The Best COB LED Grow Lights to Grow Cannabis in 2022

COB LED grow lights are regularly outperforming normal LED grow lights of similar wattage. The best COB LED Grow lights can compete with normal LED grow lights with 10% higher wattage output.

The lights I review in this article are the best COB LED grow lights currently available. I also reviewed the strongest COB LED grow lights here if you’re curious about more high end COB LED models.

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Top 8 COB LED Grow Lights For Growing Cannabis:

  1. Timber LED Model 4VS
  2. Parfactworks 1000w COB
  3. Aglex 2000w COB
  4. Phlizon 2000w COB
  5. Canagrow 360w COB
  6. Parfactworks 500w COB
  7. Canagrow CREE COB 200w
  8. Bloombeast A900 COB

It’s latest updated version for choices to make in 2019 that could help you well in getting better results.

Keep reading below for the full information about each COB LED grow light.


Timber COB LED Grow Lights

timber cob led grow lights

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I listed Timber COB LEDs as one of the best COB LED grow lights on the 420ExpertGuide home page where I listed the top grow lights in different price ranges.

Timber makes a high quality, high power COB LED grow light that’ll compete with the most modern technology currently available, and I think these grow lights are an excellent choice for any indoor cannabis grower.

Features:

Timber Grow Lights offers a whole line of COB LED grow lights in different prices and sizes. One great thing about these lights is they’re hand made in the United States. Unlike many other grow lights made overseas, you can have a bit extra confidence in the quality.

There’s a a wide variety of choices when it comes to price and coverage area. Whether you want the smallest model, the Timber 2VL, meant to cover a 2x2.5 foot space, or the largest model, the Timber Fatty VS, meant to cover a 5x5 foot space, Timber LED is one of the best options.

The Timber COB LED grow lights utilize Vero29 V7 COBs – these are high quality COB LED chips that emit very strong light, as you’ll read later.

You’ll notice these lights come in different shapes as well – 3 in a row, or 3 side

These lights are built to order in California, USA, and typically ship within 5 business days.

Spectrum:

When it comes to spectrum on the Timber COB LED models, you also have a lot of choice – 3000K, 3500K, or 4000K full white spectrum light. Simply select your preference on the product page.

Which spectrum should you choose? While each color temperature is sufficient to grow during all phases of growth, 3000K is seen as favoring the flowering stage more, and 4000K is seen as favoring the vegetative stage more. 3500K is generally seen as a happy balance between the other two color temperatures. I’d choose 3500K myself.

Coverage Area:

Each Timber grow light model has a different coverage area capability. The smallest model, the Timber 2VL is recommended for use in a 2x2 foot grow space. The largest model, the Timber Fatty VS will cover a monstrous 5x5 foot grow space with ease.

Other Specifications:

Timber LED 2VL:Timber LED 4VS:Timber LED Fatty VS:
Dimensions:21 x 8.5 x 4 in.21 x 20 x 4 in.42 x 10 x 4 in.
Weight:9.2lb19lb18.4lb
Warranty:3 years3 years3 years
Coverage Area:2.5ft x 2ft3ft x 3ft5ft x 5ft
Power Draw210w400w900w
LED BrandBridgelux Vero29 Gen7 COBBridgelux Vero29 Gen7 COBBridgelux Vero29 Gen7 COB
Cheapest Place to Buy:LED Grow Lights DepotLED Grow Lights DepotLED Grow Lights Depot

Light Intensity and Power Consumption:

Yet another characteristic that I love about these Timber grow lights is the fact that even if you buy the smallest model, you’ll still get very intense light. The 2VL emits ~1000 ppfd at 18 inch hang height. You won’t get that power with the lowest model from other brands. The larger models are emitting similarly impressive light strength.

Depending on which model you choose, you can consume as little as 200 watts with the smallest 2VL model. The largest model, the Timber Fatty VS consumes an impressive 900 watts.

