Amazon.com
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Growing flowers, vegetables, or herbs do not require you to have outdoor space in the modern world. Unlike decades ago, when most gardening was done outside, there have been massive improvements in gardening tech, allowing one to grow numerous plants indoors. However, indoor gardening comes with its unique challenges. Top among these is the relative lack of sufficient light. Most houses do not get adequate natural light to support plant growth. Luckily, several artificial light sources can replicate the desired effects of natural light on plants. Clip-on lights are among the most popular artificial light sources.
Clip-on lights are designed to provide light to plants placed in dark areas and on surfaces that other light types might not work. Such surfaces include bookshelves, kitchen counters, and window sills, among others. As you can imagine, these lights come in various sizes, designs, and light colors. How, then, can you ensure you purchase the perfect clip-on light for your indoors potted plant or garden? This article will outline the factors to consider before buying such a light and discuss the five best options.
Cons
The Juhefa LED Clip-on Grow Light is an extremely useful artificial light source designed to give your indoor plant the necessary light for photosynthesis. This clip-on light features three light modes; purple, sunlight, mixed, and ten brightness levels. The mixed light is designed to mimic natural light as much as possible. The brightness levels can be easily adjusted using the bundled remote control. This light also comes with an automatic on/off timer that switches the light on and off depending on your selected settings. In a single 24-hour cycle, the three light colors can be set to go on and off for specified durations.
The Juhefa LED Clip-on Grow Light is held in place by a fully-rotating gooseneck supported by a strong clamp at the bottom. The easily rotatable gooseneck makes it super easy to adjust the lighting angle as you desire. The light can be powered using a mains socket or a USB outlet. The manufacturer includes a handy power adapter with the package. Unlike other cheap or poorly-built clip-on lights, this one comes with a generous 24-month warranty that should inspire confidence among potential buyers.
The only noticeable downside with the Juhefa LED Clip-on Grow Light is its somewhat difficult timer, especially for a beginner.
Cons
The VOGEK LED Plant Grow Light comes with an inbuilt timer set to three, six, or twelve hours depending on the plant’s growth stage. Once set, the timer automatically shuts down the light when the time elapses and switches it on the following day at the beginning of a new cycle. The light also features ten distinct brightness levels to suit the different growth stages. Additionally, the three lamp heads can be operated individually, meaning you can have three, two, one, or no bulbs on.
At the bottom, the VOGEK LED Plant Grow Light has a strong and durable desk clip and three adjustable goosenecks that connect the lights and the base. Please note that this light cannot stand on its own and needs to be clamped onto a stable object to prevent accidental toppling. If you are often worried about the bulbs in your grow light failing, you will appreciate the easily-replaceable bulbs in this clip-on light. If any of them fails, please purchase one from a local store and fix it in the holder.
The VOGEK LED Plant Grow Light contains a whopping 144 individual LEDs that provide light with consistent intensity to your plants. The goosenecks can correctly light a plant as high as 19.7 inches. The light itself ranges from 380nm to 800nm, which is as broad a spectrum as any plant would ever need. The biggest misgiving with this clip-on light is its clamp, which tends to be quite top-heavy, affecting balance.
Cons
The Abbicen Clip-on Grow Light features a dual gooseneck design with an intelligent time controller. The timer can be set to twelve, six, or three-hour intervals for the on and off functions. The light’s spectrum ranges from 400nm to 800nm, providing sufficient light to a plant at any part of the lifecycle. The full spectrum light can effectively replace sunlight and is ideal for aquatic plants. Additionally, the brightness level can be changed in increments of 20% (between 0% and 100%) using the built-in plus and minus buttons.
Each 45-watt bulb in the Abbicen Clip-on Grow Light contains 130 LED beds that provide uniform illumination to the plants. It is worth noting that the bulbs are fully replaceable if the need arises. The two goosenecks holding the bulbs are 360-degree flexible. This light is fully certified by the ROHS, CE, and FCC, so you can rest assured that you are purchasing a high-quality product. One significant problem with the Abbicen Clip-on Grow Light is its brightness level, which tends to be too dim even on the highest setting.
