Grow Lights 101: Best Plant Growth Spectrum Color? White vs Red/Blue LED + What is PAR & ePAR Light?

Do plants use more light colors than we realized? What does the latest horticulture research mean for grow lights? What's the best color spectrum for growing plants?
This video is all about Light Quality. What effect do different light wavelengths have on plants and their development? Do plants need UV light? How does Far Red light effect plant growth? Do plants use green light or is green light wasted energy? These questions are answered, along with scientific research that you can read more about, depending on your level of interest.
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Kelvin Color Temperatures
01:28 - Visible Light Spectrum
01:39 - What is PAR Light?
02:38 - Do Plants Use Green Light?
04:30 - Benefits of Green Light For Plants
05:07 - Photomorphogenesis
05:25 - Do Plants Use UV Light?
05:51 - Do Plants Use Far-Red Light?
06:25 - How Plants Use Photoreceptors
07:11 - What is ePAR Light?
07:46 - What is the Emerson Enhancement Effect?
08:33 - How Plants Use Green & Far-Red Photons
09:07 - Is Full Spectrum Light Good For Plants?
09:36 - Custom Light Spectrum vs Plant Shape
10:57 - Is White Light Good For Home Gardeners?
11:59 - How Do LEDs Make White Light?
12:44 - What's the Best Light Spectrum?
We'll take a look at the visible light spectrum (a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum). Why is it better to analyze grow light colors by their wavelengths rather than using generic Kelvin ratings? This video answers: What is PAR light (Photosynthetically Active Radiation)? It also looks at the McCree Curve & the Emerson Enhancement Effect. And we'll see how to define ePAR (Extended Photosynthetically Active Radiation). We'll compare the efficiency of LEDs, fluorescents, high-pressure sodiums and metal halides.
When considering LED vs HID, the spectral composition can be a major factor. Some LEDs have a few limited color bands, using only blue & red light. Some include a "full spectrum" light source. How do they make white light from LEDs? This video explains phosphor coated white LEDs. Are these white LEDs good for plant growth?
How do plants use green light? How does far-red light help plants to grow? What about plant photoreceptors?
This is the basics of plant lighting and grow lights. It is intended to benefit a broad audience, from home gardeners, to greenhouse growers, to vertical farmers and even "medical" growers.
#GreehouseGrowers #LEDLights #IndoorGardening #knowledge #ArtificialLighting #GrowLights #Albopepper
•••••••••••••••••••••
SUPPORT:
•••••••••••••••••••••
B O O K ➝ amzn.to/447HJpt
W E B ➝ albopepper.com
F B ➝ / albopepper
I G ➝ / albopepper
T E E S ➝ shop.spreadshirt.com/albopepper/
•••••••••••••••••••••

[@cFyugThCzvAqYaGmxRgfCKTuvHMEjQ]

As a new hydroponics chilli hobbyist with a background in electronics engineering including radio & optics, this is exactly the level of depth and clarity I like to see in informational resources. I will now stop worrying about possible inadequacies of my white LED setup which costs 3x less per watt than commercial grow lights

[@Albopepper]

I'm glad this info is able to help out. Thanks so much for watching! 😀

[@jeromegarcia5396]

Back when we had the spiral CFL lights before LED I did a 600 watt aided with a T5 red in a 4foot by 1 foot grow area for micro 100% organic and using red wiggler worm castings only, and the results were mind blowing... I believe I calculated the lumens delivered per square foot was between 7k and 6k depending on distance from the canopy, but those in the sweet spot changed my ideal to LST the canopy to a wire screen and not allow a top, and mind blown again... Let's say if you dial things in like these facts it's amazing how things react... I have been out the game almost 15years I could imagine how much crazier LEDs are...

[@vincevangoat1]

Commercial growers also use white light.