How does this level of power consumption stack up to modern lights? It’s a little more power consumption than other LED grow lights, but the light intensity coming out of these Timber LEDs is a level that cheaper LED grow lights can’t even dream of.

I honestly think you’re getting your moneys worth for the level of electricity these lights consume. It’s right on par – not too much or too little. It’s a good amount to get the job done in grand style.

Warranty and Customer Feedback:

These grow lights come with a 3 year warranty should you have any issues, and Timber is located right in California.

Some owners have left reviews for the Model 4VS on Timber LED’s site, and here’s what they had to say:

Written by Mike Green Grow on Apr 16th 2019

Wow I was blown away coming from a blurple Chinese light. It’s perfect for my 3x4. It’s well built. It’s like staring into the sun and its growing strong plants.

Written by SS on Aug 23rd 2018

Have almost a year using these lights. They procude the same quantity as a 600w HPS but the quality is definitely better! With low heat, energy efficient and rock solid parts/construction, these are the end all lights for indoor growing. Get the 3500K and changing lights will be a thing of the past! Can’t recommend more!!!

What are people growing with Timber LED grow lights?

Keep in mind there are many factors aside from grow lights (like nutrients) that may have affected the plants shown below. Your results may vary:

timber led plant
Mobshine day 67 of flowering under a Timber LED grow light

timber led plant
Green Poison, day 27, under a #timberled 3500K spectrum

Considering all the above, I’d definitely say the Timber LED Model 4VS is one of the best LED grow lights available in the mid-price range. It offers many design qualities and performance of the high end lights at a mid-range price.

Video:

Timber Grow Lights Model 2VL Vero29 V7 COB Review

This is a video of the smaller model, the Timber 2VL.


Click here to see reviews and prices for Timber COB LED Grow Lights at LED Grow Lights Depot


Pros and Cons of Timber COB LED Grow Lights:

Pros:

  • Fair Price for a quality product
  • Strong light intensity
  • Sizes for all budgets
  • Sizes for long or wide tents (VL – long & VS – wide)
  • Your choice of white color temperature 3000K to 4000K

Cons:

  • Not waterproof

Click here to see reviews and prices for Timber COB LED Grow Lights at LED Grow Lights Depot


ParfactWorks 1000w BM4 CREE COB LED Grow Light

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CREE is the best of the best when it comes to LEDs. As an example, the Mars Hydro Pro II 1200 watt light using CREE chips is 3x stronger than the 1600w Epistar model. Go figure.

This light is from Parfactworks, it also features full spectrum CREE COBS mixed with SMD LEDs.

Features:

The Parfactworks 1000W features twenty 3000K white CREE COBs and 52 SMD LEDs on its panel.

Centralized COBs improve uniformity, and luminous efficiency of this grow panel. You might have noticed that luminous efficiency and spectral uniformity is the main factor behind boosting the growth and health of your plants during vegetation as well as during blooming.

There are two switches on this light – one to turn on/off the COBs and the other for the SMD LEDs.

It also features a daisy chaining port where you can attach another grow light without the need of an extra socket in your power outlet.

Light Spectrum:

Parfactworks BM4 COB is a true full spectrum COB LED Grow light. Too many lights these days claim full spectrum without containing all the necessary wavelengths.

The Parfactworks grow light has every wavelength from ultraviolet (UV) up to infrared (IR). Moreover, a well-balanced ratio of blue and red color makes the Parfactworks grow light an easy buy in my books.

This light is suitable for all kind of plants and all the phases of a plant’s lifecycle.

Coverage Area:

Parfactworks says the 1000w model will cover 4x4. They don’t provide a PPFD coverage chart so I can’t confirm, although I know the CREEs put out serious light intensity so I wouldn’t doubt this light is good for at least 3x3.

If you need more or less coverage you can always check out the 500w and 1500w models as your needs require.

Power Consumption, Heat & Warranty:

This light consumes only 380 watts from you wall which is pretty impressive for a 1000 watt light.

