What You Ought to Know About Voltage for LED Grow Light Installation

We have provided many posts to help you use the LED grow lights more effectively and run a successful cultivation. These posts mainly included an explanation of the features of LED grow lights (PPFD, spectrum, CRI, etc) and guides to growing plants (tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, cannabis, sunflower, etc). But the electrical system of the grow rooms is also important for the high performance of LED grow lights. You may have noticed that the specification of some of our products indicates “AC Input Voltage: 100-240Vac/100-270Vac/277-480Vac”.

What does voltage mean? Are these products available for your grow rooms?

For LED grow light installation, wiring is critical for its safe and functional performance. We will show you several things you should know about the voltage for LED grow light installation in this post. (Note: this post is just for reference, please consult a professional electrician for more information to ensure safety.)

What does voltage mean

Voltage is a physical quantity that measures the energy difference of a unit charge in an electrostatic field due to the difference in potential. The magnitude of the voltage from one point to another is equal to the work done by the unit positive charge moving from one point to another due to the force of the electric field. The direction of the voltage is defined as the direction from high potential to low potential. The international unit of voltage is volt (V), and the commonly used units are millivolt (mV), microvolt (μV), kilovolt (kV), etc.

What voltage do you have in your application?

Voltages vary from countries and their power systems. Therefore, the voltage of your applications highly depends on your location. But the specific voltage of your application should be evaluated by professional electricians.

Common voltages of consumers’ applications are 110 to 120 volts(AC) and 220 to 240 volts(AC). Some countries run on special household voltages like 277 to 480V and 347 to 600V. For example, most homes in the US are wired with 120 volts while the voltage of 230 volts is more common in the UK. There is a short table about the common voltages:

What are the differences between brownouts and blackouts

Brownouts and blackouts may occur when there is something wrong with the power supply. The main difference between brownouts and blackouts is that brownouts are drops in voltage while blackouts are the complete loss of power.

A brownout is a low-voltage condition due to the drops in voltage in an electrical power supply system. In most cases, brownouts are intentional by utility companies to prevent possible blackouts in the future. When the utility company predicts that there will be higher demand that would overload the grid and cause the electrical system to fail completely, it starts the brownouts in advance. Drivers of LED grow lights can withstand a certain percentage of brownouts because of their voltage range. But when the brownouts exceed this range, the lifespans of drivers are reduced.

A blackout is a complete shutdown of electricity. Unlike brownouts, blackouts are unexpected complete interruptions of power. Blackouts can last for indeterminate periods, from a few minutes to several days. Blackouts may be caused by the overpowering demand that exceeds the capacity of the grid or the damage of transformers or electric cables. Please note that a blackout is a rare occurrence, if it frequently occurs in your application, you had better contact the local utility or consult experienced electricians.

What voltage should be used for your LED grow lights

If you know the voltage of your application, you can decide the voltage to run your LED grow lights. Going with the highest voltage available in your application to run the LED grow lights will be the most efficient choice. Adopting higher voltage for your application can increase efficiencies. Low voltage will cause flicking or flashing. But excessive voltage will generate more heat and accelerate the depreciation of LED grow lights. What should you keep in mind is to talk with electricians to confirm what voltage to use to power your horticultural luminaires. This is because not all LED grow lights are available in all voltages. Refer to the specification sheet and check whether the luminaires go well with the voltage in your application.

Why higher voltage is more efficient  

Higher voltage is more efficient because it can lower the loss of power.

There is a certain loss of power along the way to run the LED grow lights. Conductors, such as wires, will create resistance when current is passed through them. In addition, this resistance will lower the voltage. This drop of voltage and power converts to some waste heat. If the voltage is lower than the optimal voltage to run LED grow lights, your luminaires start to dim. With the higher voltage and proper electrical design, the voltage drop can be minimized.

As known, power is equal to voltage times current. With higher voltage used, less current is required to reach the same power. Then, with the decrease of current, less heat and loss are created. Thus, using the higher voltage available in your application is more efficient.

Can you save money by using 240V instead of 120V

As mentioned before, using the highest voltage available in your application to run grow lights is more efficient. But sadly, it doesn’t mean using higher voltage to power the lights can help you save electricity costs. The cost of electricity is calculated by wattage, which means how much power your grow lights consume. A watt is equivalent to a volt-ampere. Thus, running LED grow lights at 240V will not reduce any energy cost than 120V.

But using 240V power has a unique advantage. It allows you to connect more grow lights to a circuit. Generally, there are circuit breakers in grow rooms to regulate the amperage that can travel through the circuit to prevent wires from overheating and firing. Half of the amperage is needed when running LED grow lights at 240V instead of 120V in the same circuit. Under the lower amperage, more grow lights can be connected in your grow rooms.

Similarly, the electricity bill will not be cheaper by using 480V instead of 120V. But some commercial growers adopt 480V to their grow rooms in the US. That is because the higher voltage enables them to connect more grow lights in a grow room, which means plants can grow better and growers can achieve higher yields with sufficient lighting.

We always suggest that consult professional electricians for the installation of LED grow lights in your applications. Want more information to check whether our products are available for your applications? Just contact us!