[@heinzhaupthaar5590]

Green light can even surpass red light in efficiency, though only in high light intensity setups. Not sure if that's generally true or just for certain species but I've had incredible results providing a very good spectrum including "dark red" light from below black body type cobs as baseline for a healthy start and comfortable "working conditions" and using low cri LEDs that pump out loads of green light as well and are more efficient photon wise for high intensity phases. If nothing else it's fun to play around with the photomorphogenetic reaction you can steer if you can vary your blue/red/deep red and/or red/"deep red" ratios - but it's also efficient as hell, stays astonishingly close to room temperature at the actual chip junction (and will therefore basically last my entire life without noticeable degradation if I'm not missing some very significant non temperature dependent mechanism of degradation and I'm most probably not) and merely cost a fraction of a "professional" grow light. With a background in electronics - ffs it's so easy you barely even need elementary school education - you should consider building the next one yourself if you ever need another. Some extruded finned profiles (or some square ones, a pc radiator and a bit of water), some cobs (or strips, but I don't like the choice of available cri/spectra/etc as far as I followed that new hype), a CC source and you're nearly all set. No idea what's the new hyped fancy sht these days but the smaller (19x19mm "038" or some such iirc) citiled cobs sure are treating me well. Under drive them rather more than less, more of a bit cheaper but still high quality chips are often more efficient than fewer of the new "King of efficiency" for $$$ people are aiming for in a ridiculous quest for efficiency that'll never pay out - and voilá, you're basically set for life. If one should ever fail just pop it off with a screw driver, apply a spare with new thermal adhesive as thin as humanly possible and you're most probably good to go for another 10-50 years. Anyways, I'm kind of rambling once again. Have a good one and a delicious spicy harvest!

[@chuckbailey6835]

Hey you know a bout radio waves and antennas ? What's your opinion on electroculture?

[@Zissou42]

This is incredibly helpful, I had never considered anything beyond "growth," but to break it down into specific response behaviors to various wavelengths is revelatory!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad the info is able to help out. 😁

[@matneu27]

As an hydroponics beginner I ve learned so much about the relationship between plants and light in a great and not boring way 👍 I started with self built led lights for my well planted aquarium in times where no manufacturers had seddle on led and always used human eye friendly light and the plants grew well.

[@dogmosatchmo]

Something nobody seems to address is using straight blue, red, or blurple lights, prevents you from seeing the plants true health. Leaf color is an important tool for determining the health of your plants, and I quickly learned if everything is glowing red or purple, you never see the actual leaf color, and deficiencies can go unnoticed.

[@Albopepper]

Yes, that's a good point! I made sure to address that in the video. 🙂

[@Topsrite]

Not sure what your saying here brother. The ability to troubleshoot and have much better visibility was the one of the first things to be labeled a benefit from the new , non blurple leds some years back now. I will say I grew some nice plants however under the the ole blurples.

[@marambula]

i’ve been binging these hort lighting articles the past few days and stumbled upon this video and your channel. You are excellent in your delivery summarizing the state of the research! Respect!

[@Albopepper]

I'm glad you like the info! Thanks so much for watching. 😀

[@andrewislas7742]

This was awesome. Your style of reporting is so intriguing. I hope you keeping giving us such great material to savor. Thanks a milli!

[@KOKO-uu7yd]

This is absolutely THE BEST guide I've found for understanding light needs! Thank you so much!!! I'm subbed, and looking forward to watching your past videos (probably repeatedly 😂)

[@raahauge]

This is exactly the video I was looking for. Thank you very much. Had to skim 4-5 home-grower videos where different lights were tested on a single plants. I wish these home-growers had seen your video before they started to experiment themself.

[@Albopepper]

I'm glad it was able to help out! Thanks for watching. Be sure to share the vid with people if you think they'll like it. 😀

[@appdeveloper3895]

Really worth all the waiting time for your videos. You nailed it, as usual, thank you.

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for your support on my channel. I appreciate your feedback! 😀

[@gabumonboys]

Perhaps the most useful video I have seen for understanding indoor grow lighting!

