Grow lights can be safe in general. But prolong exposure may cause you harm.

Are Grow Lights Safe for Humans?

ByThuwarakesh

Grow lights are generally safe for humans, but prolonged exposure can be hazardous. High-intensity light may lead to eye strain, retinal damage, and photokeratitis. Blue light emitted by your grow light can disrupt sleep patterns, and UV radiation may increase the risk of developing skin cancer. Among grow lights, LED grow lights are the safest option.

What could grow lights do to our bodies?

Grow lights are sometimes inevitable. What if you live in the parts of Norway where the sun rarely shows up?—you need to grow lights.

At other times, they are more productive. Can you imagine a five-hectare farm in a congested city? Vertical farms can help, but you need to grow lights.

But to what extent grow lights can help us?

Artificial grow lights are generally safe, but they do have drawbacks. They don’t burn you instantly, but ignoring their limitations can slowly lead to problems. This post will save you. Keep reading.

When purchasing grow lights, we must be mindful of a few things: What are they? How can you safeguard yourself and others when you can’t avoid buying one? How would you dispose of them when you think they have done enough? This post covers these topics.

Related: A Manufacturer’s Guide To Growing Plants With Lights.

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What makes grow lights unsafe?

Grow lights are generally safe. We’re not to scare you from this post. But here are a few rare ways they can cause issues.

First, grow lights can cause eye strain and damage. They are often very powerful, more potent than regular lights. Also, grow lights concentrate light, whereas room light disperses the light. This makes the light from the grow lights more intense. 

In fact, any bright light can cause you eye strain. This is also true for looking at the sunlight with your naked eye.

Prolonged exposure to high-intensity light can cause retinal damage, photokeratitis, and other conditions. HID and LED lights are more intense than grow lights.

Second, the exposure to UV rays. You’d often hear the word full-spectrum grow lights when talking about grow lights. These include the visible parts of the light and the UV parts with less than 400 nm wavelength.

Of course, UV rays help the plant in small amounts. But they are also harmful to human skin. With constant exposure to UV rays, you risk developing skin cancer.

Then, there is blue light. Blue lights are very close to the UV range but still in the visible spectrum. They don’t cause direct health problems, but they do have trouble sleeping. This is why we’re advised not to use our smartphones before we sleep. Blue light activates your brain and prevents you from falling asleep. As the blue light from the grow light can cause sleep deprivation, it opens up a whole can of worms.

Lastly, we should also discuss the heat—especially the HID grow lights. HID lights produce a significant amount of heat, typically reaching temperatures around 200°F (around 93°C). You may accidentally touch them and burn yourself. Such accidents are more probable in vertical hydroponics systems.

What is the safest grow light type?

Now that we understand how grow lights may harm our bodies, we should know which types are more dangerous.

LED grow lights are the best type for several reasons. They are energy-efficient and long-lasting. However, prioritizing LED grow lights also has health-related advantages.

LED lights produce less heat—far less compared to HID grow lights. So you don’t get your hands burned accidentally. Since they are also less fragile, accidents are rarely a concern with LED grow lights.

LED grow lights don’t contain harmful substances like mercury. Fluorescent grow lights contain mercury.

Also, LED grow lights can be customized in terms of spectrum. Although consumer models aren’t customizable, industrial-scale growers can modify the light to produce a more targeted spectrum.

An infographic comparing the safety features of three types of grow lights: LED, HPS (HID), and Fluorescent. The LED section highlights its advantages, such as producing less heat, being less fragile, and having controllable UV emissions (marked with a warning symbol). The HPS (HID) section points out its drawbacks, including producing extreme heat and being fragile, both marked with red crosses. The Fluorescent section notes that it produces some heat (warning symbol), is fragile, and contains mercury (both marked with red crosses). The infographic concludes that LEDs are the safest option overall, with the Hydroponic Way logo included.

What should you look for when buying a grow light?

Firstly, we don’t recommend growing lights in your bedroom.

You should think carefully about where you will grow with your new light. If this is a place where you’d be wandering all day long, don’t buy a grow light—except for commercial growers.

In all other cases, try to favor LED grow lights. The last section already covered their benefits.

