When it comes to indoor horticulture, finding the right lighting solution is paramount, and one innovation that has been making waves in the industry is the Quantum LED Board. Leading the charge in this field is Horticulture Lighting Group (HLG), a company dedicated to pushing the boundaries of grow light technology.
What are Quantum Boards, and Why Are They So Remarkable?
At the heart of Quantum Boards lies a groundbreaking design concept. Instead of traditional high-wattage LEDs, HLG harnesses the power of low-wattage diodes, meticulously arranged in a parallel array on a board. This arrangement allows for an even distribution of light and ensures that every plant under the Quantum Board receives the right amount of illumination.
Low-Wattage LEDs
The LEDs in quantum boards are low wattage, making them more economical to use than other LED grow lights. You use less power and consume less, even running for long periods.
Focused Light Distribution
Quantum boards are known for their focused light distribution, which makes them ideal for smaller footprints, lower hanging, and even vertical racking applications. You won’t need aggressive lighting in these setups, which makes quantum boards, such as the HLG Blackbird ideal.
Lower Heat Emission
Smaller grow tents don’t have that luxury of space, which makes it impractical to put fans to cool your grow lights. But the nice thing about quantum boards is that they have good heat dissipation, spreading the heat across the fixture. The heat is distributed, making it cooler to use for long periods. As a result, your plants have a lower risk of burns caused by grow lights.
Affordability
The budget for a grow light is crucial in deciding which one to get. Quantum Boards use low-wattage diodes and fewer components, making them more affordable than many grow lights in the market. With fewer parts, companies like HLG lower their production overhead costs, reducing their market prices.
Modular Design
The modular design used on Quantum Boards allows you to customize and conduct maintenance quickly. If a quantum board goes down, you can easily replace them.
How Do Quantum Boards Compare to Other Led Grow Lights?
Quantum boards have their pros and cons compared to other LED grow lights. But that doesn’t make them less superior. As noted in this article, quantum boards have their strengths compared to other LED grow lights. But that doesn’t mean they have weaknesses.
LED Grow Light Bars vs Quantum Boards
Compared to LED Bar grow lights, the latter has a more even distribution than Quantum Boards. While grow lights made by HLG offer an excellent and even light distribution, bar grow lights do this better, significantly when growing more plants in a grow tent, due to the even spacing between bars. On top of that, heat management is more efficient in bar grow lights due to the individual bars used in a set.
COB vs Quantum Boards
Compared to chip-on-board (COB) LED grow lights, quantum boards perform better for broader coverage. COB, however, serves better as supplemental lights or when you only want to focus on one plant in a small footprint, as they feature a more concentrated light for a smaller area. COBs are also cheaper but use more power than Quantum Boards.
Grow Smarter with HLG Quantum Boards
No doubt, HLG holds the title of being the innovator when it comes to quantum board grow lights. They developed the design that many grow light manufacturers take cures from. Because of how the company started this trend, it also initiated developments in the industry.
An excellent example of how these innovations are present is the HLG 700 Rspec. This grow light runs at 633 watts yet can replace 1000-watt HPS grow lights. While it has a total wattage of 633, the HLG 700 Rspec features a dimmer that lets you set the power to 160 watts, and you can integrate it with the HLG GrowFlux wireless controller.
As a grow light designed for commercial use, the HLG 700 Rspec uses four sets of quantum boards to cover a wider footprint. Since quantum boards were intended for a more concentrated application, integrating a series of panels gives you broader footprint coverage. As a result, the HLG 700 Rspec still brings a PPFD of 1585 umol/s. This can be attributed to the diffused lighting that improves canopy penetration.
Like the grow lights of HLG, the 700 Rspec uses passive cooling. Since it has a broader surface, heat efficiently dissipates without affecting other panels. Because HLG designed this grow light to resolve limitations brought by quantum boards, the broader coverage of the 700 Rspec may be used for higher clearances.
Overall, the design philosophy employed for the HLG 700 Rspec allows it to surpass limitations initially set for quantum board grow lights. HLG also uses similar designs in other grow lights, making them at par with today's standards.
Conclusion
Quantum boards offer many benefits for growers, especially when looking for an affordable grow light. The quality is at par with the standards for LED grow lights, but with its price, quantum board lights, such as those made by HLG, prove that you don’t need to spend much for a high-quality grow light. Sure, it might not look as compact as other grow lights, but the quality meets the standards, if not exceed others.