[@DavideCalzolari]

Thank you for sharing this content! Extremely clear and with all the references

[@MrRakan.]

Finally a video that answered all my questions!

[@dittaluvsjackie]

I just started looking into this, cuz i have a bunch of rare succulents I want to preserve in the winter months, so this has been super helpful

[@Topsrite]

Good sensible information as always, keep ‘em coming

[@joshoooway]

Man you content is so top shelf. Massive thanks to you

[@kirstenlynnemarie1434]

Wow, very nicely done. Interesting and engaging! Great job! Thank you!

[@N0ENEMIES]

I used a few of those giant spiral florescent bulbs to grow plants in a small space and they worked fairly well. I did switch to the red white and blue led light though for the next crop and did see much better results. The led lights also create less heat which is a great added benefit.

[@Khaymen223]

Take into consideration the amount of photons from the led was much greater than the flouro. That spiral flouro at best was probably. 09 umol/j , while the led (depending on diode ) was probably 1.3 for an epistar. to 2+ with any better diode. So what you may be seeing is just better growth with light quantity. I have a general rule I use- Light quantity first and light quality secondary.

[@Na-svobode]

Wow! That’s one of the most complete and condensed explanation of the subject matter. Thanks!

[@Albopepper]

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks a bunch for watching. 😁

[@tazzyhyena6369]

I am very much a more casual gardener. This was a fascinating look into something that I would have never considered due to my more layman knowledge around this stuff

[@PepperGeek]

Wow this is so well done, thanks as always for your incredible work!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching! I really appreciate your feedback. 😃

[@flyndutchmn]

Would you say on par?

[@kramermcjergen5711]

I love the research papers!

[@jamiehattingh7888]

That was a great video with concise explanations. Really made it easy to understand. Thank you!

[@id104335409]

High level education. Perfectly presented!

[@BacuJluu_nynkuH]

Finally I found answer about white light. Thank you, good job!

[@TeamMSound]

Super Video zum ins Thema einsteigen , SUPER !!!!

[@yellowice0]

Honestly one of the most informative and well researched videos on what lights to use for growth, I learned about the far-red and green being used for plant hight which might be beneficial (or detrimental) on how much space you have and how big you want the plant to grow

[@Albopepper]

Thanks!!! I'm glad the info is able to help people out! Lots of researchers devote their lives to studying plants and how they use light. But usually that information gets buried under videos of dancing cats. Hopefully this video can reach people who are interested in the topic. 😀

[@eggspanda2475]

red and blue light are responsible for plant shape

[@MrSuperG]

@@eggspanda2475 red you need not blue

[@Albopepper]

@@MrSuperG If plants are only grown in purely red light, they are likely to have abnormal growth characteristics. The combinations of both Red AND Blue photons activate the phytochromes that regulate natural shape and growth response.

[@eggspanda2475]

@@MrSuperG the morphological effects and necessity of red and blue light is well documented.

[@MattCurrieImprov]

Really appreciate these videos man! Thanks!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching them and supporting my channel! 😁

[@OrionHumphrey]

Informations from all sides and good visuals always gets a thumbs up from me.

[@Albopepper]

Your support on my channel is greatly appreciated!!! 😁

[@HackingDutchman]

Excellent video with good elaboration and sources.

[@CornPaper]

this video is crazy well made. i love it

[@TickiTucki]

Great video. I started using the grow LED lights for starting my children in winter and then throw them at the sun when it gets warmer but I quickly realized that white LEDs work just fine and are way better to work with. So that's my experience, simple, cheap white LEDs.

[@Albopepper]

LEDs can make it really easy to grow healthy plants indoors. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@TickiTucki]

@@Albopepper thank you for sharing your knowledge, keep it up!

[@chuckgoecke]

Scouting your plants, examining them for pests and diseases is vastly easier with white lights.

[@ipadmini8173]

Thanks for all of the research and explaining this information so well.