When necessary, examine the grow light’s spectrum chart. Manufacturers often publish these charts with the product. They contain key information. Look for the peak intensity under 400 nm at the far left end of the spectrum (or towards the bluest side). If this is as high as the other ranges, that’s probably not the one you should be buying.

An infographic comparing two grow light spectrum graphs and their implications for human safety. The upper graph shows a spectrum with a red peak significantly higher than the blue peak, marked with a green check and labeled 'Blue intensity is lower than red. Good for human.' The lower graph depicts a spectrum with a blue peak higher than the red peak, marked with a red cross and labeled 'Blue peak is higher than red. Harmful for human.' The infographic emphasizes the importance of selecting grow lights with lower blue light intensity for better human safety, with the Hydroponic Way logo included.

Verdict: The peak intensity of light below 400nm should be as small as possible. 

How to stay safe with grow lights?

LED grow lights are relatively harmless, but prolonged exposure may cause issues. How would you protect yourself?

You don’t have to worry much if you’re a hobbyist growing greens in your basement. Since your exposure duration is very short, it’s unlikely to cause any damage.

Try not to use a grow light anywhere you do your daily activities. Avoid in the bedroom, living room, or working area. They may look nice, but not for very long.

But if you’re a commercial grower, exposure to UV light from the grow light is almost inevitable. This includes most of the container gardeners and vertical gardeners. If you are in this category, you should know how to safeguard yourself from these rays.

The best strategy is to use a lab coat, grow room glass, or UV Safety Goggles. These goggles can filter out UV rays that can damage your eyes.

But what if they’re broken, and how would you throw them?

Related: overcome the drawbacks of grow light

How to dispose of grow lights.

Grow light disposal is an interesting topic.

If it’s an LED grow light, it’s easier—put it to your regular trash service. But you can’t do that if it’s a HID or fluorescent lamp.

In states like New Hampshire, it’s even law—you can’t throw fluorescent bulbs into your trash service. You have to take them to an approved recycling facility. This is because of the hazardous material, such as mercury, in those lights.

As a rule of thumb, LED grow lights can be thrown in your regular trash, and all other lights go to an approved recycler. Remember to wrap them loosely in plastic to avoid harming anyone.

In summary

Grow lights are generally safe. Among them, LED grow lights are the safest.

However, if prolonged exposure to grow lights is necessary for your life, you must take extra care. The UV rays from the grow lights may harm you. You can protect yourself by wearing a lab coat and a growroom glass.

Regardless of your level of exposure, you should always handle them with care. Most grow lights generate heat, and broken pieces may injure you.

We generally don’t advise using grow lights in your rooms. Since the health impacts are not shown for decades, you’d think they don’t matter—but they do.

Grow light safety FAQ

Grow lights are artificial lighting systems designed to mimic natural sunlight, helping plants grow in environments with limited or no natural light. They’re essential for indoor gardening, vertical farms, and regions with long, dark winters.

While generally safe, grow lights can cause issues if used improperly. Their intense, focused beams may lead to eye strain, retinal damage, or photokeratitis. Additionally, UV emissions can contribute to skin damage over time, and blue light may disrupt sleep patterns.

LED grow lights are widely regarded as the safest option. They generate much less heat (reducing burn risks), avoid hazardous substances like mercury found in fluorescent or HID lights, and often offer customizable light spectrums for more controlled use.

When selecting a grow light, consider both the light’s specifications and its placement. Look at the spectrum chart—ensure the intensity of light below 400 nm (UV range) is low—and avoid installing them in areas where you spend a lot of time, such as bedrooms or living rooms, to reduce prolonged exposure risks.

To minimize risks, avoid direct and prolonged exposure to the intense light. If you work around them regularly (as in commercial setups), wear protective gear such as UV-filtering safety goggles, lab coats, or use specialized grow room glass to block harmful rays.

Be particularly cautious with lights known to produce significant heat, like HID systems. Ensure they’re installed in areas where accidental contact is unlikely and allow them to cool before handling. Opting for LED lights can also help, as they produce considerably less heat.

Disposal depends on the type of light. LED grow lights can typically be disposed of with regular trash (if permitted locally), while fluorescent and HID lights—which may contain hazardous materials like mercury—should be taken to approved recycling facilities. Always wrap broken bulbs in plastic to prevent injury or contamination.

A data scientist and contemporary farming enthusiast.

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