How much money do you want to spend?

I use cheap clamp light fixtures and squiggle bulbs rated at 6500k daylight.

If you have money to spend, LEDs are the way to go.

These may be helpful
[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/budding-succulents-under-lights-dsvw-vd~3376092[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/budding-succulents-under-lights-dsvw-vd~3376092)

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/indoor-lighting-options-dsvw-vd~3331764[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/indoor-lighting-options-dsvw-vd~3331764)

You didn't mention what plants you have, how many, how much room you have, what room your plants out in, if you put them outdoors, etc.

Laticauda- this may be a stupid question, but my house has all LED lights (like in the ceiling) would that help the plants or no?

I've never thought about that. I don't have anything fancy like that and I also haven't seen them so I'm not sure. I think it's fair to assume that the number of lights needed for us to operate within our homes is considerably lower than what plants require. I have seen a grow light, and it was rows and rows (and rows and rows lol) of little diodes and even then, the plants have to be within a certain distance from the LEDs to be properly effective.

I would like to say I am very impressed by your LED-lit house and I aspire for the same in the future.

Were you able to read those links posted by Jeff? I'm rather low tech with my set ups and haven't really explored much in the way of lighting options. For me, it's mostly just struggling to keep my plants happy for the few months they can't be outside!

What kind of plants do you want to keep and what kind of window space do you have? I can visualize a beautiful Ficus or Schefflera (this would be my personal preference) in a foyer with a light on it, similar to how people use statues for exhibits in their homes. This is the cacti and succulent area though so I assume this isn't really what you have in mind!

When it comes to lighting though, sunlight is best and supplemental lighting is what we use when there isn't enough sun available. Most of my plants don't have supplemental lighting (east, south and west windows depending on the lighting requirements for each plant.)

Tessa

This is just assumption - but since you posted on Cactus&Succulents forum, I am assuming you have some succulents.

LED lights thru the house are great, but likely not enough for succulents unless they are closer to plants. Having succulent further than approx. 10-12" away is probably not going to help them. Some other plants often grown indoors will be happy with LED even in the ceiling - but not succulents. I have plenty of LED thruout the house as general lighting, but they do not help my succulents because of the distance.

I use lots of CFL lightbulbs and they work well. I have few LED bulbs, and also T8 and T5HO tubes. There are also LED lightbulbs that could be used close to plants, or number of fluorescent tubes (not really T12) or LED tubes or LED ready-made 'panels'. Prices are quite different, but you need to also consider what you get for it.

The best grow light to use beats all those mentioned above by a country mile and is totally FREE to obtain and run. It is called the SUN.

SpanishFly must not have read the whole thread before replying.

;)

laticauda - course I did!!

rina - maybe you should move here - like Florida without the hurricanes.

Yeah, I already said that in another post where you mentioned your climate ! :) But even if I did, it would help only me and many, many ppl that like to grow succulents still have to use supplemental lights.

SpanishFly, you are a silly goose.

Some good light options are: 1) single light with CFL bulb for 'normal' looking light 2) LED gooseneck type that has a clamp or sits on a table if you don't mind blurple (trademarked by Pagan) light 3) LED square or round light fixture that hangs from ceiling or is mounted in some way, also blurple color 4) Florescent, preferably but not necessarily T5 HO, like Sunblaster etc. 5) LED strip light in a florescent-like fixture with normal looking light

Tessa,

I currently use this one. I got it from amazon. I wouldn’t recommend it in living areas due to the strange color. I have this in my basement. it works well for my Aeonium and Echeveria. They color up very well under these lights. It must be something in the color spectrum that does it. It also triggers blooms in my echies.

Just a little update, I ended up buying this small clip on LED light

Just wanted to also add I don’t expect to see results instantly lol

Very nice. Looks perfect for your plants.

I've read on Reddit, that those clip on lights aren't very powerful and need to be very close to the plants to do anything.

I think that depends on bulbs used in them, not so much on a fixture - that is only a holder.

Those blurple types don't really use bulbs, just single wavelength low wattage LEDs.

For a fixture that large.. not really good. You can get that amount from a single LED spot and even then it's not very efficient. Although it's definitely better than nothing if you can get it close enough to the plants.

Pluto, this one was on for hours yesterday and actually put off no heat at all. Solid point tho

LED won't give so much heat. I have few old-fashion work lights, and they are hot (never used them for plants).

Lumen measures the total quantity of visible light emitted by a source--not relevant to your plant. What you want to look at is color temperature (i.e. wavelength emitted by a light source). As hobbyists, the simplest thing is to get a light source that will give you the most amount of photons in the wavelength most usable to plants (in this case, blurples are really your only cost-effective option) instead of what I'd consider the buffet option of full-spectrum light.

What's the color temp of your work light, Tessa? In Kelvin--the higher the better. If it is below 4000k, you can still use it, you'll just have to leave it on longer. Full spectrum lights also differ in the amount of photons they emit. The higher the wattage, the more photons.

This is why blurples work best, you can get away with a low-watt panel because the power draw is used to produce a very specific, very narrow band of wavelength in the 450 nanometer and 700 nanometer vicinity.

Ugly, though. I had to add that.

pluto, these are LEDs, so maybe not as much heat. ?

Can various bulbs be used in those work lights?

I have the Agrobrite T5HO 4 foot, 4 bulb light and also these Barinna 6500K LED strip lights which can be daisy chained together.

They are mounted on each shelf of a wire baker's rack.

My plants like stubborn echeveria and albucas go under the T5 and things like haworthia, lithops, and plantlets go under all the LEDs.

I decided against more of the T5HO after I got my first month's power bill after using it. The LED don't use near as much power and stay cooler than the T5. However, my plants dry in a day or two under the T5's which is nice.

I use these. Cheap efficient and you can clip them anywhere. They are CFL bulbs 100 watt Daylight you can get on Amazon or at Home Depot or Lowe's which do put out heat. Since many succulents like warm and bright, I like these.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-100W-Equivalent-Daylight-5000K-T2-Twister-CFL-Light-Bulb-414078/203349671?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|google|&mid=siCqjagOR|dc_mtid_89037lm25188_pcrid_227841299674_pkw__pmt__product_203349671_slid_

At Lowes they are 18.99 for a pack of 4. The clip lamps are 6 bucks.

You can also use LED bulbs 100 watt Daylight which costs the same but do not put out heat.

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Non-Dimmable-Frosted-Light-Bulb/dp/B00YEMKJE2/ref=sr_1_1_sspa/136-7860162-1904909?ie=UTF8&qid=1519580976&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=100+watt+led+daylight+bulb&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N48PJIF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mike