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for taking time to watch. I really appreciate your feedback! 😃

[@kennethcoutinho4439]

Awesome explanation 👏 was searching for led lights for planted aquarium... now I can choose and make my own after watching this interesting video.

[@TheMaxAwesome]

Man, what an amazing video. Thank you!

[@AmneziaAztec]

thank you! i very need this last 3-4 years!) 💚

[@KorrakotK]

Glad to see you back

[@Albopepper]

Thanks! I know, it's been too long. It was a rough Autumn, but hopefully things will be better this year. 🙂

[@barrysmit3853]

Great vid, very informative. Thanks man!

[@ZinfandelRed1914]

Very informative, well done, thanks for sharing.

[@SoNoFTheMoSt]

Very interesting video, thanks for sharing all the related papers too :)

[@lunapavlovic5994]

Amazing content and effort! Thanks so much, this helped a lot! :)

[@overthebar]

its like you made the video just for my case, it's great. Thank you, my friend.

[@Ghostpants.]

Thanks for this crazy informative and fun to watch video. I watched the whole thing and learned so much new stuff even though i though i knew about lights. Good stuff.

[@Albopepper]

I'm really glad you enjoyed watching! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. 🙂

[@cayansabahattinoncel]

This is the greatest video ever I watched about light!

[@user-sf5xp5xz7v]

Thank you for this video.

[@bronwynreijnders7205]

I got a purple grow light on sale and my orchids are doing MUCH better. I would like a normal sunlight lamp but weirdly enough THOSE are stupid expensive where I live. But I can definitely say that adding a lamp has dramatically improved my plant growth over the windowsill

[@snicksabea]

I have one and it burns my plants.

[@edneyhelenedossantos1875]

Your chanel is definintely the best thank you for such class!

[@user-ys4rl7xm6t]

At last, I understand the science behind light spectrum with regards to plant growth

[@Andrew-un8tx]

I have used LEDs since blurple lights came out over a decade ago. I bought two Mars Hyrdo FC3000 lights last year and they are impressive. Low heat, no noise and they grow solid nuggets. I have had colas that weigh over an ounce using these lights.

[@SecretCollage]

thank you so much for this video! I trust this much more because it sources research papers!

[@bonniebon7335]

Outstanding. TY.

[@JoelStephen]

What an amazing content. Thank you.

[@QuantumFarmer]

Amazing info!

[@IAMGiftbearer]

Great information!

[@seanhewitt603]

I employ both a super high pressure sodium hid and a full spectrum (4000k) led lighting system for my indoor flowers, but I use the red, blue, uv and far red light bars with a 6400 k blue/white for my veg cycle.

[@alexplay7094]

nice helpful video. Thx

[@logiclab1]

Thank you AlboPepper for your quality of light info!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks so much for watching! I really appreciate all of your support. 😃

[@JonathanMiguelMabini]

Thanks for this video.

[@icummins1806]

Good video thanks!

[@rudiexa6688]

Thank you for this explanation 😁👍

[@markmanning7882]

So well done

[@shannonnewman3091]

Thanks for the info , It helps.

[@bigbasil1908]

Thanks, it's a very useful video

[@davenooner2142]

WOW...a lot of good information in this one. Thank You!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching Uncle Dave!!! 😁

[@davenooner2142]

@@Albopepper It is easy to watch such complete, and, useful information.

[@thequaid2k]

Ok, I've seen A LOT of cannabis videos and by far this has been the most informative and understandable of seen thus far. Thank you for taking the time and effort to explain this so well. I've had so many suspicions answered by this content. Whoa!

