The Rise of LEDs: Gavita LED [Cultivate Product Feature]

Lighting for indoor plant cultivation has evolved exponentially over the last twenty years.

A focus on creating the most cost-effective grow light has led to new technology and lighting applications that boost yields and produce way higher quality plants. The introduction of LED lighting to indoor cultivation is the latest innovation sweeping growers everywhere.

History of Grow Lights

As long as electricity has existed, people have likely tried growing plants indoors. However most had no luck, as the power of lights back then was so minute compared to the power of the sun that growing indoors didn't make any sense to the average farmer.

Jump ahead a couple hundred years and into the 20th century, and everything began changing. Cultivation techniques advanced, and so did technology.

The first patent for the next evolution of grow lights would be for the Metal Halide bulb, patented all the way back in 1912! But it wouldn't be until the 1960s that this invention saw more practical, widespread use for cultivation. At this same time in 1962, LED lights would be invented. Remember this for later.

The metal halide bulb would act as the catalyst for the beginning of grow-light technology innovations, with High Pressure Sodium lights coming into the fray only four years after Metal Halide. With a higher wattage capability and stronger light spectrum, HPS lighting became the industry standard for decades.

However at this point, most growers were still just hanging bulbs from their ceilings. Also, the only bulbs available were 600 Watts or 1,000 Watts.

More innovation followed the introduction of HPS lights, like ballasts and reflective hoods to increase coverage and power and Ceramic Metal Halide bulbs in 1994, but in 2010 everything changed.

Gavita Lighting International invented the Double Ended Light Fixture in 2010, followed by the first Double Ended 750 Watt HPS Bulbs in 2013. This innovation completely revolutionized the way people could grow indoors, multiplying yields and quality exponentially.

Through all this innovation and technological advancement, LED Lights were slowly gaining steam in the background. Used primarily for home or commercial lighting, over the last decade LED lights slowly began breaking into the agricultural industry.

With more developments in LED tech over the last ten years, fixtures have been created that are now viable for commercial scale indoor cultivation. As innovators in the lighting industry, Gavita released their state of the art LED grow light in 2019 to revolutionize indoor cultivation yet again.

Gavita Pro 1700e LED

With the same performance that makes Gavita the world’s leading horticultural lighting brand comes a new LED light fixture designed to deliver more usable energy to your plants while consuming less power. The Gavita Pro 1700e LED is a full-term light fixture that provides consistent, energy-efficient results.

Operating at 645 watts with an output of 1700 µmol s-1, this fixture achieves an impressive efficacy of 2.6 µmol s-1 per watt.

Eight passively cooled LED bars provide intense light coverage with no fans or moving parts—significantly reducing the number of possible fail points compared to other fixtures. Built with premium Philips drivers, Samsung white LEDs and Osram deep-red LEDs, this fixture uses only the highest-quality components.

Are LEDs for You?

While LED lights for cultivation are becoming more mainstream and effective, they definitely aren't the cheapest option. CMH and HPS lighting have been the industry standard, which means more companies have produced economical options for growers at all levels.

Because LEDs have yet to become commonplace, the two options for growers are well-made lights that are proven to work from companies like Gavita for a higher price tag, or cheap, low quality LEDs typically produced in China. For the indoor grower with just a few plants, a cheaper light can get the job done, and it won't break the bank when you need a new one after it inevitably breaks or malfunctions.

But for the grower cultivating at scale, the Gavita 1700e LED is the best LED light on the market that produces results that pay themselves off in no time.