Features of using LED strip for plant illumination

Plants always create coziness and pleasant atmosphere in the house. Therefore, many people are engaged in their cultivation both for sale and for personal purposes. In any situation, be it an apartment or a special structure (for example, a greenhouse), optimal lighting must be created for growing plants.

Plant lighting

Today, LED strip is very popular among all lighting devices. With its help, you can quite easily make the necessary type of lighting for a wide variety of plants with your own hands. Why it is worth choosing exactly LED strips, as well as how to work with them, our today's article will tell.

Why exactly LEDs?

It's no secret that plants need light for optimal growth and development. It can be created by a variety of light sources and lighting fixtures. But in this situation, it must be remembered that light is characterized by wavelength and spectrum. An incorrect selection of each of these two parameters can lead to the death of flora due to disturbances in the process of photosynthesis and stimulation of other pathogenic mechanisms inside plant cells.
Today, the most optimal type of lighting for flora grown in home and industrial conditions are LEDs, namely LED strips.

LED Strip Light

Led products have a lot of positive aspects, among which it is worth highlighting the following:

low power consumption;
beautiful and aesthetic light;
the ability to make a lamp with your own hands;
high-quality luminous flux;
the ability to install the product on any surface, be it a glass shelf, a balcony sill or a wooden shelf;
the ability to select diodes according to the radiation spectrum;
simple installation, which is carried out due to the presence of a self-adhesive base on the tape;
long service life;
LED strips can give light of different colors.

Note! Red and blue spectra should be used to illuminate plants.

Externally, the LED strip resembles a rubberized narrow base, on which light sources - LEDs - are mounted on one side. They are located at the most optimal distance from each other so that the backlight they create gives a bright and uniform light.
All electrical components of the tape are insulated, and some models have a protective layer that prevents moisture from entering the product. It is waterproof LED strips that will be the optimal solution for illuminating any plants.

LED lighting of flowers

But here it should be remembered that when choosing an artificial type of flora illumination, you need to pay special attention to the emission spectrum of the light source.

Light, its spectrum and influence on living organisms

The best lighting for animals and plants will be the natural light that the sun gives in the morning, afternoon or evening. natural light can be both visible (for example, red, orange, or blue light) or invisible to the human eye (for example, infrared or ultraviolet light).

Note! When creating artificial lighting in the house with your own hands, you need to try to bring the luminous flux as close as possible to natural values.

In order to arrange the correct lighting, it is necessary to focus on the parameters of the most important process for them - photosynthesis. It takes place when the light has a wavelength in the range of 380-710 nm. In addition, it should be remembered that some type of light will stimulate growth in plants, and another - the ripening of fruits.
For example:

the red spectrum (620-740 nm) of light radiation promotes the accumulation of carbohydrates in plant cells, stimulates the growth of shoots and leaves;
the blue spectrum (440-485 nm) of light leads to the formation of amino acids and also stimulates cell division.

Note! The optimal solution would be to use LEDs that give both red and blue light.

Optimal plant illumination

In addition, it should be remembered that ultraviolet radiation, which is in the range of 280 nm and below, can negatively affect the growth of flowers and vegetables. With an excess of such lighting, plantings begin to hurt, their stems and leaves curl and turn yellow. But this situation is possible only when using pure ultraviolet radiation. In natural light, ultraviolet light is also present, but here it is present in small quantities. Most of it is retained by the ozone layer. Therefore, the content of ultraviolet radiation in natural light will be minimal and trace.
In the range from 315 to 380 nm (long ultraviolet rays), plants stimulate a set of massiveness, as well as the accumulation of vitamins and the ability to tolerate minor frosts. Therefore, this light is especially relevant for plants that are about to start bearing fruit, especially when grown during the cold season.
Blue and purple are great for photosynthesis, as well as red or orange backlight colors.

Note! The green spectrum of light for plants does not carry anything. It simply passes through the leaves without significant changes in them.

This must be taken into account in the situation of organizing LED lighting for a home garden with your own hands. Correctly selected LED strip will make it possible to significantly increase the volume of the crop, as well as get tall and strong plants and vegetables even in a cold period of time, while maintaining other growing conditions.

Working with lighting products

LED strips, with proper work with them, allow you to quickly and with your own hands make the optimal type of lighting for a home garden or vegetable crops in pots and achieve the desired result - getting tasty and large fruits or flowering.

Option of LED illumination of home "beds"

But for this you will need to either assemble the lamp with your own hands, which will take enough time, or simply attach the purchased model yourself. The second option is more rational, since when using moisture-proof tapes, even abundant watering of a home garden or vegetable garden will not be able to negatively affect the performance of the lighting product. Therefore, there is no need to hide the LED strip behind the luminaire body.

Note! When you do-it-yourself installation of an LED strip for illuminating plants, you will not need to drill a bunch of holes, drive in nails or screw in self-tapping screws.

The installation of the tape itself is an understandable and simple process, which boils down to performing the following manipulations:

the place (the bottom of the shelves, window sill, etc.) where the LED strip will be mounted must be free of grease and dirt. To do this, wash it with a damp cloth and soap;
after the surface has been well washed, wipe it dry with a clean dry cloth;
then remove the protective coating from the bottom side of the tape, which the manufacturer glued over the self-adhesive base;

Note! If a piece of LED strip has a long length, then remove the protective film carefully and partially so that at the time of its installation it does not get tangled in it or attach it crookedly.

Self-adhesive product base

further, without pressing hard on the tape, you need to place it along the surface. If there are curvatures in the course of the rubberized base of led products, you need to carefully correct it;
when you are satisfied with the result, gently press the product to the surface.

Tape glued to the surface

Another plus in this situation will be that such products are sold in coils of five meters. Therefore, by purchasing one coil, you can highlight multiple shelves. The LED strip can be cut into pieces of any length. But at the same time it must be remembered that it is necessary to cut only in places specially designated for this.

Place of the cut on the tape

After the tape has been installed or cut into pieces, we connect the power supply to it by soldering the wires.

Note! The LED strip for its power supply from a standard 220 V network requires the connection of a special converter - a power supply unit. led products are low-voltage, rated for 12 or 24 volts.

Ribbon power supply

It is attached by soldering wires to the tape in the place of its contact pads. They are available on both sides of the cut line. After that, you just have to check the performance of the homemade backlight and put vegetation under it.

Where to use LEDs

Due to its numerous advantages, LED strips are today very often used to illuminate not only plants, but also residential and non-residential premises. They are used to illuminate the following rooms:

winter gardens and greenhouses;

LED greenhouse lighting

greenhouses and insulated balconies or loggias;
as an alternative replacement for obsolete light sources (for example, incandescent lamps);
storage rooms and other types of rooms.

As you can see, the field of application of LEDs today is quite extensive.

Conclusion

LED strip for lighting plants in any premises (house, balcony, greenhouses, etc.) is the best solution, which, according to many criteria, will fully satisfy the needs of representatives of the plant kingdom, stimulating their growth, development, as well as the formation of a beautiful flowering and delicious fruit. What is especially good, such a backlight is easy to implement with your own hands and will serve you for many years.