Well managed heat dissipation system in the Parfactworks 1000w COB ensures safety and stability of your marijuana plants throughout its lifecycle. The 1000 watt model comes with 4 cooling fans. All the reviews are perfect rating and nobody has complained of heat issues so far.

To provide their customers with a hassle-free and worry less experience of indoor weed cultivation Parfactworks offers 3 years warranty and 30 days money back.

Customer Comments:

Reading through the reviews I found that existing owners are quite pleased with this light, which makes it a great bargain. There are only a handful of reviews so far, but they’re all near perfect ratings and the owners seem pretty enthusiastic about these Parfactworks lights.

If you’re concerned with features and budget but don’t want to compromise on either of them, then the Parfactworks 1000W CREE COB LED Grow Light is for you.


Click here to see reviews and prices for the Parfactworks 1000W COB on Amazon.com


Pros and Cons of Parfactworks 1000W CREE COB Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

Pros:

  • Attractive and elegant design
  • Attractive price
  • Full spectrum output
  • Highly effective light for blooming
  • Massive coverage area
  • Fabulous Energy efficiency
  • Daisy chaining ability for expansion options
  • Top rated heat dissipation system
  • Quality support for worry free growing experience.

Cons:

  • PPFD chart not provided, but we know CREE LEDs put out very strong light.

Click here to see reviews and prices for the Parfactworks 1000W COB on Amazon.com


Phlizon 2000w COB LED – A Powerful Choice

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Phlizon is another well known LED grow light manufacturer. They have several COB LED light options ranging from 1000w to a monstrous 3000w output.

One unusual feature on a high output light like this is the daisy chain capability. Typically that feature only comes on lower output lights as you can only run so much current through the daisy chain outlet. But with this light you’ll have that daisy chain option.

Spectrum, PPFD, and Coverage Area:

The 2000W variant has the following LED distribution:

It contains 4 COB LEDs, 68 x 630-660nm LEDs, 10 x 470nm, 6 x 6500k, 4 x 3000K, 4 x ultraviolet LEDs, 4 x infrared LEDs.

That mixture helps create an equal balance of red and blue light, perfect to carry your plants through all phases of growth.

The included UV and IR diodes are absolutely essential if you want to grow high quality cannabis. Ultraviolet is known to increase THC, and infrared is known to accelerate the flowering phase as well as increase bud density.

Upon further inspection you’ll notice the full PAR/PPFD measurement at 18″ is 2161 umol/m²s. You just don’t see readings like that on normal LEDs yet many of them are in the same price range. Talk about value.

Now comes the critical part and we all know that it couldn’t be anything else other than coverage ability. The Phlizon 2000 watt COB is capable of putting a smile on your face by covering 4.1’ X 4.1’ of grow space comfortably. With that PPFD value you may even be able to stretch it a bit further.

Power Consumption, Heat and Warranty:

You might be concerned about all those LEDs costing you on your utility bill, but you’d be wrong. This LED Grow light pulls only 451W from the wall.

To keep things under control and environment well-balanced this grow light is equipped with four cooling fans, and aluminium heat sink works like a charm. No owners have complained about heat thus far, and one mentioned the heat dissipation was very good.

In a rare case, if any failure occurs then Phlizon is there to back you up with their quality support. Phlizon provides a 2 year warranty.

Customer Comments:

I read a ton of comments from owners of the Phlizon COB lights.

Current owners have said the Phlizon 2000w kicks ass. A few reviewers who have owned several lights compared the Phlizon 2000w to another popular brand, the Optic LED Gen 3 Optic 4. They said the Phlizon has now replaced the Optic LED as their favorite light. The Optic LED costs hundreds more for a similar output.

Looking at quality, capabilities, and user response I’d definitely recommend you check out the Phlizon 2000W COB LED grow light for a tremendous growing experience.