[@DjayZaJay]

This is amazing one video explains everything.🎉

[@activegrow]

Really nice video Al!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching! I really appreciate your support. 😃

[@robertdoerr7675]

This was a very well done and educational video

[@mukinha]

Excellent video

[@camillosteuss]

Thank you very much! Its been years since i went to agronomy and agriculture college, and i do remember well the red and blue spectrum wavelengths as noted by the algae chlorophyll, but i too always considered green a relative waste due to deflection, yet i never considered it in perspective of large tissue like leaves, which are bunch of watery cells or partial mirrors, which while they do deflect and reflect green, they also do so in every direction almost, due to geometry of the cell and the fact that the green part that does reflect green light is inside the cell, not on surface, like skin, which would pretty much block, but instead, here, the green light can enter, deflect in all angles and actually serve a very good role in stimulating photosyn. in deeper layers, where red is famous for its short penetration in anything but vacuum, compare to more powerful blue, which doth travel further... Damn nice work man, a good approach and explanation... Also, this will actually do me some good in practice, or not me, but my plants during winter, as i will now not shirk the green light for my population of citrus and other non winter loving plants...

[@OnlyBuell]

Idk what is better, the video or your comment. Both are great and deep!

[@thetobyntr9540]

For something cheap and reliable to overwinter my tropical plants indoors and away from windows I use hanging lamps with LED household bulbs, or anything that you can use to direct most of the output downward. They're efficient enough, and put out a healthy variety across the visible spectrum. Most I've seen use a phosphor over a blue diode, which produces IR as well as visible light. At a distance of around a meter, it takes three or five for a 1m² spot to be near as bright as direct sunlight, but many of my tropical plants survive the winter well enough with about one or two for that area, at least they arent dead. Another tip is that you get slightly better efficiency if you remove the fogged plastic over the end of these things, but that is dangerous. It can break it to try to remove the plastic, and they work well enough straight out the box.

[@schlowe2003]

I've always been skeptical of certain grow light types and stuff, simply because the original glow light in the sky will always be better than a commercially produced one intended for profit. I use them indoors during colder weather and to help with the occasional pest control with bringing everything inside during the winter, but first opportunities I get everything goes back outside.

[@Lou.B]

Excellent video = NEW subscriber!! Thank You!

[@Albopepper]

Welcome to my channel! Thanks so much for subscribing. 😃

[@larryb.lindsay2366]

Nicely done. I recently found Bruce Bugbee on youtube, I see you referenced at least one of his papers. I agree on the ideal spectrum is the sun. I am experimenting with different colours of LEDs in addition to White Full Spectrum with promising results.

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching Larry! Yes Dr Bugbee has been a pioneer in the industry and has often been an inspiration in the field of plant lighting. It will be interesting to hear how your experiments turn out!

[@stangcobra592]

Bruce is the man for our FAV plant, he's dispelled MANY urban legends that so many growers still incorporate. I fell under the spell of 36hrs darkness before chop for more Trich production til Bruce told me to try a solid 15hrs of light before chop.. This is the practice I've used since that day :)

[@MattGarver]

Nice break down of the more recent studies!

[@Albopepper]

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching Matt! 😀

[@TNBNaturals]

Much love 🎉🎉🎉

[@PhillipHYGROHUB]

Useful information

[@juanmckenzy5365]

Very informative. Thanks!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching! 😁

[@charlesfichter68]

Amazing content

[@Lmmixs]

Thank you

[@silverfoxes65]

Thanks, another great and informative video.

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching. I appreciate your feedback! 😃

[@john-smith.]

Thanks Albo Pepper guy.... I've bean waiting "many" months for you to drop another LED light video.

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for all of your patience! I really appreciate your support on my channel. 😀

[@mantisman230]

I've been using LED shop lights for several years now, my pepper seedlings always have excellent short internodes and gain nice sized foliage before hardening off. My newest batch is just coming up for the year, 'Purple UFO' is the most unique.

[@_mylastname]

I got the lights at Ocean State job lot for$20 each and they work REALLY WELL.

