This is one of the most asked questions by cannabis growers nowadays, they don’t know how to calculate which LED system they need for their growing area. This didn’t happen with sodium lamps, people already knew which one to use, but the change to LED bulbs is a bit more difficult to calculate. If you are one of those who find it difficult to calculate which LED to use indoors, stay tuned, in our online grow shop we tell you everything in detail.
How many Watts do I need for my LED Indoor grow?
Before buying a LED grow panel I advise you to read the characteristics to take into account about LEDs and to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of LED systems. Once you have read these articles if you are still interested in growing cannabis with LEDs, we only need to know which LED system and how many Watts we need for our growing area.
Many people think that they should use the same watts as with conventional lamps, i.e. they think that if they used 600w of sodium they will also need 600w of LED and that is totally false. LED systems are classified by watts just like sodium, but they have nothing to do with each other. In this case, knowing the watts of the LED bulb will help us to know the consumption, but not its light power.
Cultivation surfaces or grow tents 60 x 60 cm
If we have a grow tent or a 60 x 60 cm area, we can grow up to 3 plants in 11-litre pots, in which case we will need a minimum 60W LED panel and a maximum of 100W. Keep in mind that the smaller the growing space and the more watts we have, we must optimize the ventilation and be aware of the temperature and humidity.
In our shop you will find the following LED panels from 60w to 100w:
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Cultivation surfaces or grow tents 80 x 80 cm
For grow tents with a surface area of 80 x 80, you will need LED systems from 100W to 200W depending on the panel manufacturer. Any LED bulb between these watts will be enough to fully grow up to 4 plants in 11 litre pots.
In our online grow shop you will find the following 100w and 200w LED’s:
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LED in surface areas or grow tents 100 x 100 cm
To cover the whole of a 100 x 100 grow tent or a surface of one square metre (1m2), we need at least one 200W LED panel, but we can increase the power up to 360W. This would be ideal, but we could use more powerful LED lamps and obtain better results, the only thing we have to take into account is ventilation, temperature and humidity. Although we do not recommend using panels higher than 480w in areas of 1m2.
In Themariashop you will find the following LED panels for 1 m2 (square metre) crops:
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LED in surfaces or grow tents 120 x 120 cm
For crops with surfaces of 120 x 120 cm we could use all LED systems ranging between 360W and 600W keep in mind that the production will change depending on the watts we use if we are based on a production of 1.5gr/w with a 360w panel we could harvest up to 540 grams and with a 600w well optimized we could get to harvest up to 900 grams, we will shrink the necessary LED according to the needs of each one.
In our shop you will find the following LED panels for 120 x 120 surfaces:
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Cultivation in large rooms or grow tents of 150 x 150 cm
If we want to grow in large rooms or cultivation areas equal to or larger than 150 x 150, the way to maximise savings will be to place LED systems of 600W or higher.
For rooms we advise you to measure the total square metres and calculate approximately 300w per 1m2. i.e. in a room of 10m2 of usable surface area you should use approximately 3000w LEDs. That is equivalent to 5 panels of 600w or 3 panels of 1000w.
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We have made a table in which you will be able to see the watts needed according to the surface area of the crop. This table is approximate and it is advisable to look at the characteristics of the LED panel to know the surface area covered by each one.
Bear in mind that in growth we can cover a larger surface area than in flowering, as in growth we must have the systems at a higher height, which means that the angle of light is wider. But in the flowering phase the LED panels must be at a height that is closer to the plants to obtain better results, but this reduces the angle of light and so we will be able to cover less surface area.
| Surface area | Power |
| 60 x 60 cm | Up to 100w |
| 80 x 80 cm | 100w to 200w |
| 100 x 100 cm | 200w to 360w (max 480w) |
| 120 x 120 cm | 360w to 720w |
| 150 x 150 cm | 600w to 1000w |
Now we know how many Watts we need for indoor LED growing, we just need to choose which LED system we want to buy. Good growing!
