More cultivators are switching to LED illumination instead of traditional fluorescent and HID grow lights. Because less heat is produced by LEDs compared to HID lights. And their distance with the canopy differs from typical grow lights’ distance. It’s also crucial to comprehend how the ideal grow light distance affects the various stages of plant development.
Depending on the type of plant, the wattage of LED grow lights, and the quantity of ambient light, the distance varies. 12-30 inches is the perfect distance to place LED grow light from the peak of a plant. But you need to keep changing the length as the plant grows larger to maintain the specific distance.
Hanging a light too close to plants can burn the plant. But they can also be strained and weak if hung too high. It’s vital to know how far LED grow lights should be from plants to ensure that it supplies the appropriate quantity of light to your plant.
LED Grow Light Distance Chart: Seedlings
The least amount of light intensity for seedlings is required at the greatest distance from the canopy to the lights. Between 200-400 PPFD is an excellent PAR value for seedlings.
You may feel compelled to expose your saplings to high-intensity light to promote rapid growth. The truth is that they’re young and delicate, and a more subtle approach is more likely to help them thrive.
This means that you should not increase the intensity too soon since the seedlings will benefit from a milder light. Grow lights should be placed between 24-36 inches from the top of the soil, depending on their size.
If you must use lights during the seedling stage, make sure grow light height above plants is enough to avoid the soil drying out.
Here’s a nifty little chart of correct led light placement for your reference. Use it when you want to determine the relationship between LED wattage and the distance between grow light and seedling.
| Wattage | Distance (inches) |
| 200 W | 12-20 |
| 250-400 W | 12-24 |
| 550-650 W | 20-27 |
| 600-800 W | 30-38 |
| 900-1000 W | 32-42 |
| 1200 W | 36-46 |
| 1500 W | 30-46 |
| 2000 W | 40-42 |
LED Grow Light Distance Chart: Vegetative Stage
Plants respond favorably to high light in the vegetative stages since that is when they are developing and utilizing photosynthesis to develop swiftly. It’s better to place them as close as possible to the canopy of the plant to maximize light intensity. For a successful and repeatable production, healthy stems, strong and roots are essential.
Increasing the light intensity increases development in this stage. But it’s vital to keep a close eye on your plants and watch for signs of over lighting or under lighting.
The ideal distance between the lights and the plant canopy is between 12 and 24 inches during the vegetative condition. Here is a LED grow light distance chart to use when your plants are in the vegetative period.
| Wattage | Distance (inches) |
| 200 W | 12-20 |
| 250-400 W | 16-30 |
| 550-650 W | 24-30 |
| 600-800 W | 32-36 |
| 900-1000 W | 36-42 |
| 1200 W | 30-36 |
| 1500 W | 30-36 |
| 2000 W | 26-30 |
LED Grow Light Distance Chart: Flowering
This stage is the last phase of a plant’s life cycle when stem growth and fruit production both increase. It is a great practice to “phase” the shift of plant growth from vegetative to blooming stage.
Gradually elevate the distance of the LED grows lights far from the plant to accomplish this. Keep a close eye on the distance, according to the ideal flowering and crop height requirements for the particular plant.
During the flowering period, light intensity should be lower than during the vegetative phase. Between 16 and 36 inches should be the gap between the light and the plant. Here, a chart shows how close should grow lights be to plants in the flowering stage.
| Wattage | Distance (inches) |
| 200 W | 8-12 |
| 250-400 W | 16-18 |
| 550-650 W | 16-20 |
| 600-800 W | 18-22 |
| 900-1000 W | 18-24 |
| 1200 W | 18-24 |
| 1500 W | 24-30 |
| 2000 W | 18-24 |
45w LED Grow Light Distance From Plant
In general, a 45w LED grow light looks like a box full of small red and blue lights. These are the most commonly used and available grow lights. Plants require different colors of light depending on their stage of development.
To put energy into growing leaves and stems, seedlings and young plants require more blue light. Plants need more red light during flowering and fruiting.
So, assuming you don’t have enough sunlight, LED lights that provide both blue and red light are an excellent general-purpose light source.
When using a 45 Watt LED, keep the lights at a distance of 24 to 36 inches during the seedling growth phases, then draw the distance closer when they enter vegetative growth.