Click here to see reviews and prices for the Phlizon 2000 watt COB LED grow light on Amazon.com


Pros and Cons of Phlizon 2000w COB LED Grow Light

Pros:

  • Modular and effective design.
  • Well placed CREE COBs.
  • Full spectrum ability.
  • Best PPFD values in the segment.
  • Highly Effective Light.
  • Massive coverage area.
  • Cost Savvy from energy consumption point of view.
  • Keeps temperature balanced.
  • Easy to replace modules.

Cons:

  • Not waterproof.
  • No remote control.



Canagrow Newest 360W COB – Unique in All Aspects

best led grow lights

This is a fanless new and advanced version COB LED Grow Light by Canagrow. It’s definitely struck my interest, and it should strike yours too. Canagrow seems to be disrupting the COB LED grow light market by making their light thinner than all others.

Features:

You don’t see disruptive innovation too frequently on this market for some reason, although Canagrow has taken a totally different direction. It’s obvious in this 360w COB LED grow light’s design. Canagrow uses a heat resistant coating and a unique aluminum alloy heat sink. It’s hard to believe but take it from the customers who’ve given this COB LED grow light a damn near perfect review rating.

This grow light features 4 high-quality COB chips, each 100 watts. These are high quality chips manufactured in South Korea. These COBs are similar to CREE CXB3590 COBs up to the some extent. However, it’s not CREE CXB3590 COB LEDs.

Body build and materials are anti-rust, as well as dust and moisture proof, eliminating the need to constantly clean the grow light.

Unfortunately the thin design comes with one sacrifice being you cannot daisy chain this grow light.

Spectrum and Coverage Area:

As far as spectrum is concerned, it includes universal White, Red and Blue colors along with UV and IR elements. But I’ll note the blue spectrum could be a bit better on this light. It’s a lot heavier in the green and red department. Canagrow states that it’s a full spectrum LED Grow Light.

best led grow lights

The Canagrow Newest 360W‘s coverage is enough for a growing space of 2.5’x2.5’. I’d put two of these in a 4x4 grow tent. One owner reported having one of these plus one other 600 watt light in their grow tent and it’s all they need.

Unfortunately Canagrow doesn’t offer PPFD test results for this light, so it’s hard to guage how well it stacks up against others.

Power consumption, Heat and Warranty:

The CanaGrow 360 watt COB grow light only pulls 120w from the outlet.

It comes with a 30 day hassle free return, and a 3 year warranty.

Customer Comments:

Reading through dozens of reviews I found that purchasers of this light were really satisfied when used properly. One person was concerned about the heat since the light doesn’t have fans, but ultimately it wasn’t an issue for them.

Reading through other comments it seems roughly 2ft by 2ft (give or take) is the ideal coverage area for this light.

One person found the Amazon product description a bit confusing. To clarify, these are not CREE CXB3590 COBs. CanaGrow uses a Korean COB chip they claim is equivalent to the CREE CXB3590.


Click here to see reviews and prices for the Canagrow Newest 340W on Amazon.com


Pros and Cons of Canagrow Newest 340W COB LED Grow Light

Pros:

  • Slick and attractive design
  • Thin body and compact in nature
  • Great spectral abilities
  • Well functioning and high quality COBs
  • Intense and denser light array
  • Decent coverage
  • Elimination of fans and inclusion of high and low slot black coated cooling structure.
  • Lower power consumption
  • Long warranty

Cons:

  • No Dimmer or daisy chain.

Click here to see reviews and prices for the Canagrow Newest 340W on Amazon.com


Parfactworks 500W COB Grow Light

best led grow lights

This is the 500w COB LED grow light from Parfactworks. We’ve reviewed their other grow lights and found them to be very capable – this model is no different.

Parfactworks has been around for many years. They offer a few different style grow lights, all which perform great for cannabis growing.

Even though the name says 500 watts, this grow light only uses 170 watts. It’s weird but that’s how a lot of LED grow lights are. One number represents the LED chip wattage, the other represents the watts of power consumed.

