May 16, 2022

Best LED Grow Lights of 2022

Every turn around the sun, we release a review of the best LED grow lights of the year. This time, we can’t deny that it is the year of the bar light. It seems as though every company has a bar light now. This makes it a bit harder to whittle down the contenders since the "bar" has been raised on light output, efficacy, and quality, and many lights look and perform similarly. Overall, this is good news for growers since it is now difficult to buy a ‘bad’ light.

There is not a ‘BEST light on the market’, but there are better lights than others. The best light is subjective because it depends on what you are looking for in an LED grow light; is it a particular spectrum, high light output, full controllability, a low price? Perhaps you want to check all of the boxes?

To help you chose the best light for your needs, we will divide the best LED grow lights up by seven categories:

Most powerful LED grow light
Most efficient LED grow light
Best new LED grow light
Best bang for your buck LED grow light
Best selling LED grow light
Best full-controllability LED grow light
Best (true) full-spectrum LED grow light

As a bonus, we will present four other good LED grow lights to consider, as honorable mentions. And as a double bonus, we will list the five best bar lights for under $750.

Disclaimer:

This review will not cover ALL of the best LED grow lights. This reviewe was published in May 2022, so will not cover lights mentioned after this review was released.
There are other good LED grow lights that you may have come across that are not mentioned here. We can’t cover them all for the sake of brevity and so you don't have a plethora of different lights to consider.
The lights in this video will cover 4'x4' to 5'x5' area. Smaller fixtures that cover a 2'x2' or 3'x3' space are not mentioned.

And without further ado, here are the Best LED Grow Lights of 2022!

Most Powerful LED Grow Light

PhotonTek XT 1000W CO2 Pro LED

This fixture draws a true 1000W from the wall, but is very efficient (2.9 umol/J) and has an extremely high light output of 2,925 umol/S.

Expect a 6'x6' coverage area for flower. If you are using CO2 you can use this in a 5'x5' space. The PhotonTek XT 1000W CO2 Pro LED is 40% more powerful than most other bar lights that only cover a 4'x4' area, so use it as suggested by the manufacturer

PhotonTek uses high-quality white Lumileds and red Osram diodes in this fixture.

The XT 1000W Co2 Pro is dimmable from 100% to 75%, 50%, and 25%, or you can use the PhotonTek controller to automatically adjust the timing, dimming, and more, for up to 100 fixtures per controller.

The light retails at $1499. If this fixture is too powerful, checkout the other fixtures by PhotonTek, like the 600W Pro.

Most Efficient LED Grow Light

Horticulture Lighting Group Scorpion Diablo

The Scorpion Diablo is HLG's most powerful fixture, boasting an updated light output of 2,130 umol/S and an efficacy of 3.2 umol/J, while only drawing 650W.

This high efficacy was made possible by a new LM301H diode, named EVO, that HLG helped develop with their horticulture partner, Samsung.

The fixture has nearly 4000 diodes across six Quantum Boards. These Quantum Boards provide a good mix of uniformity and vertical penetration, something that you don’t get with bar style fixtures.

Did you know that HLG patented the Quantum Board? It is their concept and innovation, which means that all other companies that claim they are using Quantum Boards are not using true Quantum Boards?

As of May 2022, you will now have the option of adding Grow Flux wireless controllers to HLG fixtures.

The Diablo, like all other HLG lights are designed and manufactured in the USA. HLG are true innovators and are always pushing LED grow lighting to the next level.

In early 2022, the Scorpion Diablo’s price was dropped to $1174. If the Scorpion Diablo is not for you, check out lower-powered Scorpion Rspec and Blackbird.

Best New LED Grow Light

Spectrum King Phoenix 680W

Spectrum King released the Phoenix 680W in March of 2022.

At a 680W power draw, you can expect 1,870 umol/S of light output and a 2.75 umol/J PAR efficacy.

Spectrum King is using custom diodes from top manufacturers in this series.

The light is available with an optional dimmer, but not a controller at the time of this publishing.

The fixture and driver are extremely lightweight, coming in at only 20 lbs. There is a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty on the unit.

Most impressive, is the price point of the Phoenix 680W. It is only $679 plus shipping, considering the above average light output and high efficacy. At the time of this review, the Phoenix 340W Veg Light is also available. Stay tuned for potentially more lights in this series to be released.

Best Bang For Your Buck LED Grow Light

Mars Hydro FC 8000 (LM301B)

With an 800W power draw, the Mars Hydro FC 8000 emits out 2,309 umol/S of light at 2.9 umol/J!

