the blue light supports vegetative leaf growth. The white light fills in for all the missing spectrums.

The UV spectrum LED technology stimulates growth and promotes synthetic acids, sugar, and protein. Ultraviolet light also sterilizes and disinfects plants, reducing plant disease.

We love that these bulbs supply your plants with IR light that delivers infrared thermal effects for LED plant grow light growth as well as the development of ripe fruits.

The Yeuloum LED Grow Light Bulb is a suitable choice if you are planting indoors during the rainy or winter season.

Things We Like:

• The ribbed aluminum body keeps the lights cool
• Delivers a powerful spectrum up to 13 inches high
• Provides full-spectrum light for all growth stages
• The UV light helps to sterilizes and disinfect indoor plants
• Offers a wide illumination angle of 120 degrees
• Suitable for standard E26/E27 sockets

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Could have a higher power rating

CANAGROW LED Grow Light Bulb

Do you want your plants to flourish in all growth stages? CANAGROW LED Grow Light bulbs are some of the highest-rated plant lights for indoor gardening.

The first impressive feature of this lamp is the design that is not the only vent, but it is also fitted with a quiet cooling fan for preventing overheating.

The body is engineered from aluminum alloy, which has superior heat dissipation ability. The thermal structure is also reliable.

Unlike conventional bulbs that come with inferior LEDs, the CANAGROW is fitted with high-quality Bridgelux LED chips that are surprisingly energy efficient.

This model delivers a high PAR output of up to 1450umol which is highly resourceful for indoor plants. The superior PAR also guarantees higher yields.

The bulb gives a directed spectrum ratio that ensures your plants receive all the illumination they need. It provides an optimal spectrum for blooming and fruiting.

Things We Like:

• Vented design with an inbuilt fan for effective cooling
• Aluminum alloy body is highly durable
• Bridgelux LED chips use less energy than other bulbs
• High PAR output guarantees higher yields
• It is E26/E27 compatible

Things We Didn’t Like:

• May not be suitable for some growth stages

Sansi LED Grow Light Bulb

The Sansi LED Grow Light Bulb is specifically designed to expedite the growth of your indoor plants.

It’s an excellent choice for potted plants, houseplants, indoor farming, as well as aquarium and terrarium.

It features a hollowed design that allows for superior heat dissipation. The body is made of highly durable ceramic material. The unit is fitted with a high performing lens, to ensure all the generated light reaches the plants.

Unlike conventional grow lights, this model provides you with an optimal full spectrum grow light with a wavelength range of 380 to 780 nm.

The optical structure of the light ensures uniform light distribution with similar intensity. The delivered spectrum is of perfect proportion and simulates natural light. Apart from the 15W design, the unit is also available in the following in 36W and 24W sizes.

Things We Like:

• The ceramic body is highly durable
• The hollow design allows for superior heat dissipation
• Powerful lens ensures all the light reaches your plants
• E26 socket compatible, including desktop lamps
• Promotes photosynthesis, blooming and fruiting
• Optical structure promotes the uniform light distribution

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Some users report the lamps burning out more quickly than other bulbs

Easy Bright LED Grow Light Bulb

For one of the brightest bulbs on the market, check out the Easy Bright LED Grow Light Bulb.

Like the other bulbs on our list, Easy Bright uses a ribbed lamp design that stays cool, even through intense temperatures. You never have to worry about manually regulating the heat in your grow room when your bulbs do it for you.

It’s comprised of one hundred and fifty LEDs, and goes easy on power consumption, saving you energy and money. The 4.9″ by 4.8″ bulb is equipped with 5 IR, 10 white, 35 blue, and 100 red LEDs.

The LEDs deliver a full spectrum of light that promotes photosynthesis, vegetative growth, blooming, and fruiting. Even though the light is labeled as 100W, it only uses 20 watts of power to deliver 100 watts, making the bulb energy efficient.

Unlike incandescent bulbs, this model uses cold running LED chips that never get too hot to the touch. It is also one of the easiest bulbs to install. The E27 base means you can use it with the nearest light bulb socket.

Things We Like:

• A ribbed, aluminum design runs cool and prevents overheating
• Optimum full spectrum light guarantees enhanced photosynthesis and plant health
• E27 socket compatible, making it easy to install
• Suitable for indoor gardens, greenhouses, and hydroponic systems

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Some bulbs start flickering if you don’t have the right light fixture

Outcrop Innovation LED Grow Light Bulb

With the Outcrop Innovation LED Grow Light Bulb, you’ll never have to put up with big overhead grow lights.

