Can you use a full spectrum LED strip to grow plants?
Yes, for supplementary growing. Photosynthesis works across roughly 400-700 nm, so a 4000-5000K Ra 95 strip at 12-18 W/m grows herbs, houseplants, propagation shelves, retail plant displays and green walls — and it still looks like architectural light instead of a magenta grow bar. It is less efficient per watt than a red-and-blue horticultural board, so for commercial production measured in grams per kilowatt-hour, use a purpose-built PPFD board instead.
Plants: when white full spectrum is enough
Photosynthesis responds across roughly 400–700 nm, so a continuous white spectrum does drive growth — it is simply less efficient per watt than a red-and-blue optimised bar, because a large share of the output sits in the green region where quantum efficiency is lower. For herbs, houseplants, propagation shelves, retail plant displays and interior green walls, a 4000K–5000K Ra 95 strip at 12–18 W/m delivers usable PPFD at short mounting distances while still looking like architectural light.
For commercial production where grams per kilowatt-hour is the metric, use a horticultural board with a tuned photon distribution. DENO builds both, and will state PPFD at a given distance rather than only lumens when the application is horticultural.
Human-centric schemes
Human-centric lighting is driven by melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance (mel-EDI), which rises with CCT and with the cyan content that blue-pump white lacks. A continuous-spectrum board at 5000–6500K delivers a higher mel-EDI per lux than a comparable blue-pump source at the same CCT, while a 2200–2700K setting drops it for evening use.
Practical schemes pair a dual-CCT tunable full spectrum board with a DALI DT8 or 0–10V control layer, so a space can run 5000K in the morning and 2700K after sunset without losing Ra 95 anywhere in the travel.
Industry references and standards
- Plant factories & horticulture — DesignLights Consortium — Horticultural Lighting QPL — PPF, PPE and photon efficacy reporting rules for grow installations.
- Plant factories & horticulture — Wageningen University & Research — Greenhouse Horticulture — Peer-reviewed spectrum and photoperiod research for plant factories.
- Plant factories & horticulture — UF/IFAS Environmental Horticulture — Extension guidance on supplemental light levels and DLI targets.
More full spectrum answers
- What is the difference between a high CRI LED strip and a full spectrum LED strip?
- Is violet-excited high CRI LED lighting better than a normal blue-chip white LED?
- Is 90 CRI enough, or do you need a 95 or 98 CRI LED strip?
- Which high density LED strip stops you seeing dots in a shallow cove?
- Are high CRI LED strips available in 24V, and do they dim without changing colour?
- Can I get custom made full spectrum LED strip lights?