Dying and Covering Chips — Chips are usually (but not always) dyed to give off a certain color that mimics a particular wavelength of light along the light spectrum. Non-programmable diodes are dyed the color they should be, whereas diodes in adjustable LEDs are dyed blue, red, and green. The particular color combination will allow you to get white, blue, red, green, and violet wavelengths that plants need.
Whether they're dyed or not, a small phosphor cover is placed on the chips to dampen the piercing light that electricity gives off from the chip. In the case of ultraviolet diodes, the chip cover is made of crystals like sapphire to offer that intense wavelength when light radiation is offered. Infrared diodes, on the other hand, have secondary internal reflectors that filter light coming out so that only IR wavelengths of light are emitted.
Lens
The lens covering each diode helps focus the light coming from each chip so that it doesn’t emit into the open air unfocused and ineffective. This lens is what facilitates the intensity of the light given off by the chip. Therefore, the type of lens a diode has will help determine how the light is focused down onto your plants.
Contrary to popular belief, the beam angle (or the width of the beam of light coming out) doesn’t depend solely on the type of lens used. Rather, it comes from how close a chip is to the lens. The further a chip is from the lens, the more narrow and intense the light will be coming from the diode. The closer the chip is to the lens, the wider and softer the beam of light will be. Here’s what this idea looks like in real life:
180° beam angles are achieved with simple protective covers over chips. The spread on these lights is wide, giving you a big lighting area that can cover lots of plants. Though that wide coverage area isn’t filled with intense PPFD, getting more intensity you’ll only requires more chips and/or higher wattage chips. That’s why spread-style LEDs are the most common lights that offer 180° angles, as they contain hundreds of smaller low wattage chips that cover wide canopies with soft but effective light.
90° beam angles start out with thick, domed lenses. The chip of a 90° beam is raised close to the dome of the lens to offer a wide but intense beam of light down onto your plants. These are traditionally used on COBs and traditional lights because of their ability to spread light while focusing lots of it down onto plants for intense growth.
60° beam angles come from the same thick lenses, only this time the chip sits around halfway between the chip and the top of the lens. This beam of light is more narrow, and while it does offer much more intensity for your plants than 180° and 90° beams, it also offers less coverage area. If you’ve ever seen an LED that touts extreme intensity, chances are the light produces 60° beam angles or offers a dual lens.
Dual lens diodes contain two lenses: the primary lens, which gives your plants an initial 90° beam angle, and the secondary lens, which takes that 90° beam and intensifies it by focusing it into a 60° beam. This intensity helps canopy penetration from far distances.
Diode Arrangement
Diodes on an LED grow light are arranged in certain combinations to ensure it works properly depending on the drivers used. There are two types of arrangements: panels and diode clusters.
An LED panel consists of diodes (usually with 180° beams) wired together and mounted directly to a panel, all illuminating when activated. Supplemental lights are a single panel of low-wattage chips mounted to a surface, whereas standalone lights consist of multiple panels outfitted with a number of 3w chips each. Usually in these arrangements, if one diode goes out, the entire panel will go out.
Diode clusters arrange diodes (usually with 90° and/or 60° beams) in a circular or rectangular shape and place them around the light. These are mostly used in standalone lights because you can fit a number of high-powered diodes into these clusters, and a number of these clusters in a grow light. However, you can find these clusters used in supplemental lights, and each cluster gets its own power supply.
A Quick Note on Bleaching and Leaf Burn
While LED grow lights may not produce heat, the light they do produce is intense. Remember that the light coming from LEDs is the result of electricity, and raw electricity is extremely bright, which is why it needs to be buffered by a cover and lens.
The problem with LEDs is that regardless of how much you dampen chips, the light produced is still super intense. As such, lights that are too close to plants can actually bleach them. When this happens, light damages the chlorophyll in the leaves, flowers, and fruit your plant produces. When chlorophyll is destroyed, plants have a hard time taking in light and breaking it down to use as energy. The plant will usually continue to grow, but it will be weaker, and the color you love on your plants will definitely be tarnished.
We should also mention that while the heat produced by LEDs is very minimal, the electric radiation they create produces heat. Thankfully, lenses and covers help insulate some of that heat, but when plants press up against diodes that’ve been on for hours, there’s a chance the diodes can get extremely hot and start to burn a plant. Some burns can be simple discoloration and damage, while sustained burning can lead to combustion if not mediated.
