Do You Really Need 1000 Watts of LED?

The short answer? Usually not.

It might seem like a no-brainer to swap your 1000-watt HPS with a 1000-watt LED, but that kind of one-to-one thinking misses what makes LEDs different. The real value of LED is not just about raw power. It’s about efficiency, control, and long-term performance.

If you're already hitting solid production numbers at 700 to 750 watts, then pushing to 1000 probably isn't going to move the needle much. In fact, chasing higher wattage just for the sake of it could actually work against you, especially if you're not managing heat and spectrum properly.

That said, there are situations where a higher wattage LED makes sense. One future-proofing strategy I’ve seen work well is using high-capacity fixtures but dialing them back to around 80 percent. That gives you room to adjust over time as the fixture naturally degrades. Instead of ripping at full output from day one, you’re giving yourself a runway. And when you're a few years in and starting to see some drop-off in intensity, you can turn them up and extend their useful life.

Other factors that have influenced the market are rebates and incentives. Some utility rebate programs have paid out based on fixture wattage instead of energy savings(kWh reduction). This has led to a wave of overspec’d lights flooding the market, not because they were needed, but because they were profitable for the rebate facilitators to specify and to install. The payouts have slowly reduced from a Dollar per Watt to 70 cents, down to 30, and so on. This rebate gold rush is fading out with power providers freezing funds due to gaming of the system with the interests of rebate facilitators, and neither growers nor the power-consuming community they are meant to help.

At the end of the day, what you really need is a lighting strategy that fits your space, your crop, and your long-term goals. Not just what looks good on a spec sheet, but also the potential for a subsequent kick-back. Understand what you’re buying. Know how it performs over time. And make sure you’re getting more than just a bright light—you want a fixture that actually works for the way you grow. 1000W LEDs in a newly specified greenhouse are a great idea to get the most life and power over the square footage with the least amount of fixtures. Taking down 1100 Watts of HPS to put up 1000W of LED, only to add extra draw and expense from operating and updating HVACD to handle the new loads, is working in reverse of the goal and missing the primary benefit of LEDs' targeted spectrum and system-level efficiency gains.

Lastly, LEDs that are recommended and sold at higher wattages usually fall short of their advertised specifications. So instead of an 800W that will retain 90% of its light quality and output for 5+ years, you end up with a 1000W fixture that can degrade down to 70% of its output in just a few years, leaving the grower holding the bag and the bill. If you have LEDs that you suspect are falling short of their marketed life-cycle specs, you can reach out, and we can help you get them tested in a DLC-approved lab. Some major manufacturers have terms in their warranty to this effect, but without 3rd party data, you may be left in the dark.