6 Best Far Red Grow Lights For Flowering Induction That Mimic Sunset
Far-red light mimics the end-of-day spectrum, signaling plants to flower. This guide reviews the 6 best grow lights for faster flowering induction.
You’ve dialed in your nutrients, your environment is stable, but your plants are taking their sweet time to start flowering. It’s a common frustration that can throw off your entire season’s schedule. What if you could tell your plants, with light, that the days are getting shorter and it’s time to get to work? This is precisely what far-red light does, acting as a biological shortcut to trigger a faster, more uniform flowering response.
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How Far-Red Light Triggers Faster Flowering
Plants are smarter than we give them credit for. They have a special pigment called phytochrome that acts like a light-sensitive switch, telling them when to grow and when to flower. During the day, under full-spectrum light, this switch is in one position. As the sun sets, the ratio of far-red light to red light increases dramatically, and this flips the switch, telling the plant the day is over.
By adding a dedicated far-red light for a short period after your main grow lights turn off, you’re mimicking this natural sunset trigger. This sends a powerful, unambiguous signal to the plant’s internal clock to transition to its flowering stage. The plant essentially goes to sleep faster and "wakes up" ready for a shorter day, which accelerates the hormonal changes needed to initiate budding.
This isn’t just about speed; it’s also about uniformity. In a multi-plant setup, some plants might lag behind others in flowering. A consistent far-red signal helps synchronize the entire canopy, ensuring your plants mature at a similar rate. This makes managing your grow and planning your harvest much more predictable.
HLG 30W Far-Red Bar for Pro-Level Results
Horticulture Lighting Group (HLG) has a reputation for no-nonsense, high-performance fixtures, and their 30W Far-Red Bar is no exception. This isn’t a toy; it’s built with high-quality components designed for growers who are serious about optimizing their results. The output is potent and meant to cover a significant area, making it a great addition to an already high-performing grow space.
Think of this as a specialized tool for a finely tuned system. If you’ve already invested in a quality primary light like an HLG Blackbird or Scorpion, adding this bar is a logical next step. It’s designed to supplement, not replace, and its build quality means you can expect it to last for years. The main tradeoff is cost and simplicity—it’s a premium product focused purely on delivering far-red light without extra bells and whistles.
AC Infinity IONBEAM S16: Seamless Integration
AC Infinity has built an entire ecosystem around its smart controllers, and the IONBEAM S16 fits right in. Its biggest advantage is plug-and-play integration. If you’re already running an AC Infinity controller to manage your fans, lights, and humidity, adding this light bar is incredibly simple. You just plug it in and program the sunset schedule directly into the controller you already use.
This is the light for the grower who values convenience and a clean, automated setup. You don’t have to mess with separate timers or power cords. The S16 also includes both UV and Far-Red diodes, allowing you to experiment with both spectrums from a single fixture. The convenience is the main selling point here; while other bars might have slightly higher efficiency, none can match the seamlessness of the IONBEAM within its native environment.
Mars Hydro UR45: UV and Far-Red Combination
The Mars Hydro UR45 is for the grower who wants to do more than just induce flowering. It combines far-red diodes with ultraviolet (UV) diodes in a single, affordable bar. This dual-purpose approach allows you to use the far-red for flower initiation and the UV to potentially boost resin and terpene production later in the flowering cycle.
This is a great value proposition, but it requires a bit more knowledge to use effectively. UV light can be stressful for plants if overused, so you need to be careful with timing and intensity. The UR45 gives you two powerful tools in one package, making it ideal for the hobbyist looking to experiment without buying multiple supplemental bars. Just remember that with more control comes more responsibility to get the timing right for both spectrums.
RapidLED Far Red Puck for DIY Grow Setups
Not everyone wants a pre-built bar. For the DIY enthusiast, the RapidLED Far Red Puck is a fantastic option. It’s essentially a high-quality cluster of far-red LEDs on a small, heatsink-ready board. This gives you complete control to build a custom supplemental light solution tailored perfectly to your space.
You can wire several pucks together to cover a large area or use a single one for a small tent. This approach is often more cost-effective, but it requires some basic electrical know-how. You’ll need to source a driver and figure out mounting. This is the choice for the tinkerer who enjoys building their own gear and wants to save money while achieving a truly custom setup.
Photonican AURA: High-Efficiency Far-Red Bar
When your main concern is getting the most light for every watt of electricity, efficiency is key. The Photonican AURA Far-Red Bar is built around this principle, often using top-bin Osram diodes known for their high output and long lifespan. This means more of your electricity is converted into usable far-red photons, and less is wasted as heat.
Over the long run, a more efficient light can lead to noticeable savings on your power bill. This bar is for the data-driven grower who understands that fixture cost is only part of the equation; operational cost matters, too. If you’re running a sealed room where every bit of heat is a problem or you’re simply trying to be as energy-conscious as possible, the AURA’s focus on efficiency makes it a very smart investment.
FGI Uniformity Pro Far-Red Bar for Even Spread
Light uniformity is an often-overlooked aspect of growing. If your far-red light only hits the center of your canopy, the plants on the edges won’t get the same flowering signal. The FGI Uniformity Pro is designed specifically to solve this problem, using specialized optics to cast a wide, even spread of light across the entire grow space.
This is crucial for growers using techniques like Sea of Green (SOG) or ScrOG, where the goal is to create a flat, uniform canopy. An even far-red distribution ensures all your plants transition to flower at the same time, leading to a more consistent harvest. If you’ve ever noticed that your corner plants seem to lag behind, poor light distribution is often the culprit, and a bar like this is the direct solution.
Timing Far-Red Lights for Maximum Effect
Owning a far-red light is one thing; using it correctly is another. The most effective strategy is known as end-of-day treatment. You are not meant to run these lights all day long. Doing so can cause excessive, lanky stretching as the plant searches for more red light.
The correct method is simple:
- Run your main grow lights for your desired "daylight" period (e.g., 12 hours for flowering).
- When the main lights turn off, have the far-red light turn on immediately.
- Run the far-red light for 5 to 15 minutes, and then turn it off.
This short burst of far-red light is all it takes to rapidly convert the plant’s phytochrome, signaling a clear and immediate end to the day. This puts the plant "to sleep" much faster than a gradual fade, tricking it into a shorter day cycle and accelerating the flowering response. A simple outlet timer is all you need to automate this process. Do not run it with your main lights on.
Automate your lights and appliances with this 2-pack of mini outlet timers. Program up to 24 on/off settings per day in 30-minute intervals, compatible with LED, CFL, and most small appliances.
Ultimately, a far-red light is a fine-tuning instrument, not a magic bullet. It’s a way to gain more precise control over your plant’s life cycle, potentially shaving a week or more off your vegetative time and ensuring a uniform start to flowering. Whether you choose a plug-and-play integrated bar or a DIY puck, the key is understanding that you’re speaking your plant’s native language of light.