Cons
The Juhefa Dual Head Clip-on Grow Light is a versatile artificial light source with five brightness levels and three-color modes; mixed-light, sun-like light, and purple light. The first one is designed to mimic natural light as closely as possible. The five brightness levels are adjustable in intervals of 20% between off and maximum brightness. This clip-on light also comes with a built-in timer that can keep the lamp on for 12, 8, or 4 hours and off for 12, 16, or 12 hours. Once the timer is active, you do not need any manual input to switch the light.
The Juhefa Dual Head Clip-on Grow Light comes with two nice-looking goosenecks to help adjust the optimum angle lights. The bulbs can be powered by an AC power plug (using the included adapter) or a USB output. If you are looking for an extremely portable and convenient clip-on grow light, this is one of your best bets. The manufacturer backs up the grow light with a generous 18-month warranty.
One minor qualm with the Juhefa Dual Head Clip-on Grow Light is its power cable of less than impressive quality. If you get this light, ensure it is connected to an outlet with minimal or no disturbance.
Cons
The Elaine Clip-on Grow Lights is an excellent full-spectrum artificial light source. The light contains three individual light bulbs held by highly-flexible goosenecks. Each bulb includes 132 LED beads that provide uniform illumination to plants. Additionally, the light can produce light with waves measuring 380nm to 820nm, sufficient for every stage of a plant’s lifecycle. The built-in timer has an automatic on and off function that keeps the lights on for twelve, six, or three hours. The timer is also equipped with a dual memory timing function for enhanced convenience.
The light’s 18-inch goosenecks can be adjusted to provide an ultrawide 120-degree light beam. The Elaine Clip-on Grow Light comes with three switch modes and five brightness levels to suit the different levels of plant growth. If you are looking for an extremely versatile and powerful clip-on light, this is one of the best makes to consider. One significant downside is its significantly bulky build. Compared to several top alternatives, this clip-on light is quite heavy.
A clip-on grow light can transform your entire gardening experience by providing the much-required light for your plants. Like other gardening supplies, though, choosing the ideal light can be quite confusing, especially with the numerous seemingly similar products in the market. The guide below will outline the fundamental factors to consider before purchasing a grow light.
A clip-on light needs to be super easy to use. Ideally, all you require is to clamp it onto a stable surface, connect it to a power source and adjust the gooseneck to achieve the optimum beam angle. However, this might be easier said than done with some variants. You will do well to avoid lights that require specialized installation tools or those with fixed light holders. Keep off anything without an adjustable gooseneck since this will only result in nightmares as your plants grow taller or wider.
A plant’s light requirements keep on changing throughout the lifecycle. For example, a young plant with only a few leaves will have significantly different light requirements from a grown plant with hundreds of leaves. Before buying a clip-on light, ensure that its bulbs can be set to different brightness levels and, better still, using a straightforward adjustment mechanism. Most quality lights have five or ten brightness levels.
Without a timer function, you would have to switch the grow light on and off whenever needed. Such repetitive actions can be quite dull, and let us face it. You will probably forget to do so after a few days. This makes it essential to have a built-in programmable timer that can switch on and shut down the light depending on your settings. Once the timer is set, you do not require any manual input to control the light.
The color temperature refers to the deviation of the light from natural light. Ideally, a good grow light should have a full-spectrum light, meaning it can easily mimic natural light, sunlight, or some other colored light as you desire. This broad-spectrum light reduces the struggle a plant can experience due to receiving light with the wrong color temperature.
A good clip-on grow light should meet or exceed your expectations to justify its price tag. Such expectations could involve quality, effectiveness, durability, and other attributes. If a product fails you, then it has poor value for your money. If, on the other hand, the grow light exceeds all your expectations, then it has greater value for money. Price is always a huge factor in determining a product’s value for money. However, this does not mean that you should go for the cheapest grow lights since most times, cheap ends up being expensive. Avoid overpriced makes, too, since you will find it challenging to extract proportionate value and utility from such a product.
Indoor gardening keeps getting more manageable with the advent of products such as clip-on grow lights. If you want to take your indoor garden to the next level, you might want to consider getting yourself one of these handy lights. You can get the perfect open by considering the pre-purchase factors mentioned above. Hopefully, the five lights discussed earlier will also narrow down the numerous options to a manageable level.
Amazon.com
Amazon.com