Spectrum, PPFD, and Coverage Area:

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Parfactworks 500w COB Grow Light spreads a full spectrum light mixture of red, blue, UV, IR and white LEDs. The patented lenses increase canopy penetration and really maximize the power consumed by this grow light.

Most modern grow lights omit UV from their spectrum, but it’s great to have if you’re trying to grow potent medical grade cannabis. That’s one benefit of the UV on this grow light.

The Parfactworks 500 watt will comfortably provide 600 micromoles of light in the center coverage area, and 300 on the sides.

It’ll cover around 2x4 feet of grow space effectively, so if you’re growing in a 4x4 grow tent, you’ll need two of these. The low price of this grow light makes that a non-issue.

Power Consumption, Heat and Warranty:

From power efficiency point of view, it’ll pull more or less 170W from the wall.

As far as heat goes, the low power consumption won’t create much heat at all. Heat really becomes more of an issue above 200 watts.

If you face any trouble Parfactworks is there to back you up with their professional support for 3 years.

Customer Comments:

One owner commented that this was the best LED grow light they’ve owned in the $100 price range. Another commented on the strong customer support who quickly replaced a light that had an issue.

All in all, the high ratings for this light make it a no-brainer, especially if you’re looking for a budget full spectrum grow light!


Click here to see reviews and prices for the Parfactworks 500w on Amazon.com


Pros and Cons of Parfactworks 500w COB LED Grow Light

Pros:

  • Patented lenses increase light penetration
  • 13 Band Full spectrum Along with white, UV and IR light.
  • UV light increases THC
  • Suitable for all phases of growth
  • Good price-for-coverage
  • Well placed cooling fans
  • 3 year warranty with fast service

Cons:

  • Not waterproof
  • Needs safety glasses to prevent harm to vision of human eyes.

You might also like to read following articles:


Click here to see reviews and prices for the Parfactworks 500W on Amazon.com


Canagrow CREE CXB3590 200W COB

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Here’s another best COB LED grow light from Canagrow. With the placement of the latest CXB3590 CREE COBs on the panel Canagrow has something fabulous to offer to you regarding performance and capabilities.

Features:

It is equipped with 2 massive CXB3590 CREE Chips capable of providing you with a 400W equivalent light.

Canagrow 200W COB LED uses some advanced techniques of LED packaging on the board and improves the quality of light.

The Canagrow 200W COB features a highly durable optical lens on its front side. This optical lens improves coupling efficiency and boosts the light transmittance up to 97%. Yeah, that’s an incredible thing concerning Canagrow CXB3590’s light intensity and brightness.

Thanks to the professional research team and long-term thinking of Canagrow, if you need to replace a COB Chip in future you can replace it manually with the weld free design.

Functioning of this Canagrow CXB3590 200W COB is at its best due to high quality LED drivers from MeanWell. This COB LED grow light is waterproof which is a rare feature in the LED grow light market. That’s one reason we chose it as one of the best COB LED grow lights.

Daisy chaining capability will help you to expand coverage area in the future.

Spectrum and Coverage Area:

Spectrum quality of this Canagrow COB LED Grow light is defined by a wavelength range of 380nm-780nm. It’s a full spectrum LED grow light by Canagrow.

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As far as the illumination area is a concern, Canagrow CXB3590 COB LED can help you to achieve a decent footprint for around 16 sq ft. You can count on it for a 2’ X 2’ of grow space. Canagrow suggests hanging these grow lights at 1~1.2 meters in the seedling stage, 0.8~1 meters in the growing stage, and 0.5-0.8 meters at the flowering stage.

CanaGrow doesn’t provide PPFD readings for this light, although based on the specs it should be enough for a 2x2ft space as previously mentioned.

Power Consumption, Heat dissipation & Warranty:

Moreover, if you’re curious to know its power draw, it only draws around 200 watts from the wall.