[@aquamaedchen]

Very interesting for my Aquarium

[@mikesaraceno4942]

Awesome video 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Thx U

[@Albopepper]

Thank-you!!! 😀

[@thimovijfschaft3271]

I don't have a growlight yet but I am thinking of buying one just as extra support for light heavy plants during the these dark winter mornings and early evenings. I had no idea which ones to get since I saw so many different ones and I don't have a lot of knowledge about this. So KZbin recommendations gave me this video right on time

[@Albopepper]

I'm glad this video was able to help a little! Thanks for watching. 🙂

[@ReefMimic]

Using my old fish tank leds for my vegetable starts. Has an individual led color assortment. Shows the curve in the app based off what you kelvin you choose. Also intensity is adjustable. 4600k ideal for algae lol. I think I went for 6700k and the plant vegetable starts love it. As long as you buy a full spectrum for for when they flower

[@philu8386]

Many thanks for this valuable videos! I really appreciate the amount of research and expertise you put in your videos!

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad that the videos are able to help people. 😀

[@jeremymoore16]

Beautiful specimens of Drosera Capensis you have there

[@Necroknix]

Give it time and this will be a million subscribers plus channel. You produce informative, quality videos. Thank you for the uploads.

[@Albopepper]

That's very kind of you to say. Thanks for watching & supporting my channel! 😃

[@gsenes53]

Nice research

[@Albopepper]

Thanks!

[@kayakaygusuz5578]

Thanks

[@corneliusbuckley8897]

Incredibly informative. Thank you for all your work to put this together.

[@andreystya6644]

seen somewhere an article, that plants had some light power absorbation limit, and if it reached, not so important which spectrum it was. Except some species specificity, when some spectrum triggers methabolism issues. And thank you for explanation about blue diodes. Many ppls cries, that blue diodes are important, but they never seen spectrum of cold white diodes and how much blues in it.

[@RG-23]

very helpful for my orchids

[@inoe6475]

nice summarize !

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching! Yes, Dr Bugbee has put out some really amazing research!!! 😁

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

Excellent information and Excellent enjoyable video without any annoying idiotic sounds in background. My respect. 💚

[@Christina_the_Astonishing]

Wow! So fascinating! But I like good old fashioned sun, too! ☀🌱☺

[@Albopepper]

Agreed! 😎

[@jon-xq2lc]

Looking good Al, hope all is good buddy 👍

[@Albopepper]

Thanks for watching Jon! I appreciate man. 🙂

[@Genxlettuce]

You as well as I and many others …. From Mh to hps to conversion up to cfl high output t’s blurple and every combination inbetween , I can tell you from my years of talking to my plants more than people around me, light spectrum does in fact set the mood ( sort of speak ) 😉 I could tell you my spectrum preferences but they would differ in results than what others may see as acceptable results , however- just admiring that differential proves in fact the wave lengths do in fact play a difference . My biggest cry of all cries is when Phlizon stopped their 600w dimmable ……. Two of them in a 30x19 20 inches above my canopy area bottom was way more loveable than the other lights in my collection from spider farmer to kindled to electric sky and mars hydro to my mh and growant lights to give you an example 😉 but hey 🤷‍♂️ they all have an interesting result. 🤔 both good and bad 🍻 the effort you spent on compiling the format for this video is both appreciated and also exhausting imagining you throwing all this together. Well done ✌️ 🍻

[@gnawbabygnaw]

Well done. I’m a lighting guy who’s used gels and diffusion on or in front of powerful lights. Diffusion is white so it doesn’t affect color temp of the light but makes the light “wrap around” things rather than being a hard light with hard shadows. I’m new to growing. This “wrap around” light would seem to reach down into the lower part of the plant better. Rather than creating shadows that cause the problem of light not reaching the lower part of the plant. Just a thought. Diffusion can be had from Rosco Gels or Lee Gels. It comes in many types of diffusion. Thicker, thinner or everything in between. I’m thinking Rosco 216. Or Half 216 would be better. It does knock down the brightness of the light a bit but with these powerful LED’s and being able to lower, or raise the light, it could be made up for whatever brightness is lost with gels, even colored gels, or diffusion. Can also get red or blue or amber or any other color gels and tweak to your heart’s content. Thanks for great info sir! 🤙🤙