300w LED Grow Light Distance From Plant
The lights you use should be matched to your unique needs. This includes the plants you’re growing, their stage, and, most significantly, the size of your grow room. If you’re planning a more miniature garden with fewer plants, enormous high-powered grow lights may not be the best choice. 300w grow lights will be best for you.
If you’re using LED lights with 300W of electricity, keep them 30 to 66 centimeters away from your plants at first and 20 to 53 centimeters away when they’re blooming. This will provide adequate light for the plants to produce all of the energy they require and grow to their full potential.
600w LED Grow Light Distance From Plant
When functioning at maximum power, 600 watt LEDs consume roughly 400 watts. Some of these lights are programmable and can be adjusted to operate at a lower power level. These emit full-spectrum light, with UV-A and IR wavelengths included in most.
The output of 600w LED fixtures is roughly equivalent to 600 watts of HPS grow light. So, the LED grow light should be 32-36 inches above the plant’s canopy during vegetative phases and 18-22 inches above the plant’s canopy during flowering stages.
When using LED lights with an intensity of 600-800 watts, the optimal distance is between 60 and 100 cm for vegetative growth and 45 to 86 centimeters for blooming. Because most indoor plants require this light level, it is likely to be the most typical distance.
1000w LED Grow Light Distance From Plant
If your LED lights are 1000 watts or higher, you’ll need to place them a little further away than ones that are 200-400 watts.
To use a 1000 watt LED light frequently, put it at least 36 inches far from the plants’ canopy in the seedling phase. 24 inches from the canopy during the vegetative stage and 18 inches during the flowering stage are the general distance to maintain. After the plant reaches maturity, these can be brought even closer.
Because the intensity is so great, you’ll want to be extra cautious. Make sure the grow lights aren’t too close to your seeds or plants, as this could cause damage.
How Far Should LED 2000w Grow Lights Be From Plants?
There is no such thing as a 2000 watt lamp on the market. The top brands don’t even advertise anything with a power rating of more than 1000 watts. None of these lights can compete with a 2000 watt HID light. That figure did not come from that source.
The producers refer to the lights as “2000w” since they include 200 10 watt diodes. The light would consume 2000 watts if those diodes were pushed to their maximum capacity. However, they aren’t. They are powered with less than 2 watts of power.
Even though you use them, a distance of around 26 to 30 inches is adequate for a super-bright 2000W LED grow light during the vegetative phase of the plant. A distance of about 24 inches would be excellent for the flowering stage.
A Few Popular Grow Light Distance From Canopy
Nowadays, there are some popular and mostly used LED grow lights for plants used worldwide. They are popular because of their features and services. Below, we have highlighted some of these and their ideal distance from plants calculated by the LED grow light distance calculator.
Mars Hydro ts 600 Distance
This fantastic product from renowned manufacturer MarsHydro is ideal for anyone who wishes to make their plants happy for the rest of their lives. Upgraded power supply, fans, Cree, and Epistar chips ensure Mars Hydro’s finest features. Their improved reflector cup is intended to produce 100% output.
It is compared to a 300-watt HPS/MH bulb. At 24 inches height, it’s ideal for a 2’x2.5′ growing space. On Amazon, this LED is one of the highest-rated.
Viparspectra 300w Distance From Plants
Viparspectra 300w is the most recommended and best-selling LED grow light for indoor cultivators at the beginner level. Because this light is so tiny, it’s ideal for your first growing experience.
Viparspectra 300w is indicated for vegetative coverage of 2x2ft at 24′′ height and flowering coverage of 1.51.5ft at 18″ height. But don’t worry, because these LED lights offer the daisy-chaining capability. So you can expand your grow space at any time by adding another light.
Depending on the growth stage, you must adjust the distance between the VIPARSPECTRA 300W and the plant.
Viparspectra 450w Distance From Plants
VIPARSPECTRA 450W LED is UL certified and known for its strong solid construction, fire-resistant iron casing, and high PAR, making it ideal for all types of indoor and medicinal plants. It is 15.88.14.2 inches in length and weighs 6.4 pounds, making it ideal for easy handling and use.
