June 13, 2025
At JumpLights we often work with customers who know they need a new lighting solution but aren’t sure where to start. In our experience, there are 5 big things to think about to make sure you end up getting what you want from your lighting purchase. By thinking about these 5 areas, you’ll set you and your grow facility up for success in the long term – which is key to growing your plants and profits.
Below are the 5 big topics that we would recommend every cultivator think about before making a decision on their grow lighting.
- Power: When thinking about what type of lighting you want, make sure to first think about the power that you have (or could easily obtain) at your facility. Major decisions – like what type of over canopy lighting to buy and whether or not you can implement under canopy lighting – all rely on knowing how much power you have available.
- Funding Sources: Next you need to think about how to fund your lights. If you have cash to pay for them, that’s great! Many companies, however, don’t have cash up front. Fortunately, there are still options available. The first is financing. Providers like NEC Financial Services will finance JumpLights’ lights for many customers, giving you a great way to get lights faster even if your capital is limited. Rebates and grants are another option. Rebates are offered in many states and regions as an incentive to choose more efficient forms of lighting (i.e. LED lights) over other forms of lighting (HID or HPS lights). These rebates vary by state, province, and county, so make sure you look locally or reach out to a partner like JumpLights who can help identify rebates that are relevant to your area. For non-cannabis applications, there are government grants, like the USDA’s REAP grant available.
- Spectrum: Light is made up of different wavelengths. It’s important to consider which of those are best for your At JumpLights, we recommend using a balanced spectrum (without too high of a red %, especially for indoor cannabis) so your plants get all of the different wavelengths they need to grow. Lights with too high of a red percentage can sometimes have negative affects on plants, especially in indoor growing environments and under the canopy.
- Efficiency: A great way to evaluate a light is to see how efficiently it turns your power (measured in Watts), into light output that can help to grow your plants. The key metric for how efficiently this is done is PPE (Photosynthetic Photon Efficiency). PPE is PPF divided by wattage (W), so PPF/W = PPE. One watchout: some light fixtures look very efficient on paper, but use a very high red percentage to a high PPE number since red wavelengths are more efficient to produce than blue, green, and other colors.
- Uniformity: Uniformity is a way to describe how even the lighting is in a given place. You want to have your light be “uniform” across your growing area, so you get consistent plant growth. If your lighting isn’t uniform, you’ll end up with inconsistent yields and quality within your room. Always measure your uniformity to ensure that you get the best results.
As you think about all of these areas, JumpLights is here to partner with you every step of the way. Whether you need help thinking through solutions to get the most out of your power, assistance with rebates and financing, or help identifying the best spectrum for your grow, JumpLights’ experienced team is here to help. You can find us any time at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website. Our team will get back to you quickly.
