The optimal distance between LED lights and marijuana plants

Light is precisely one of the crucial factors if you want to get excellent buds in your marijuana growing. Therefore, you must ensure that it is not lacking.

In indoor it is ideal to acquire a great type of lighting, LED lights; for example, have become very popular in recent years and are dominating the grow rooms, as they provide multiple benefits, including a reduction in the costs of the electricity bill.

To ensure that your lamps work as they should, you must know the proper distance in which you should place your lights. These should be at an optimum height that promotes healthy and robust production.

You have to know that if you install your lights too far away it is likely that your plants will stretch too much when trying to get close to the light. On the other hand, if you place your lamps too close this can cause stress to your plants, burns, and discoloration of leaves and buds.

LED lights 

The main advantage of LED bulbs is that they consume little energy compared to lights such as HID/LEC.

As with other lamps, it is ideal that you place your LED lights at the most suitable distance in your growing space, but what is it?

Unfortunately, there is no standard distance, as the ideal distance during the vegetative and flowering phase depends on the type of LED used.

You see, there are many differences between different LED lights in terms of power and luminous intensity, and even their overall quality.

To determine the ideal distance make sure to check the manufacturer’s recommendations. As general advice, some recommend placing LED bulbs between 30-45cm from the canopy, about 45cm during the vegetative phase, and a little closer during flowering.

In the case of, for example, cheaper “violet” LED lights; and high-end COB LED lighting solutions, the distance you can use is as follows:

Seedling phase

3W or 5W LED (violet light): 70cm minimum.

High-end LED (COB, etc.): 100cm minimum.

Vegetative/flowering phase

3W or 5W LED (violet light): +45cm veg.; move 5-8cm closer in bloom.

High-end LED (COB, etc.): +60cm veg; move 5-8cm closer in bloom.

We hope this can help you, and remember, if your marijuana strains don’t get enough light or the contrary get too much, you can expect low yields and sick plants, so watch out for that.

Also, when adjusting the height of your LED lights for higher yields, pay attention to any strange signs your marijuana strains may be showing. If you notice dry, curly, brown, or bleached leaves, it indicates too much light, so you should raise your LED bulbs.