The fixture arrives unassembled, but comes together quick and easily. There are nearly 3,000 Samsung and Osram diodes on the unit.

The light features smooth on-board dimming from 0-100%. The communication can be daisy-chained up to 30 fixtures when using a controller.

There is a 5 year warranty on the FC 8000. With a price of only $859.99, it's a bargain considering the extremely high light output designed for a 5'x5' space.

If you are looking for an even larger bang for your buck, consider the FC-E 8000. It uses slightly lower quality diodes, but is $100 less expensive.

Best Selling LED Grow Light

Grower's Choice ROI-E720

The ROI-E720 by Grower's Choice fixture draws around 780W from the wall at 120V and emits 1,870 umol/s of light at an efficacy at 2.6 umol/J.

This fixture has remained a top seller since 2020.

Increase the light output up to 2,080 umol/S with the BOOST mode on the optional Grower’s Choice controller, which will also allow scheduling, fine tune dimming, and a sunrise/sunset feature.

The E720 has a built-in dimmer that allows you to dim the light down from 100% to 75%, 50% and 25% intensity. Grower’s Choice backs the light with an excellent 5-year warranty.

The price of the ROI-E720 is now only $849. If this is not your jam, check out the less expensive and slightly less powerful ROI-E680.

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Best Full-Controllability LED Grow Light

Scynce LED Raging Kush 2.0

The Raging Kush 2.0 unit draws up to 650W, has a total light output of 1631 umol/S and a PAR efficacy of 2.51 umol/J.

The Kush 2.0 uses unique, patented conic lenses to eliminate the hot spot underneath the fixture. In addition, the fixture is loaded with amazing features such as full-power spectrum tuning and is fully dimmable via four different spectrum channels (cool white, warm white, deep red, and far red). The dimming and spectrum tuning, along with the scheduling is controlled through Scynce’s THEIA wireless control app (for iOS and Android).

All of Scynce’s lights are made in the USA.

The Raging Kush 2.0 can be found at LED Grow Lights Depot for $1,345.50. Also, check out the Kush 2.0 Overdrive if you want even more power or the Dragon Alpha 2.0 and Raging Kale 2.0 for grow rooms and veg applications.

Best (true) Full-Spectrum LED Grow Light

Kind LED X750

Kind LED really stepped it up with the new X-series lights. This is the best their best series yet and is extremely competitive with many of the other top brands on the market.

The X750 has a light output of 1,913 umol/S, efficacy of 2.55 umol/J, and wattage draw of 750W.

Kind LED uses Osram and Philips diodes in this grow light. The best part about this fixture and series are the dual dimmable channels. One channel controls the main spectrum and the other channel controls the Red, UV, and IR, and is used during flowering. You really get a true full-spectrum with this fixture, in addition to some good spectrum control.

There is a 5-year warranty on the X750. The light retails at $995. Check out the smaller X420, X330, and X220 if you have a smaller space than a 4'x4' to 5'x5'.

Honorable Mentions

There are some other really good lights that we want to mention that didn’t fit into any specific categories. Here they are in no particular order:

The Green Sunshine Company Electric Sky 300 V3

You actually need two to cover a 4'x4', but this light has been quite popular since the first generation ES300 was released. The spectrum has a lot of far red and the fixture uses special lenses to direct the light down toward the plants, two features that most lights don't have. The light retails at $695.

ChilLED Tech Growcraft X6 - 600W

ChilLED Tech makes all of their lights in the USA. The X6 600W is made from the best components on the market and features an external driver. It is currently $1259.

Black Dog LED PhytoMAX-3 12SP

This is a great option is you don't want a bar light. While Black Dog LED lights are expensive, you get what you pay for. Grower’s usually say they were a bit turned off at the price at first, but the results speak for themselves. The light is built like a tank and really lights up a 4'x4' tent. Retail price is $1689.

Iluminar 630W iLOGIC 8 UV and Far Red

This fixture was almost put into Best (True) Full Spectrum Light category, but we gave that to Kind LED due to the spectrum control. Otherwise, this light is right up there with the Kind LED X750. The iLOGIC series is modular so if a bar goes out, it can easily be replaced. $925 retail.

Best LED Bar Lights under $750

And lastly, if you are looking for a bar light and are hoping to keep the price down, there are five more fixtures that we want to bring to your attention that are really good lights, will cover a 4'x4' or 5'x5' space, and are under $750: