Is Under-Canopy Lighting Right for Your Grow? Key Considerations Before Installation
Under-canopy lighting is an advanced cultivation technique that has the potential to increase yield, improve bud density, and elevate your final product’s grade percentage. However, it’s not a quick fix for an underperforming grow. If your yields are already struggling, your quality is inconsistent, or you’re battling pests and environmental instability, under-canopy lighting won’t solve those issues.
Instead, this is a refinement tool—a way to take an already well-run cultivation operation and optimize it further. Before investing in this lighting system, here’s what you need to assess to determine whether it will benefit your growth.
1. Are You Already Producing High-Quality Flower?
Before even considering under-canopy lighting, your grow should already be producing consistently high-quality flower with minimal waste and strong cannabinoid/terpene development. If your flower struggles to hit top-tier potency or structure, your focus should be on dialing in your cultivation practices first.
Key checkpoints before installation:
Yield Metrics: Are you already achieving competitive yields for your genetics and growing style? If not, other variables need adjustment before adding new lighting.
Quality & Consistency: Are your top colas already producing premium, high-THC flower? If you’re struggling with larfy, low-grade buds, under-canopy lighting won’t be a cure-all.
Pest & Disease Pressure: Are you maintaining low pest and disease levels? Adding more lighting without addressing underlying pathogen risks can create more problems than it solves.
Bottom Line: If your operation isn’t in good shape, focus on fixing core issues before considering under-canopy lighting.
2. Do You Have the Right Environmental Controls?
Under-canopy lighting increases the total light intensity in your rooms, which means more heat, more humidity shifts, and potentially higher cooling demands. If your environmental controls aren’t dialed in, this system could create more problems than benefits.
Environmental Factors to Consider:
Cooling Capacity: Can your HVAC system handle the additional heat load from extra lights? More lights = more BTUs that need to be managed.
Humidity Control: Increased light penetration means more photosynthesis, which leads to increased transpiration. Do you have dehumidification adequately set up?
Airflow Management: Can your fans and ductwork keep CO₂ and airflow balanced, or will adding lights create stagnant pockets?
If your cooling, dehumidification, and airflow systems aren’t optimized, introducing under-canopy lighting could upset the balance of your environment.
3. Electrical Load & Wiring Safety
One of the most significant overlooked factors in under-canopy lighting installations is how it will be wired and powered without creating hazards or operational failures.
Critical electrical considerations:
Do you have the necessary electrical capacity? If your facility is already at max load, adding new lights could cause breakers to trip or lead to unsafe wiring modifications.
How will the lights be mounted and routed safely? Running extension cords haphazardly through the canopy is a fire hazard and an operational risk.
Are you ensuring clean, waterproof connections? Electrical wiring in humid grow rooms must be adequately sealed to prevent moisture infiltration that could lead to shorts or failures.
Solution: Before adding new lights, have an electrician review your system and design a safe, efficient wiring plan.
4. Can You Optimize the Spectrum for Your Grow?
Not all under-canopy lights are created equal. Simply installing any LED fixture below your plants won’t necessarily deliver the benefits you’re expecting.
Key factors in choosing the right light:
Spectrum: The ideal under-canopy lighting spectrum should complement your existing overhead lights. Some growers see success with full-spectrum, while others prefer a mix of red and blue wavelengths to enhance specific responses.
Intensity & Placement: If the under-canopy lights are too intense or placed improperly, they can bleach lower buds instead of improving them. Test and adjust placement before fully committing.
Dimmability & Control: Can you adjust the intensity based on plant development stages? Overloading young plants with too much under-canopy light can cause stress rather than boost growth.
Takeaway: Spectrum, intensity, and placement need to be dialed in for your specific strain and growth stage. Test in small sections before scaling up.
5. Is Your Labor & Maintenance Plan Ready?
Adding under-canopy lighting isn’t just a one-time installation. It requires ongoing monitoring, adjustments, and maintenance.
Key labor considerations:
How will workers access and clean the lights? Lights placed too low can become obstructions for pruning, defoliation, and irrigation.
How will power cords and fixtures be protected from accidental damage? If not installed correctly, wires can get tangled in plant supports, irrigation lines, or workers' movements.
Do you have a plan for troubleshooting failures? Having a new lighting system means an additional layer of complexity if failures or malfunctions occur.
Solution: Develop a clear plan for light maintenance, adjustments, and troubleshooting before installation.
6. Testing Before Full Deployment
Instead of committing to a full-facility rollout, start by testing under-canopy lighting in a small control group. This allows you to evaluate:
✔ The real impact on yield & quality
✔ The strain-specific response
✔ Potential environmental shifts (humidity, temperature)
✔ Any workflow disruptions from added lighting infrastructure
If your test batch demonstrates a clear ROI and improvement in grade percentage, cannabinoid content, or yield, then you can expand strategically.
Final Verdict: Should You Install Under-Canopy Lighting?
✔ YES—If your grow is optimized, your environment is stable, and you have the electrical, cooling, and workflow capacity to integrate it safely.
❌ NO—If you’re struggling with yield consistency, pest pressure, or environmental instability, fix those before adding new lighting variables.
Under-canopy lighting isn’t a bandaid solution—it’s an optimization strategy for growers looking to refine and elevate already high-performing operations. Take the time to assess your facility’s readiness before investing.
