Lighting in Small Spaces
You can’t grow a quality Cannabis plant without adequate light. With so many options and technology always improving we tested many types of lights as well as lighting spectrum's when deciding what lighting to use for the Stealth Box. In the end, we found that LED technology has turned the corner and is becoming the gold standard for smaller grow environments keeping heat to a minimum in an with an efficient design. Quantum board LED’s provide a great PAR (Photosynthetic active radiation), this is what plants actually use for photosynthesis. They also provide a full spectrum of light colours available and produce buds covered with trichomes.
When growers were forced indoors as Cannabis was made illegal there weren’t a lot of options available. Eventually, someone had the idea to try using large outdoor street lamp bulbs and ballasts and with some trial and error managed to grow plants successfully indoors. These kind of lights are known as HID or high intensity discharge. They are primarily used for growing Cannabis in larger spaces such as indoor grow rooms and greenhouses.
There are a few types still available today, High pressure sodium is generally used for flowering as it has a spectrum that leans towards the red side, new double ended bulbs are becoming the standard in large facilities. Metal halide fixtures have been used for vegetative growth as they lean towards the blue end of the spectrum. Ceramic metal halide is a newer technology that has a greater spectrum of light available in a single fixture. All of these lighting options put off a fair amount of heat and are considered inefficient in nature. Previously growers were willing to shoulder the high electricity costs to grow their cash crops. While these fixtures still do produce under certain conditions they are not for everyone, many require that they been hung 6 to 10 feet up and must maintain a safe distance from the canopy or there is a risk of burning your plants. Rising electricity costs and the new legal landscape are also making growers look towards alternatives.
Growing in small spaces requires lighting fixtures that can perform in multiple ways. They must be able to perform during vegetative growth and have a full spectrum of light with sufficient PAR to ensure you get quality flower formation. They shouldn’t put off too much heat that would overpower a small space and throw off your environment or light burn your plants. Ideally, they should also be energy efficient. A large portion of the energy used by HID lighting goes straight to heat energy, usually heat that is unwanted. Most importantly they should promote excellent trichome coverage on your flowers.
Compact florescent lights or CFL’s were initially used by some to grow in reduced spaces. These lights have the benefit of being affordable and work well for seedlings, but they have their downsides. Their limited spectrum and lower PAR levels leave a lot to be desired come harvest time. Early LED technology that features blue and red lights, also known as blurple LED’s were an initial step in the right direction. These lights however do not have a great spectrum as they are a mix of colours and not a white full spectrum light. In our tests these types of lights under performed when used in a small footprint space such as the Stealth Box. They also require more power and are often louder as they must have cooling fans built into their units to dissipate heat. Due to the nature of their design, they must be hung far away from the canopy and this causes your discreet grow box to be larger than desired.
Recent advances in LED technology have brought us into the realm of excellent indoor lighting for small spaces. After testing a variety of fixtures we have found the Quantum boards used in the Stealth Box to be the best, most efficient and powerful lights while allowing the temperature of the Box to be where it should be. Quantum boards have full spectrum light diodes that are connected directly to a metal backing which diffuses what little heat is generated. They are very efficient with PAR levels that will produce buds that have great trichome coverage and smell wonderful and full of terpenes.
Quantum board LED technology is full spectrum and efficient. Full spectrum light encourages properly balanced growth throughout a full grow cycle. A light was chosen that has enough power and PAR to cover the canopy area and form nice buds with their full expression without overpowering a small form factor. Efficiency and low wattage ensure a lower power consumption while still delivering good quality light to the plants.
Because of their efficient nature, they can be placed much closer to plants than HID or even blurple and CFL lights as there is less risk of burning plants or disrupting the growing environment. This allows the Stealth Box to maintain it’s small form factor while still producing quality buds you can be proud of.
The Stealth Box has been designed to give you an efficient and effective small space growing environment without the hassles of a large grow. The small form factor allows the box to make maximum use out of the Quantum board LED’s and reduces the need for overly strong lights to make up for inefficient design. Plants can be grown straight from seed all the way through flower with these lights and the results are quality plants that will please any connoisseur.