Fortunately, bleaching and burning are remedied simply by hanging your plants at the right height, which is anywhere between 18in and 30in above plants.
Whether they're dyed or not, a small phosphor cover is placed on the chips to dampen the piercing light that electricity gives off from the chip. In the case of ultraviolet diodes, the chip cover is made of crystals like sapphire to offer that intense wavelength when light radiation is offered. Infrared diodes, on the other hand, have secondary internal reflectors that filter light coming out so that only IR wavelengths of light are emitted.
Lens
The lens covering each diode helps focus the light coming from each chip so that it doesn’t emit into the open air unfocused and ineffective. This lens is what facilitates the intensity of the light given off by the chip. Therefore, the type of lens a diode has will help determine how the light is focused down onto your plants.
Contrary to popular belief, the beam angle (or the width of the beam of light coming out) doesn’t depend solely on the type of lens used. Rather, it comes from how close a chip is to the lens. The further a chip is from the lens, the more narrow and intense the light will be coming from the diode. The closer the chip is to the lens, the wider and softer the beam of light will be. Here’s what this idea looks like in real life:
180° beam angles are achieved with simple protective covers over chips. The spread on these lights is wide, giving you a big lighting area that can cover lots of plants. Though that wide coverage area isn’t filled with intense PPFD, getting more intensity you’ll only requires more chips and/or higher wattage chips. That’s why spread-style LEDs are the most common lights that offer 180° angles, as they contain hundreds of smaller low wattage chips that cover wide canopies with soft but effective light.
90° beam angles start out with thick, domed lenses. The chip of a 90° beam is raised close to the dome of the lens to offer a wide but intense beam of light down onto your plants. These are traditionally used on COBs and traditional lights because of their ability to spread light while focusing lots of it down onto plants for intense growth.
60° beam angles come from the same thick lenses, only this time the chip sits around halfway between the chip and the top of the lens. This beam of light is more narrow, and while it does offer much more intensity for your plants than 180° and 90° beams, it also offers less coverage area. If you’ve ever seen an LED that touts extreme intensity, chances are the light produces 60° beam angles or offers a dual lens.
Dual lens diodes contain two lenses: the primary lens, which gives your plants an initial 90° beam angle, and the secondary lens, which takes that 90° beam and intensifies it by focusing it into a 60° beam. This intensity helps canopy penetration from far distances.
Diode Arrangement
Diodes on an LED grow light are arranged in certain combinations to ensure it works properly depending on the drivers used. There are two types of arrangements: panels and diode clusters.
An LED panel consists of diodes (usually with 180° beams) wired together and mounted directly to a panel, all illuminating when activated. Supplemental lights are a single panel of low-wattage chips mounted to a surface, whereas standalone lights consist of multiple panels outfitted with a number of 3w chips each. Usually in these arrangements, if one diode goes out, the entire panel will go out.
Diode clusters arrange diodes (usually with 90° and/or 60° beams) in a circular or rectangular shape and place them around the light. These are mostly used in standalone lights because you can fit a number of high-powered diodes into these clusters, and a number of these clusters in a grow light. However, you can find these clusters used in supplemental lights, and each cluster gets its own power supply.
A Quick Note on Bleaching and Leaf Burn
While LED grow lights may not produce heat, the light they do produce is intense. Remember that the light coming from LEDs is the result of electricity, and raw electricity is extremely bright, which is why it needs to be buffered by a cover and lens.
The problem with LEDs is that regardless of how much you dampen chips, the light produced is still super intense. As such, lights that are too close to plants can actually bleach them. When this happens, light damages the chlorophyll in the leaves, flowers, and fruit your plant produces. When chlorophyll is destroyed, plants have a hard time taking in light and breaking it down to use as energy. The plant will usually continue to grow, but it will be weaker, and the color you love on your plants will definitely be tarnished.
We should also mention that while the heat produced by LEDs is very minimal, the electric radiation they create produces heat. Thankfully, lenses and covers help insulate some of that heat, but when plants press up against diodes that’ve been on for hours, there’s a chance the diodes can get extremely hot and start to burn a plant. Some burns can be simple discoloration and damage, while sustained burning can lead to combustion if not mediated.
Fortunately, bleaching and burning are remedied simply by hanging your plants at the right height, which is anywhere between 18in and 30in above plants.
