Many marijuana enthusiasts from across the world are choosing to grow their crops indoors because of the privacy that comes with the practice. Compared to outdoor growing, indoor growing ensures that not many of the people outside of your grow space know what you are growing. Growing weed indoors however comes with more challenges than growing it outdoors.
When growing your weed outdoors, you can depend on getting natural light from the sun to ensure that the crops grow effectively. Growing indoors requires the use of grow lights to mimic the light from the sun. Grow lights come in different types all with varying light spectrum.
Sometimes it becomes confusing as to how much lighting the crops need. This is where a par meter comes in handy. Par or Photosynthesis Active Light helps to measure the amount of light intensity the crops need for their growth. In short, a par meter allows you to adjust the lighting system for every growth stage of your crops by keeping to the required wavelengths.
For first time growers, finding the right par light meter may not be an easy thing to do. We reviewed some of the best par meters in the market to make it easier for you and below are a list of our top choices.
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Out Top Picks Best Par Light Meter
Apogee MQ-200 PAR Quantum Handheld Meter
The Apogee MQ-200 is the perfect choice for those that grow their weed hydroponically. The meter is also one of the best in the market and joins a long range of other Apogee MQ devices that come with high ratings and positive reviews. The meter is fast, accurate and very reliable and measures in aquarium par meter. It takes measurements for both white and coloured LED grow lights effectively.
It is also effective in reading measurements from incandescent lights and pressure sodium lights. Another thing that sets the meter apart from many others is that it is one of the most affordable products in the market in spite of its highly quality features. The meter comes with a high range of between 400 and 660 nm which means it is also Good for HPS lights.
The meter is lightweight, easily portable and one of the easiest to use. It also comes with a large LCD display that helps you to read the measurements easily and faster. The meter is waterproof and comes with a sensoring mounting bracket.
URCERI Light Meter
With a star rating of over 4, URCERI is by far one of the best par light meters in the market today. The device gives fast responses as well as accurate measurements that allow you to have good control of the lighting spectrum in the grow room. The light meter covers a range measuring 200,000 lux that covers a wide area of the grow tent.
Unlike many other par light meters in the market, URCERI also comes with two times higher per frequency giving it one of the highest response rates. This feature alone is an assurance that you will get quality readings at much faster rates. Other features include a 4-digital colour LCD screen that comes with a unique design with clear monitoring abilities.
It also comes with another function that indicates the status of the battery. This shows you when the power of the battery is low and when it is high. An auto power off function is also another feature worth noting. The function enables the device to automatically go off if there is no activity in more than fifteen minutes.
The device is compact, lightweight and easily portable. Besides using it for the grow tent to control the lighting spectrum, you can also use it for other purposes in between the growing periods. You can use it in the office, for other home lighting activities and many other places. The battery, powered by three 1.5v batteries has a life of 60 hours.
The battery also comes with a spectral response filter made possible by silicon photodiode. URCERI light meter measures 174.5 by 56 by 30.5 millimeters. The full package includes one URCERI digital light meter, three 1.5v AAA batteries and a user manual.
HOLDPEAK 881C Digital LUX Meter
HOLDPEAK is a brand name that you can trust for quality and accuracy. This handheld par light meter from the HOLDPEAK Company is one of their many devices that come with features that make everything easier. The par light meter covers a wide measuring range of 400,000 lux making it one of the light meters with a wider coverage in the market. It gives veer accurate measurements and fast responses.
The device also gives the results at twice per second frequency without any faults. Besides quality readings, the device also comes with versatile applications as you can use it in other tasks such as photography, in homes, in offices or many other places in between gardening. It is lightweight and compact, making it easily portable.
The par light meter uses 2, 1.5v batteries with a life of 200 hours. The light meter measures 174 by 51 by 32 millimeters with an accuracy of +/- 4% rdg. Other notable features of the light meter include a 270 degrees rotatable detector that helps it to monitor every part of the grow tent, a data storage that can record 33 reading sets and a large LCD display that allows you to monitor the light levels.
The light meter is also energy efficient as it consumes very little power. The whole package includes one 881C light meter, two 1.5v AAA batteries, a screwdriver, a carrying case and a user manual.
Emnologic Meter
The fastest way to find out if your plants are getting the correct light coverage is by using a par light meter. One of the most reliable devices in the market to help you check the coverage is the Emnologic par light meter or the el200k. One of the things that set this meter apart from many others is that it comes with a 10 year warranty.
The light measures luminance on the surface per unit area with accurate results. Unlike other lights that measure the luminance in only lux, el200k measures the same in lux or foot candle. The device is versatile as you can use in for other tasks when you are not covering the illuminate levels in your grow tent. You can use it in the office, lab, home, and many more.
