Are you a gardening enthusiast? Or perhaps a commercial plant grower? No matter your profession or hobby, we are sure you must be looking for ways to grow indoor plants, right?
If you are, you must also know that grow lights are a crucial element in order to cultivate indoor plants. When considering which types of grow lights to opt for, the 1000W and 600W are considered the best LED grow lights in the industry. Yet, which one should you choose?
Don’t worry; you have come to the right place for the answer. In this article, we will take you through the various facets you need to consider before choosing the best LED grow light for indoor plants.
Between 1000W and 600W, you will learn about the differences in their power output, energy consumption, heat and cooling requirements, and their applications and costs.
Therefore, by the end of the article, you should be able to make an informed choice between a 1000W and a 600W grow light based on your needs.
Power Output and Capacity
Firstly, we will consider the differences in power output of a 1000W and a 600W LED grow light. In grow lights, power output/wattage refers to the intensity of light that they emit – which, in turn, leads to plant growth.
1000W Grow Light
Do you intend to grow a large number of plants? If so, you must have a bigger setup for it, right? Or, are you going to grow plants that have a high light demand? If you are in either of these two situations, the 1000W should be your go-to choice.
Compared to a 600W grow light, a 1000W LED grow light has a greater wattage and, thus, emits more intense light; the light it produces covers a 5’ x 5’ area. Therefore, if you intend to grow plants in a large-scale commercial setup, you should choose the 1000W option.
600W Grow Light
Are you intending to grow plants not for commercial purposes but simply to create a nice little indoor garden (or greenhouse) for yourself? If so, the 600W grow light is ideal for you.
In contrast to the HPS lamp 1000W, the 600 Watt LED grow light has a lower wattage; therefore, it emits light that is not as intense as the 1000W one. Its light can cover a 4’ x 4’ area.
If you have a smaller area and intend to cultivate a small amount of plants with low light requirements, 600W grow light is for you. They will grow well with it without requiring too much power. Convenient, isn’t it?
Energy Consumption and Efficiency
We will now take a look at the difference in the energy consumption of these two top rated LED grow lights. Let’s calculate their daily power usage and, thereby, their monthly costs, shall we?
1000W Grow Light
If run for 18 hours:
1000 * 18 = 18,000 Wh
Daily: 18,000 Wh / 1000 = 18 kWh per day
Monthly: 18 kWh *30 = 540 kWh per month
Let the electricity rate in your area = $0.165
Thus, the electricity cost for one month: 540 kWh * $0.165 = $89.1 per month
Looking at these figures, we can see that the electricity consumption of a 1000W LED grow light is not a small amount. It is also less energy efficient than the 600W option because it consumes more electricity relative to the size of the growing space.
However, if your purpose is commercial production and then selling, then after selling the plants, the return on investment (ROI) will be significant enough to cover these initial high electricity costs.
600W Grow Light
If run for 18 hours:
600 * 18 = 10,800 Wh
Daily: 10,800 Wh / 1000 = 10.8 kWh per day
Monthly: 10.8 kWh * 30 = 324 kWh per month
Let the electricity rate in your area = $0.165
Thus, the electricity cost for one month: 324 kWh * $0.165 = $53.46 per month
Looking at these figures, we can see that compared to the 1000W grow light, the 600 Watt LED grow light poses less electricity costs. It is also more energy efficient because it consumes less electricity relative to the size of the growing space.
This also means that it is more environmentally friendly. Thus, if you are a hobbyist with a concern for the environment, the 600W grow light is ideal for you.
Heat Emission and Cooling Systems
Let us now consider another significant factor of these two grow lights – their heat production and your subsequent cooling mechanisms.
1000W Grow Light
As we mentioned before, the 1000W grow light has a higher wattage and emits more light. So, what is the result of this? It produces a significant amount of heat as well – approximately 3,412 BTUs per hour. Firstly, this heat is not environmentally friendly. Secondly, it will stunt the growth of your plants, and they will not grow properly.
Therefore, you need to incorporate adequate cooling systems in your greenhouse. This includes proper ventilation setup or you can add some other cooling system. If you are aiming for commercial production, you must ensure the room or greenhouse for plant cultivation is well-ventilated.