However, it has a dimming nob from where you can adjust the amount of light according to your plant’s needs. Yeah, it also helps in decreasing actual power draw up to some extent.

For cooling and heat dissipation, this Canagrow CXB3590 COB Grow Light is equipped with two cooling fans.

If you’re planning to use multiple LEDs inside a single grow tent, I’d recommend to supplement your grow space with an inline fan or some good quality exhaust system.

Their professional support will tackle all your problems smoothly for a term of 3 years. Also, they also offer a 30 days refund policy which ensures that they’re offering something fabulous enough to be confident.

Check out some customer photos:

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What’s the difference between this 200w COB LED from Canagrow and the 360w model reviewed earlier, since the price is almost the same?

This is a popular question from some people, and the answer is COB LED type. The 360w model has off-brand korean made LEDs with a low-heat design, while the 200w model has top shelf CREE LEDs that require fans for cooling.

I’d estimate the intensity emitted by CREE LEDs is 30% higher than other brand LEDs. I know that because on the Mars 1200w CREE, it emits much more intense light than the Mars 1600w bridgelux.

Both of these Canagrow lights have very good reviews but the main difference is like buying name brand or generic.

Customer Comments:

Canagrow is offering reliable and trustworthy products to indoor cultivators and hydroponic enthusiasts, regardless of their specification needs.

You don’t have to take it from us, simply turn to the satisfied customers who leave great reviews for Canagrow COB LED grow lights.

Some of the glowing reviewers say how they wish they could trade all their lights for this model. Another one said they are blown away and 100% recommend.

Combine those reviews with product quality and you won’t be let down if you purchase this light. I recommend Canagrow CXB3590 COB LED grow light to people with an average coverage expectancy of 4’ X 4’ and power draw expectancy around 200W. This is one of the best COB LED Grow Light for your marijuana plants.


Click here to see reviews and prices for the Canagrow CREE CXB3590 on Amazon.com


Pros and Cons of Canagrow CXB3590 COB LED Grow Light

Pros:

  • Fabulous in terms of build
  • Non-welded COB Holders for easy replacement of COBs
  • Marvellous spectrum and brightness
  • Well balanced Red:Blue ratio.
  • Decent Coverage and PPFD Values
  • Dimmable COB LED Grow Light
  • Daisy Chainable
  • Effective Cooling
  • Durable LED Drivers from MeanWell
  • Longer Lifespan.
  • Professional Support for 365 Days of the year

Cons:

  • Keep it away from dripping water
  • It don’t have timer or any other remotely operating controllers.
  • A bit pricey but it is worth it.

Click here to see reviews and prices for the Canagrow CXB3590 on Amazon.com


Bloombeast A900 900W COB LED Grow Light -- Editor’s Choice For Indoor Marijuana Cultivation

best led grow lightsBloomBeast A900 900W COB succeeded in securing first place on the list of Best 10 Full Spectrum COB LED Grow Light Reviews. Its one COB LED grow light that won’t leave you wondering if you should purchase a few 30w booster lights on the side.

Built using extremely reliable and durable material and a user-friendly design along with top-notch performance makes it a winner on the league.

Yeah, our selected existing users have reported that they’ve obtained around 20-25% better yield compared to the traditional LED Grow Light they’ve used to install inside their grow space earlier.

Bloombeast has equipped this COB LED using 140 x 5W LEDs and 3 large sized 100W COB chips to produce well-balanced light and illumination.

Another great feature from this BloomBeast A900 grow light is 3 mode switches. These mode switches are dimmable and you can adjust it between 0 and 100 according to the current phase of your plant’s life cycle. The three separate knobs help you achieve the best quality light for seedling, vegging and blooming phases.

Spectrum, PPFD & Coverage Area:

The most exciting part of the A series COB Grow Light by Bloombeast is the 13 band full spectrum light.

It features a 13 band of color along with ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR).

This light has a supportive optical lens that helps in producing evenly distributable and dense light for green weed plants in you inside grow space. Check out the image below and you’ll see the BloomBeast A900 means business.

