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Building An LED Grow Light Set For Your Indoor Garden

By Chris Channing
Nov 4, 2009
Purchasing an LED grow light can be expensive. Sometimes you can cut back on your overall costs by simply making one yourself. The project itself will take several hours if you aren't experienced, and perhaps more if you aren't normally handy at creating new things.

The first thing to do is to get all of the tools and parts. You will need some sort of box to hold the lights in place. You can use a large plastic tub you find at general stores if needed. Find a power supply that supports 10 volts, blue and red LED lights to fill the compartment, wire, and then if needed a couple transistors and resistors.

The planning process will require that you have graph paper and some knowledge on how electronics work. You need to create a circuit that puts the LED lights in parallel with a resistor, or combination of resistors, in order to keep the current at a safe level. You will also need to use a transistor to create a button that will control the on and off state for the system, as well as the actual button itself. Solder is also a necessary component.

Once everything is drawn out, you will need a small circuit board to keep things in place. These circuit boards are very cheap and can be found at local electronics stores, such as a RadioShack. You will need to solder all of the points together correctly, and don't forget to test your circuit by leaving it on for several hours. If all seems well, we are on to the next step!

The next step is to consider which form of installation you plan on using. You could fix the board inside of the plastic tub purchased earlier, so that you have a directional light that doesn't interfere with other parts of your room. You can also skip this step and instead have the LED circuit illuminate the entire area, which is great if the room is closed off and only used for indoor gardening.

Upgrading your circuit is a fine idea once you finish it. If your indoor operation is large, you will probably be making several of these circuits. If you can streamline the process once you find a design you like, you can take as little as 10-15 minutes to make an entire set. You could have lighting for your entire garden in just an hour!

Final Thoughts

There are stores that sell these sets and kits already, so look into buying an already made LED growth system. You will save time, and maybe even money if you aren't an expert at electronics technology. Shipping is also fast- so you can have it delivered in just days.
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