You may need to modify the height of the LED grow lamp as your plants grow to take into consideration both their upward growth and their changing needs for light intensity. Unfortunately, many growers keep their lights at a predetermined height instead of varying the intensity to fulfill the PPFD requirements at the canopy level during various development stages.
There are normally three phases to plant growth:
Seedling \svegetative \Sflowering
But in order to produce the best harvest, how near to the plants should grow lights be at each stage?
You'll need to gradually shorten the distance from your LED grow light as your plants advance through each phase. At this stage, your lights should be placed highest above the plant canopies since seedlings need the least amount of light intensity. As an alternative to adjusting your lights, you may alternatively lower them and reduce their intensity. HID or CMH conventional lights can often only be dimmed to a level of roughly 50% intensity. Scyne LED lights, on the other hand, may dim to 10%.
For optimal development during the vegetative period, more strong light is needed. To give your plants more PAR for photosynthesis when they bloom, you'll need to bring your lights closer once again.
Seedlings
A seedling won't develop to its maximum potential in dry soil, so place your LED lights higher above the canopy at the beginning of the growth cycle. Although it might sometimes be tempting to expose seedlings to a brief burst of intense light to encourage quick development, this is not advised since seedlings are delicate and susceptible. Growers must be patient to get the greatest results since greater light intensities are not necessary until the plants are more developed.
So how precisely far away from seedlings should grow lights be? This is a general rule:
Up to 46 Inches at 1000W
Up to 42 Inches at 800W
Up to 38 Inches at 600W
Up to 27 inches at 400W
Up to 20 Inches at 200W
Vegetative
The light spectrum needs for plants in the vegetative stage of growth, while they are maturing, are still comparable to those for seedlings. But, the light intensity should be increased to make sure plants have more energy to photosynthesize in order to establish healthy roots and stems that will result in a decent harvest. The benefit of LED lights is that they release extremely little infrared radiation, even if you are manually adjusting light closeness. Hence, even if you don't get it quite perfect the first time, there is little chance of mild burn.
So how far away from vegetative plants should LED grow lights be? The following ranges are commonly advised by most LED light distance charts:
Between 36 and 46 inches, 1000W
Between 32 and 42 inches, 800W
Between 30 and 38 inches, 600W
Between 20 and 27 inches, 400W
Between 12 and 20 inches, 200W
Flowering
The greatest amounts of light intensity are required by plants throughout this stage of their life cycles in order to sustain continuous stem development, blooms, and flowers. So, growers must encircle the canopies with their LED lighting systems. This should be done gradually to allow plants the time they need to adjust for the greatest outcomes. Hence, until you achieve the ideal light distance from your plants, gradually lower your system and keep an eye out for any symptoms of discomfort. Charts often advise you to adhere to the following restrictions:
Between 8 and 16 inches, between 8 and 36 inches, between 19 and 34 inches, between 18 and 30 inches, between 13 and 21 inches, and between 1000 and 800 watts
