High Intensity Discharge (HID) Indoor Grow Lights

High Intensity Discharge or HID grow lights are widely used in the cultivation of plants indoors. Horticultural lighting systems allow you to extend the growing season by providing your plants with an indoor equivalent to sunlight and is a great advantage to those who appreciate having a year-round supply of fresh flowers, veggies and herbs. There are a few variations of grow light systems to choose from, all are helpful, but each type of grow light offers advantages and disadvantages.

Your plants depend on the lighting supplied by the grower. Some plants may only need fluorescent lighting to grow successfully while others need HID lighting in the correct spectrum to grow and flower successfully.

The brightest and generally most effective grow lights are high-intensity discharge (HID) lights. They can be installed anywhere in your home, garage, workshop or greenhouse to supplement light, and they can serve as the sole source of light for your plants.

These bulbs pass electricity through a glass or ceramic tube containing a mixture of gases. The blend of gases determines the colour of the light and spectrum given off by the different types of lamps.

MH – Metal Halide Lamps produce abundant light in the blue spectrum. It's a cool white light that promotes leafy growth and keeps plants compact. Their average lifespan is 10000 hours. The bulb will light up beyond this time but due to the gradual decline of light, it is not worth your while to wait for the bulb to finally burn out completely.

HPS – High Pressure Sodium lamps emit an orange-red glow. This spectrum of light triggers hormones in plants to increase flowering/budding in plants. They are the best grow lights available for secondary or supplemental lighting

Not only is this a great flowering light, their average lifespan is almost twice that of metal halides, but after 18,000 hours of use, they will start to draw more electricity than their rated watts while gradually producing less light.

If your goal is lots of bloom, use high-pressure sodium lamps, but be advised: if you use HPS in vegetative stage most plants would grow up thin and tall and in no time you will have to prune your plant back before it grows into the light.

We supply a variety of High Intensity Discharge, Ceramic Metal Halide and LED Grow Lights in South Africa – Browse and shop online for Plant Lighting