In today’s review, I focus on the LVJING grow light designed for plant illumination. This grow light is built with the increasingly popular SMD2835 LEDs. I bought the lamp on Aliexpress directly from the manufacturer with my own money. After applying all discount coupons, I paid 24 EUR per piece and bought five of them.
I’ve been interested in LED technology for a while now. I started building my own lights using powerLED modules for aquariums. In this field, it is essential to select the appropriate light intensity, color, and spectrum. Adequate cooling and power supply are also crucial. Why are these elements important? Adequately strong light will reach deeper parts of the aquarium, the appropriate color will efficiently enable plants to perform photosynthesis necessary for growth. The color is also important for aesthetic reasons – the right light color makes the aquarium look better, and the presence of UV or blue light can highlight the colors of the fish. PowerLEDs are quite powerful diodes (1W, 3W, 5W, etc.) that require higher current than SMD diodes, generating additional heat.
For houseplants, the principles are the same. Strong light with the right color (also translating to the spectrum) will make our plants feel perfect. However, high power lamps also generate heat, so many designs feature two or more fans to ensure longer lifespan. The lamps must also hang at an appropriate distance from the plants to avoid burning them.
LVJING 300W Full-Spectrum LED Grow Light
The LVJING 300W is an interesting LED lamp design consisting of 465 SMD2835 LEDs. It has 30 red diodes, 15 blue diodes, and 420 warm white diodes. The actual power consumption of this lamp is about 47W, and the light angle is 140 degrees, which is enough to illuminate 1 to 2 square meters of area.
I like the design of this lamp. It measures 30x7x5 centimeters and is quite compact. The whole unit is powered by an LED driver attached to the lamp, which can be easily replaced if necessary. A large aluminum heatsink is noticeable, which even after 10 hours of continuous operation does not get hot enough to feel it when grasping it by hand. The cord is quite long, and the manufacturer included a switch.
The lamp weighs 520 grams, and the set includes four metal cables with carabiners for hanging it anywhere. The edges of the lamp have four holes for these mounts. You need to be careful when sliding them in to avoid scratching the lamp. It’s quite tight and must be done flat. It’s worth aligning all the cables properly so the lamp does not hang crookedly.
The lack of a fan means complete silence during operation. The choice of diodes makes the lamp have a warm white hue, so it can be used comfortably in a room where you spend time. It doesn’t strain the eyes and provides plants with the appropriate spectrum with a strong emphasis on red (covering the 400-730nm range). Therefore, the lamp supports all phases of plant growth – from germination, through vegetative growth, to flowering. It is excellent for growing vegetables, herbs, fruits, and ornamental plants.
The diodes are mounted on an aluminum plate that effectively dissipates heat to the heatsink. However, the diodes are not protected from the environment. It’s better not to spray plants or use the lamp in very high humidity areas during operation.
In my case, I hung the lamps for exotic plants, illuminating them 10 hours a day for three months. One of the five lamps broke after a week, but the manufacturer sent me a new one under warranty via courier.