Maximum PPFD value achieved by them from this LED grow light is 856 uMol at 24″, which is excellent regarding effectiveness in a specific area.

As far as coverage is concerned, you’ll get an ideal light for around 5’ X 4’ of grow space. Yeah, that’s huge.

Power Consumption, Heat Dissipation and Warranty:

The A900 only draws 400 watts, as it depends on dimmer settings and your way of utilization.

Also, to keep things under control there are multiple cooling fans and a high-quality heat dissipation system.

Bloombeast is one of the best LED Grow Light manufacturers. Customer satisfaction and support is their identity.

With BloomBest A900 900 Watt COB LED Grow Light you’ll get an industry leading 5 year warranty. However on a rare occasion, such situations will occur where you need to contact BloomBeast. But even if your grow light does need service, it’ll likely be covered in full.


Click here to see reviews and prices for the BloomBeast A900 900W on Amazon.com


Pros and Cons of BloomBeast A900 900W Full spectrum COB LED Grow Light

Pros:

  • A complete 13 band full spectrum.
  • Must have UV and IR for indoor plants.
  • Highly durable build
  • Mixture of traditional LED chips and COBs.
  • Great coverage area of 5’ X 4’
  • Higher PPFD values
  • Acceptable Power Consumption
  • 3 separate dimming nobs for convenience
  • 5 Year warranty

Cons:

  • Extremely intense light that can harm vision if seen with naked eyes.

As I said, the BloomBeast A900 COB LED has secured 1st place and became editor’s choice for my review of the Best COB LED Grow Lights on the market.

From LED and COB Placement, Intensity, PPFD and warranty coverage it provides a great value to the indoor cultivators.

We highly recommend our readers to go for BloomBeast A900 COB LED grow light to obtain a well capable coverage of around 5’ X 4’ of grow space.

You won’t regret for your decision when you notice resinous and heavier flowers in your hand.


Click here to see reviews and prices for the BloomBeast A900 900W on Amazon.com


How COBs are better for Indoor Marijuana Cultivation?

As we always state in our buyer’s guide regarding indoor weed cultivation, one vital element for your plants includes light quality with essential bands, a well-balanced environment in grow space, regular watering, and fertilizers for nutritional benefits.

Many of the more modern and high quality COB LED lights have white wavelengths in their spectrum. The white spectrum is made up of green, yellow and orange wavelengths.

Studies have found that adding white spcetrum to Red and Blue wavelengths increased growth in tomato plants by 12-16%.¹ So COB LEDs produce a comparatively better light spectrum compared to normal LED grow lights.

The design of the diodes being closer together enables the output to be more powerful and more energy efficient. Many COB LED grow lights also include an intensifying lens that greatly increases PPFD readings.

Regular LED grow lights can’t use these because the LEDs are scattered around compared to bunched together.

COB LEDs vs Normal (SMD) LEDs:

Because the COB LEDs are more intense, they naturally have a stronger PPFD value. Below we compare the PPFD value for two equal watt output LED grow lights. One is normal LED, the other is a COB LED.

Normal (SMD) LED Grow Light Intensity:

COB LED Grow Light Intensity:

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Both are well known LED grow light brands – King Plus and Meizhi. You can see the King Plus 600w normal LED has a PPFD value of 430 umol at 18 inches. Incredibly, the Meizhi 600w COB LED light has a 61% higher PPFD reading at the same height! That’s 694 umol at 18inches. There is simply no contest.


What’s a COB LED?

COB stands for Chips On Board – that doesn’t do a good job implying the benefits or differences of a COB light.

The only difference between a COB LED and regular LED is the design. COB LEDs fit more LEDs onto a single chip, allowing for higher intensity and lower power consumption.

A more technical explanation of a COB LED is a “technique of electronic packaging where multiple chips will be bonded together on a single substrate surface to produce intense light.”