The meter comes with an analog bar graph display and a large LCD display with a backlight. The LCD is large enough to allow you to read the settings from a distance. The Emnologic meter uses 4 AA batteries but it also comes with the option of using external power. It is compact, lightweight and easily portable.
To make the portability of the meter even easier, it comes with a carrying case. For ease of use, the meter comes with an instructions manual. The device measures 9.5 by 2.5 by 1.5 inches and weighs 300 grams. The full package includes the Emnologic meter, 4 AA batteries, an analog interface cable, a user manual and a 10 year warranty.
UYIGAO Digital Light Illuminance Meter
The digital Illuminance meter by UYIGAO comes with a rating of 4.1 stars making it another popular par light meter in the market. It boasts of a high precision design that allows you to have accurate light measurements in your grow room. The readings you get from this device are accurate, stable and the response is fast.
The light meter also comes with a large 4-bit LCD color display that provides easy to read measurements, a data retention function, a switch to allow you to choose between lux and fc and a function that records automatic data. The compact and lightweight meter comes with a pocket size design making it one of the most portable par light meters in the market.
It also comes with a function that shows you the status of the battery and another one that disables or enables automatic shutdown if the device is inactive for a few minutes. Other functions include low power consumption and over the range indications. It is versatile, measures 174.5 by 56 by 30.5 millimeters and weighs 84 grams.
The meter uses three, 1.5v AAA batteries with a battery life of 60 hours. The full package includes one light meter, and a user manual.
Dr. Meter Professional LED Light Meter
Dr. Meter Professional LED light meter is one of the highly regarded and rated par light meters in the market today. With a staggering rating of 4.7, you can understand why it is what every grow tent needs for the proper control of the lighting system. The highly versatile meter is not only good for the grow tent and weed growth monitoring but it comes in handy in many other applications including photography, designing and many others.
Dr. Meter measures up to 200,000 lux from different kinds of lighting systems with ultra-precise, ultra-fast, stable and accurate results every time. It takes only a second to make the readings. One of the reasons for this high efficiency is an advanced in-built calibration sensor that measures the levels with twice per second speed making it super-fast.
The meter is easy to use as all you do is turn it on and point it at the source of light, the results show on the large LCD display in second. The meter comes with four measuring ranges and preprogrammed settings such as auto power shut off, unit adjustment, and data hold. It can rotate at 270 degrees which makes it possible to cover the whole lighting system.
The meter also comes with screw base design that allows you to mount it on a tripod. The meter measures 185 by 68 by 38 millimeters. It uses a 9volt battery with a battery life of an estimated 200 hours.
Par Light Meter Buying Guide
Below are the things to consider before buying a light meter for your growing cannabis crops.
Features
One of the most important factors to look at is the features of the light meter you want to purchase. The features to look out for include data holding functions, memory capacity of the meter, auto zeroing abilities, level of accuracy, low battery indicator function and rate of sampling among others.
Do not also forget to look at other features such as the LCD display, the light sensor buttons and their functions, and the corrections filter. Make sure that the display of the meter you want to buy is large enough to give clear and easy to read results. It will help if the display comes with a backlight for even much easier and faster reading.
Light source
Even before looking at the features of the meter, you should be clear about the light source in your grow tent. This is helpful because some of the light meters can only detect the natural sunlight.
If you are using LED GROW lights, make sure that you get meters that can measure that kind of light effectively. To be on the safe side, you can look for light meters that can measure all kinds of lighting systems.
Range
Light meters measure the light levels using lux ranges. It would be wise to find a meter that can measure at least 200,000 lux. This will however depend on the coverage area. Whatever you choose, make sue it gives complete coverage of the lighting system in the grow tent.
Reviews
It is always very important to read reviews from other customers before buying your light meter. If you find a product with high ratings and positive reviews, then you should note it down to compare with others with the same ratings and reviews.
If you want a particular product and the ratings are low with negative reviews, check the reasons for the negativity and compare with a similar product before buying.
Budget
How much you can afford to spend on the product of your choice is also another driving factor to what you should buy. You may want a particular light meter that is beyond what you can afford. If that is the case, look for an alternative one with a cheaper price but with the same features and quality. Do not buy cheap only to regret later and do not go bend what you can afford if you can find something similar with what you have.
What comes in the package?
What comes alongside the light meter is also an important factor to consider before buying. Some of the things to look out for are batteries, a user manual, carrying case, sensor cover, a cable and much more. The more accessories you get with your light meter, the more easy the operation of the device will be for you.
Read next: Best Marijuana Microscope For Viewing Trichomes
Wrapping it up
If you are a serious cannabis grower, having a light meter is an essential investment. It is especially good for commercial growers that want to harvest only quality weed in order to make good money. The light meter helps you to give the crops the correct lighting system and avoid putting them at any risks. All the above products are some of the best in the market and you can trust them for quality and accurate results.
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