LED grow lights vs other horticultural lights
There are several types of horticultural lights. Over the last decade the industry has moved toward LED grow lights because they are efficient, low maintenance, easy to control and much cheaper than they used to be. For this reason, all gathera grow lights use LEDs. Compare them with the alternatives below, or browse our LED grow lights.
LED grow lights
- Convert almost all their energy into light (about 95%)
- Highly customisable
- Easy to control (timers, intensity and so on)
- Long life span
- Emit little heat
High pressure sodium lights
- Short lives
- Decay in intensity over time
- Expensive
- High operating costs
Fluorescent lights
- Narrow wavelength bands
- Shorter lifespan
- Higher operating costs
- Cheap upfront
Metal halide lights
- Emit light over a wide area
- Commonly used in commercial growing
- Release a lot of heat and use a lot of energy
- Short lives
- Decay in intensity over time
- Expensive
- High operating costs
Keep learning
- How much light do plants need?
- What type of light do plants need to grow?
- Things to consider when buying a grow bulb
- Why grow with hydroponics
What we would use
See our range of LED grow lights.
More: light and grow lights
Written by the gathera team. Last reviewed October 2026.