Unlike conventional lamps, this model features a heavy-duty aluminum heat sink. Not only is the design aesthetically pleasing, but it’s one of the best lights at keeping your grow room well-lit but cool at the same time.

The interior structure of the bulb is sturdy, which reduces the possibility during shipping. The durable inner design also improves the durability of the lamp.

This compact model is fitted with 150 high performing LED chips, which uses only 23 watts to deliver the equivalent of 100 watts of power. The lamp provides a custom-tailored photosynthetic active radiation light spectrum, which matches the light needed for chlorophyll production and supports the flowering stage.

Another great thing about these bulbs is that they deliver different light intensities at different heights. They feature a dimmable design that lets you change the brightness of the bulb, depending on how high your plants are. For example, at 1.5 feet, it gives 17772 LUX, and at 2.9 feet, it gives 4443 LUX.

Things We Like:

• A durable aluminum heat sink prevents overheating
• Delivers superior PAR light spectrum for chlorophyll making and flowering
• The energy-efficient design uses 23 watts to provide an equivalent of 100 watts
• Compatible with E26 / E27 sockets
• Best choice for hydroponics, grow rooms, and greenhouses

Things We Didn’t Like:

• Some of the bulbs do not last as long as other bulb brands and may need to be replaced more frequently

What to look for the best LED grow bulbs?

If you look past the pros and cons of a bulb, your choice should come down to the specific needs of your grow space. Depending on what your area and plants look like, there are several factors to consider. We’ve broken down the criteria you should look for into five categories.

Self-cooling design 

First, you need to consider the materials that your bulbs are made out of. What they’re made of will dictate how hot or cool your grow room gets. You may have noticed that a lot of the bulbs on this list feature a ribbed design. That’s because the grooves in those bulbs work well to cool the rest of the bulb and evenly dissipate the heat.

Hollow bulbs are also great for heat dissipation. Some unique models are fitted with a built-in quiet cooling fan.

Light Intensity

You need to provide your plants with the right amount of light for their particular growth stage. The easiest and quickest way to know if a lamp will suit your grow space is to read the manufacturer’s details. They will almost always detail how much area the bulb will cover.

Most fixtures have coverage of approximately 3 square feet to nearly 5 square feet. Most designs can provide light intensity up to 24 inches high.

You should also consult the manufacturer’s PAR chart, which is a map of light intensity readings over the recommended footprint. The PAR map shows how intense the light is over a given area and height, and how the light is distributed across that area.

Spectrum

Make sure you pick the correct spectrum of light for the growth stage of your plants.

There are two types of light spectrums to look for when choosing bulbs: broad and targeted. A targeted spectrum uses specific wavelengths of LEDs to match the photosynthetic requirements.

The best bulbs feature a targeted spectrum, which may include UV, red light, white light, IR, and blue light.

• UV: This spectrum helps with growth stimulation, disease reduction, and promoting sugar and protein.
• Blue Light: Helps with the overall plant phototropism work.
• White Light: A full spectrum will fill in for any missing spectrums.
• Red Light: Suitable for promoting photosynthesis, sprouting, as well as blossom. Also, it contributes to the synthesis of chlorophyll and the formation of flower pigments.
• IR: Plays a vital role in the development of heat necessary to ripe fruits.
  We recommend you choose a bulb with a targeted spectrum that includes all of the abovementioned spectrums.

Wattage

Check the wattage to establish how powerful an LED grow light bulb is. In general, a 100 watts bulb will offer superior intensity compared to a 15 watts unit.

However, a higher wattage doesn’t necessarily mean the bulb is efficient. You need to choose a fixture that is highly commended in terms of efficiency.

A given lamp may use more watts to generate sufficient light, while another may use fewer watts to create the required amount of light.

Price

Compared with the cost of HID, High-Pressure Sodium lights, and fluorescent grow lights, LED bulbs are on the pricey side.

LED grow light bulbs can get pricy, especially when you are working with a tight budget. The wattage, efficiency, type of spectrum, as well as quality of parts, tend to drive this difference. The plus side is that LEDs have a longer lifespan that can range from 20000 to 50000 hours.

Before you settle for the cheapest model, consider the performance, service life, and the peace of mind you’ll have by investing in a high-quality product.

Final Thoughts

The LED light market is advancing quicker than we can keep up. New LED grows light bulbs hit the market every month, and with every new release, bulbs become more efficient and affordable. The most important thing to remember when choosing a bulb is to get ones that work with your light fixtures, and that support the size of your grow space.

Take into account the size of your space, the number of plants you have, and how hands-on you want the growing process to be when choosing the right bulbs.