How To Hang Light In Grow Tent: An Exhaustive Guide
Mar 31, 2021
Most asked question of an indoor gardener is ” How to Hang Light in Grow Tent” am i right ?
If there’s something that’s puzzling to anyone using grow tents is the issue of lighting. What’s the right height? How much lighting should I use? Which LEDs are recommendable? And so on, and so forth.
I know you must have searched for ways and methods on how to hang light in an indoor grow tent, but without any clear answer.
Don’t worry though, because I’m about to make things as clear as crystal.
How to Hang Light in Grow Tent
For starters, you gotta understand that, with the right lighting materials, it’s an easy-peasy process hanging light in grow tents.
Actually, there are different methods, and whichever you choose relies on the tent’s setup you picked. That is, depending on the grow tent you’ve installed, lighting will be different, hence the difference in the technique to use.
If you’ve installed the grow tent near a window, the lighting beam to use will be dissimilar to a tent that’s been installed in a dimly lit room.
Steps and Procedure
(a) The first step is to find the right LED/ HID/ HPS lighting bulbs. This depends on various factors, one of which includes the type of plant you’ll be planting. You’ll have to Google around and find out which type of lighting – in terms of wattage – is needed for the plant.
(b) The second step is to install the best LED grow lights for indoor plants. Here, you’ll need hooks, which you can nail or screw on top of the grow tent. If the tent isn’t wooden or you can’t screw hooks on it, then you can alternatively use straps to hang the LED lighting.
(c) Do the same for HID – that’s if you’re using both lighting bulbs.
N/B: The difference between the LED and HID is that the latter has more intensity.
The Right Height to Hang Your Grow Lights
Well, this is the part where things are as clear as mud, and very perplexing. What’s the exact height?
You gotta understand that different plants require different beaming energy. The height setting also depends on the room you’ve setup the grow tent. Better yet, it also depends on the time of day and weather. Suppose light for 4×4 grow tent and light for 4×8 grow tent will not be same height.
I mean, various factors come into play.
Still, it’s advisable to take note of the type of plant you’re planting. If you are not sure, it’s better to start off with the plant being far away from the LED lighting. Wait a few hours (or days) and check the progress. This will tell you whether or not you should make height adjustments, and by how much.
If you’re the impatient type, like me, you can opt for the “back of the hand” test. Which involves placing your hand on top of the plant with the back facing the lighting. Wait for about 30 seconds, and feel the temperature. If it’s warm for the hand, then you better push the lighting farther away from the plant.
Basically, less powerful LEDs require heights of about 25 – 35 inches above the plant. As for the more powerful HIDs, the height adjustment can go up to 65 inches above the plants.
The Right Grow Space (In Square Meters)
Other than the height between the plant and the lighting source, it’s also important to consider the space coverage of the LED lighting. You wouldn’t want some plants to bloom whilst those in the periphery to burn out due to lack of enough lighting. That would be sad!
In fact, the wideness the LED lighting covers helps determine the height adjustment you’re gonna use.
Therefore, for a 2 X2 area coverage, a bulb or headlight wattage will be about 250W. Similarly, as for a 4X4 area coverage, the recommendable wattage to use is 600W. You can check a few specific grow light for 2X2 area coverage area here.
It’s no rocket science that the larger the surface area covered, the more the wattage, and the higher the height between the plant and the LED lighting.
A Few Tips You Gotta Know
It’s important to take note of the grow tent’s position in relation to your window. Is it near the window? How much natural lighting does the tent get? If there’s a window nearby, then it’s advisable to have the lighting source a little bit farther from the plant.
If you are not sure of the height to hang your lighting in grow plants, you can always double check with the LED grow lighting manufacturer. Some of them have recommended lighting.