When you take care of these small things, the quality of your plants will be first class, and that is what you want, right? While it adds to the already piling costs, when your plants are of high quality, and they will sell well, the ROI will be enough to overcome these costs.
600W Grow Light
A 600W grow light does produce heat, no doubt. Yet, the amount is not as high as a 1000W grow light – approximately 2,046 BTUs. As you can see, it is relatively a lot less. If your greenhouse is small with less room to spare for ventilation, the 600W will work better for you.
At the same time, this does not mean that you can entirely forgo the ventilation setup. You do need it for better plant growth, just not on the same large-scale level as the commercial greenhouse. With this, you will also be spending less on cooling systems.
Application and Use Cases
We have now understood the basic requirements you need to be mindful of when choosing an LED grow light to cultivate plants. So, let’s discuss the ideal use cases of the 1000W and 600W grow light, shall we?
1000W Grow Light
We have already mentioned that the HPS lamp 1000W has a greater wattage than the 600W one so it covers a wide expanse of area and provides more intense light.
Therefore, if you are a large-scale grower with a professional setup, the 1000W grow light will work best. You can smoothly grow a vast amount of plants with varying heights and even the ones that are in different stages of growth. Convenient, right?
In addition, there are certain plants that will only grow under the 1000W LED grow light. For example, growing flowering plants or those that are in their fruiting stage. For them, you will need to use the 1000W grow light because they require high light.
600W Grow Light
As we have discussed before, the 600 watt LED grow light has a lower wattage than the 1000W one. Therefore, the 600W grow light is ideal for you if you are a hobbyist or small-scale grower.
With this, you will also get an environmentally friendly, energy-efficient option, and save operational costs. Cool isn’t it?
At the same time, 600W will work best if you intend to grow plants that do not require high light and will thrive in low light. Examples of such plants include seedlings, clones, or plants in the vegetative stage.
Cost Considerations
Last but not least, we will now discuss some of our ultimate concerns: the upfront and long-term costs and savings for both the 1000W and 600W grow lights.
1000W Grow Light
We all know that an electrical appliance having a higher wattage equates to higher price tags, right? The 1000W grow light is, therefore, more expensive than the 600W one. It is also less energy-efficient and requires more power to run.
Nonetheless, if you are using it, you are growing plants for high-yields and with the intent to sell them. When your plants are of high quality because of the usage of the 1000W grow light, more people will buy them. The upfront costs, thus, will be offset by the long-term return on investment.
600W Grow Light
The 600W option is less expensive, so the upfront cost is not that high. That being said, there will be no return on investment either, as you won’t be selling these plants. At the same time, they will save electricity in the long run because they are energy-efficient and use less power to run. A tempting proposition, isn’t it?
Now that we are talking about the costs of 600W grow lights, did you know that there are some energy-saving programs or rebates you can opt for if you are a plant grower using lower-wattage grow lights? These programs are essentially designed to promote energy efficiency.
If you did not know this, you should check with your local utility companies or environmental agencies about it at your earliest. There are varying programs according to the different locations, but they are worth a shot to offset the initial cost of a 600W grow light.
Now that you know everything there is to know about the 1000W and 600W grow lights, you must be wondering where to buy them from. Look nowhere else; we have the perfect brand for you!
Check out Nanolux Tech – a leading brand in the market for LED grow lights. Being a top LED grow light brand, they offer greenhouse grow light, commercial LED grow lights and Vertical Farming LED grow lights. They have consistently earned high reviews, and with them, a high product quality is assured.
Conclusion: Choosing the Right Wattage for Your Grow Light
Overall, we now know that you require grow lights to grow indoor plants. Secondly, there are two types of grow lights that are famous in the market: the 1000W and 600W; they both have their pros and cons.
There are three factors that determine which option you choose. They are the availability of your space, the number and type of plants you intend to grow, and your energy-saving goals. You need to assess each factor in detail before opting for one option that best suits your needs.
Having decided which one you want, you should also check out Nanolux Tech to buy the best grow lights in the industry. You will never be disappointed with their collection of remarkable products.