If you place the light 24 inches above the plants, this LED grow light will cover f 2.5 x 2.5 feet plant canopy for vegetative development. The Viparspectra 450w grow lamp should be placed roughly 18 inches from the tops of the plants for flowering growth. This light, which is 18 inches above the plant canopy, covers a 2 by 2-foot growing area.
Viparspectra 600w Distance From Plant
The ViparSpectra 600W LED Plant Grow Light is a full spectrum indoor lighting solution designed to meet all of a plant’s light needs at all stages of development. This light will create an abundance of healthy plants regardless of what you put in the soil. Shifting across plant cycles, from vegetative to blooming, is primitive at best.
When growing with the Viparspectra 600w, the ideal distance from the plant to start with Veg is around 25 inches. Once Veg kicks in, it’s safe to assume that gradually reducing to 18 inches will be enough.
Viparspectra 900w Distance From Plants
The Viparspectra 900W appears to be the appropriate answer for hobbyists to professional growers, as well as those who want supplemental illumination. The Viparspectra 900W has 180 LED chips with a lifespan of roughly 100,000 hours.
When the light is hung at 24 inches during the vegetative stage, it may cover an area of 4x4ft. This is 32 inches in length, with a blooming coverage of 33 feet.
Gavita Pro 1000 Distance From Plants
This is the first Gavita fixture, which ushered in a new era of double-ended lamp technology. In one compact container, the fixture includes a ballast, reflector, and lamp. According to horticultural rules, the ballast chamber is sealed with a gore-tex plug to circulate the housing while keeping dirt and humidity out.
And it is recommended by the company to keep the light 3 feet higher from the plant’s canopy at the beginning.
Gavita Pro 1700e LED Distance From Canopy
The Gavita LED fixture comprises eight independent LED bars, each of which has an aluminum heat sink on top and is attached to the mainframe. This results in a one-of-a-kind open-frame design that provides for even light coverage and efficient heat dissipation.
The manufacturer recommends a height of 18 inches for the flowering stage of plants and 36 to 48 inches for the vegetative phase. Hang the light on 18 inches if you want to dim it during the vegetative period of your plants.
Mars Hydro ts 3000 Distance From Plants
The Mars Hydro TS-3000 is a full spectrum LED grow light that produces 450 watts. In a 4×4 foot grow space, this light will blossom the cannabis plant, and in a 5×5 foot grow space, it will grow.
According to the light intensity values provided by Mars Hydro, you should hang the light at the following heights at 100 percent power for each plant growth stage.
The recommended height for seedlings is 36 inches. The height for Vegetative and Full Life autoflower LED light distance is 30 inches. And for flowering, a height of 20 to 24 inches should suffice.
Phlizon 600w LED Distance From Plants
The Phlizon LED grow light 600w is part of the reputed manufacturer’s freshly released line and is one of the most efficient LED grow lights in an affordable range.
If your grow space is 2 x 4 feet, you’ll need two Phlizon 600w LED grow lights to cover an area of 2 x 2 feet. This light can be installed as high as 18 inches away from the plants or as low as 12-15 inches away.
Burning the plants at maximum intensity is not very effective. As a result, you can make your growth as strong as you wish.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How far apart should grow lights be from each other?
A distance of 4 inches is an ideal measurement to keep the grow lights apart. However, differences in wattage, size, and footprint will dictate what works best.
Can LED grow lights burn plants?
LED lights create less heat and have a low light intensity compared to earlier technology. This has led to the conclusion that plants can be placed as close to the lights as they wish without being burned.
How far should 600w LED grow lights be from plants?
When employing LED lights with a 600-watt intensity, the proper distance for vegetative growth is 60 to 100 cm and 45 to 86 centimeters for blooming.
How far should 1000w LED grow lights be from plants?
A 1000w grow lamp should be kept at least 36 inches away from your plants’ canopy. Approximately 24 inches from the canopy during the vegetative stage and 18 inches during blooming or bloom times are good for the plants.
Final Words
To grow indoor plants, it is very crucial to know the LED grow light distance from plant. Otherwise, hanging them at the wrong height will damage your plants. In this article, we have tried to mention almost every type of LED grow light and how far should LED grow lights be from plants.
Depending on the type of plants, phase and wattage, the height can vary. But using it correctly is a must. So, before hanging your LED grow light, give this article a thorough review. You should be ready to set up your first LED grow light at the perfect distance from your plants!