Advantages of COB LED Grow Lights

  1. They provide much denser and intense light compared to other standard “SMD” LED Grow lights. It’s due to the packaging of multiple LEDs on a single large-sized chip.
  2. Because the source of light is centralized in COB technology, it generates less heat compared to traditional LEDs.
  3. Lower electricity consumption compared to standard LEDs.
  4. More efficient grow light designs are used.
  5. Better lifespan.
  6. Higher light intensity seen on COBs is better for growing flowering plants like cannabis.

Disadvantages of COB LED Grow Lights:

  1. The only downside to COB LED grow lights is the somewhat higher cost compared to standard LED grow lights.

Factors to Consider When Buying a COB LED Grow Light

  • Stay away from the lowest price lights – they’re often the weakest intensity of light.
  • Look for real quality and capability of a panel, mainly via PPFD reading.
  • Consider light intensity, not HPS replacement numbers.

FAQ:

What’s the best COB LED Grow Light?

The best COB LED grow lights based on quality and performance for price are the Timber LED COB grow lights, hand built in California.
The best cheap COB LED grow light is the Parfactworks BM4 1000 watt, or the Phlizon 2000 watt CREE COB LED grow light. Both grow lights emit great spectrums and light intensity.

What’s the difference between CREE COB LEDs and other COB LEDs?

CREE COB LEDs are the best on the market. The light intensity is much stronger than other brand COB LEDs. Grow lights that use CREE LEDs are often a bit more expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

What’s the difference between a COB LED and a regular LED?

The difference between a COB LED and regular LED is the design of the chips. COB chips are multiple LEDs on the same chip, whereas other LEDs are single diodes on one chip. COBs are more efficient.

Are COB LEDs efficient?

Yes, due to the design they’re more efficient than regular LED, HPS or MH style grow lights.

Are COB LED or Quantum Board grow lights better?

Some quantum board LEDs can be outperformed by the high end COB LED grow lights. COB LEDs are generally less expensive than Quantum Board grow lights too. The only downfall of COB LEDs compared to quantum boards is COB LEDs are slightly less efficient.

References:

  1. Dieker, Henning. “Comparison of different LED Packages.” Proceedings of SPIE 6797.1 (2007): 67970I-67970I-12.
  2. MARUO, Toru, et al. “Effects of Supplemental Lighting with Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) on Tomato Yield and Quality of Single-Truss Tomato Plants Grown at High Planting Density.” Environmental Control in Biology, Japanese Society of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Engineers and Scientists, 11 June 2012, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ecb/50/1/50_63/_article.
  3. Chandra, Suman, Hemant Lata, Ikhlas Khan, and Mahmoud Elsohly. “Photosynthetic response of Cannabis sativa L. to variations in photosynthetic photon flux densities, temperature and CO2 conditions.” Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 14.4 (2009): 299-306.
  4. Sharakshane, Anton. “White LED Lighting for Plants.” bioRxiv (2017).
  5. Eichhorn Bilodeau, Samuel et al. “An Update On Plant Photobiology And Implications For Cannabis Production”. Frontiers In Plant Science, vol 10, 2019. Frontiers Media SA, doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.00296. Accessed 14 Oct 2019.
  6. Lin, K., Huang, M., Huang, W., Hsu, M., Yang, Z. and Yang, C. (2013). The effects of red, blue, and white light-emitting diodes on the growth, development, and edible quality of hydroponically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata). Scientia Horticulturae, 150, pp.86-91.
  7. He, Dongxian & Kozai, T. & Niu, Genhua & Xin, Zhang. (2019). Light-Emitting Diodes for Horticulture: Materials, Processes, Devices and Applications. 10.1007/978-3-319-99211-2_14.

Other References:

MaxBloom, BloomBeast

Nick

My name is Nick, and I'm a home grower who spends time writing about indoor growing tools and setups. My goal is for 420ExpertGuide to be a one stop shop for indoor growers to find the information they need.