A completely simplified guide to buying grow lights. I'll cover the basics you need to know if you're growing seedlings and ignore all the extra information that just confuses us all.

Why ignore a bunch of grow light information? Because decision fatigue is real & as I was researching for my own replacement grow lights I JUST WANTED SOMEONE TO TELL ME WHICH LIGHTS TO BUY.

This is not a guide that has all the information on all of the lights.

I am here to make things easy for you.

Picking the right grow lights can be overwhelming, therefore I'm making this as simple possible.

If you are growing seedlings indoors, use T5 fluorescent or T5 LED lights with a colour temperature of 6,500K.

That's it. Go buy 'em. Incidentally, 6,400 is fine too. Or 6,600. Just get something above 5,000 and below 7,000.

If you like to know a bit about the whys and whats, read on.

Let's make this easy on everyone.

Choose T5 bulbs; they're affordable, lightweight, and very effective. They're the best choice for anyone who is growing seedlings in their basement or spare room.

This is very basic information that really helps you understand lighting, yet it's a fact that often isn't explained.

With a T5 light the T refers to tubular and the 5 refers to the diameter (⅝").

Therefore a T5 light is a tubular light that is ⅝ths of an inch in diameter. They usually come in 2', 3' and 4' lengths.

Using a T8 light as an example: A T8 light is a tubular light that is 8/8ths in diameter. (1")

So T5 is code for the shape and diameter of the bulb. Nothing else.

Now that you know that T5 only refers to the shape and diameter of the bulb I can tell you that they come in both LED and fluorescent options.

So you could buy a T5 fluorescent bulb or a T5 LED bulb. And they look pretty much the same.

So which do you pick? T5 fluorescent? Or T5 LED.

If you want to save money in the short term - choose fluorescents

If you want to save money in the long run - choose LEDs

But really I think you should get LED lights.

Great! Now you know to:

BUY FLUORESCENT OR LED T5 bulbs

Now you only have 2 more factors to consider,

The 2 most important things to recognize when you're buying your lights.

The colour temperature of light is measured in Kelvins. For promoting vegetative growth (leaves) the BEST light is in the range of 5,000-7,000 Kelvin with the sweet spot being 6,500K.

Warm light from 3,000-4,000 Kelvin promotes flowering and fruiting.

Cool light from 5,000-7,000 promotes greenery and is perfect for seedlings

I don't mean the wavelength of the light - I mean the actual length of the bulb. Most grow lights come in lengths from 2 feet - 4 feet.

Choose the length based on how much room you have to grow.

Small space like a countertop? Use a 2 foot light.

Most bulbs on the market now are connectable. So you can buy 2, 2' bulbs, and in the future if you need to you can attach them together to make 1, 4' long bulb.

This one is tricky because it depends on your setup but generally speaking I recommend using a wire rack as a setup, with 2 bulbs that run the full length of each shelf.

So if you have 3 shelves you'd need 6 lights that are the length of the shelf. 2 for each shelf. 5 shelves, 10 lights ... and on and on. You get it.

Just zip tie the lights to the racks and you're on your way.

For super fancy people (like myself) you can also add pulleys to your lights so you can raise and lower them easily. I have 6 pair of these pulleys and I love them.

I'm smack dab in the middle of redoing my entire grow system including upgrading from fluorescent bulbs to LED, changing the technique I use for capillary mat watering, adding 2 new grow racks, and putting all my lights on pulleys.

I'm making a lot of improvements and changes but no matter what I do my basement will always & forever look like a kill room. #circa1840

I've been using grow lights and starting my own seedlings for decades and every year I learn or try something new. So if you screw something up don't worry about it.

Not really anyway as long as they have the right colour temperature(6,500 or 3000 depending on your need). The real difference between the two is price. Shop lights are cheaper.

But there's a caveat. Shop lights don't come with a reflector and your lights should have a reflector. So this option is best if you already own reflectors from past setups.

On the left is a T5 fluorescent grow light with reflector.

On the right a T5 LED shop light.

omg is this ever going to end, right? i swear to you this is the simple guide.

The exact things. Same make, colour etc.

The perfect grow setup. Shelving units are the most efficient choice for a grow room.

Pulleys make it easy (and strangely satisfying) to pull your lights up and down.

Save money by getting shop lights instead of grow lights.

Only if you already have reflectors or plan to make some though.

But what about lumens and watts and all the other bothersome stuff? Don't worry about it. T5 LED or fluorescent, at 6,500K. That's all you need to know.

Seriously. This was the SIMPLE guide. I didn't even get into PARs or ballasts or prongs.

Have a question? Go ahead and ask. But you probably just need to buy some 6,500K, T5 LED bulbs.

Bless you for this post!

Do the led lights fit the regular T5 fixtures or do you need an adaptor?

On a related note I use that very wire shelf rack to hold my pots and pans. Quite sturdy and worth every penny. My ex was an avid gardener and back in the day I built a similar grow light arrangement out of 2x4s and some ply (money was tight and lumber was cheap) and Amazon wasn't yet invented.lol

The fans...please give us the skinny on where to find those fans!

How warm does the room need to be? I’d like to grow herbs, etc. in the basement which is a bit on the cool side (in Victoria). Thanks!

Ok so why weren’t you there with me at Canadian tire today …I got some LED stuff.

Thank you so much for this, my life has just become way easier!

My name is Karen Bertelsen and I was a television host. In Canada. Which means in terms of notoriety and wealth, I was somewhere on par with the manager of a Sunset Tan in Wisconsin.

I quit television to start a blog with the goal that I could make my living through blogging and never have to host a television show again. And it’s worked out. I’m making a living blogging. If you’re curious, this is how I do that.

So I’m doing this in reverse basically. I’m the only blogger who is trying to NOT get a TV show.

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