Top brand LED grow lights are insanely expensive.
So how is it possible that a light like the 1000 watt King Plus sells for a fraction of the price?
It must not be any good, right?
Not quite.
While it is true that this light can’t match the top brands, it still does surprisingly well. If you take the price into consideration, it may actually be a better value.
This is great news. It means it is now possible to grow with LED light without spending a fortune.
In fact, a light like this actually costs less than the equivalent HID system.
In addition to a lower purchase price, it also costs less to operate, using far less power and generating far less heat.
King Plus actually make 4 lights at different wattages. There’s the 1000 watt light reviewed here, plus a 2000 watt, a 3000 watt and a 4000 watt version.
We are only reviewing the 1000 watt version, but they are all basically the same. Everything we write here, apart from a few differences, goes for all 4 lights.
The differences between the four lights are shown in the following table.
KingLED Grow Lights Compared
- Actual Wattage: 110w
- Coverage: 2' x 2'
- Output (@6"): 1560 umol/m²/s
- Actual Wattage: 200w
- Coverage: 2.5' x 2.5'
- Output (@6"): 1900 umol/m²/s
- Actual Wattage: 320w
- Coverage: 3' x 3'
- Output (@6"): 2000 umol/m²/s
- Actual Wattage: 400w
- Coverage: 4' x 4'
- Output (@6"): 2350 umol/m²/s
King Plus 1000 Watt Grow Light Review
- Uses 110 watts — save about 50% on your electric bill over HID lights
- Equivalent to a 200 watt HID system — but costs less to buy AND to operate
- Full spectrum light — can be used during all stages of growth
- 2 by 2 foot core coverage — equivalent to 200w HID
- Samsung LM301B LEDs — highly efficient: 2.8 umol/j
- Runs on AC85-265V — will work in any country
- Rated for 50,000 hours — 4-5 years with no bulb changes
- 3-year warranty — and 90 day free returns
Advantages
The King Plus series of grow lights was redesigned to use Samsung LM301B LEDs. This has made them much more efficient, delivering 2.8 umol per joule.
The PAR value in the center at 6 inches from the canopy is 1560 umol/m²/s. The core coverage area is 2 by 2 feet.
The fixture used to have double 5 watt chips, which meant a high heat output. More powerful diodes naturally emit far more heat than smaller ones. In order to use them effectively, the light fixture must have an efficient cooling system that can handle the increased heat output.
King Plus uses a thickened LED board (3 mm compared to 1.6 mm for other brands) with holes in it to help heat dissipation.
In addition to the vents in the board the fixture has two fans and glass form convection, all of which combined to effectively handle the heat generated by the powerful chips.
Now that the 5w chips have been replaced with weaker ones, all the heat dissipation technology allows the light to run at a cooler temperature than most. This increases the lifespan of the diodes.
But it does not mean that the light emits less heat. It deals with heat effectively, but it still emits that heat into the grow space. It runs much cooler than HID lights, but it emits the same amount of heat as other equivalent LED grow lights.
But switching to Samsung diodes is not the only change. The biggest change is in the color spectrum. Previously, KingLED outfitted these lights with primarily red and blue diodes for the infamous “blurple” spectrum.
The new spectrum consists primarily of white diodes, with additional red and blue ones. The exact breakdown of the color spectrum is as follow: 3000k warm white light, 5000k neutral white light, 460nm blue light, and 660nm deep red light.
This gives you a great mix of light that is the exact spectrum plants need.
It is a spectrum that will work for every stage of plant growth. You can switch between veg and bloom. Veg uses the cooler white plus blue diodes and bloom uses the warmer white and red ones.
Personally, I would use both switches and run all diodes at the same time, especially during flowering.
All King Plus fixtures ship with a power cord (available for US, UK, EU, AU, JP) and hangers. They also come with a 3-year manufacturers warranty, so you can get your light repaired or replaced if anything goes wrong. You can return it for free within 90 days.
Disadvantages
The big, glaring disadvantage of this light is the false advertising. The manufacturer calls this a 1000 watt light, which implies that it is equivalent to a 1000 watt HID system, like some of the top-brand 1000 watt lights.
While only the best 1000 watt LED lights are actually equivalent, this one doesn’t even come close. It is basically equivalent to a 200 watt HID light.
I hate when manufacturers use misleading names for their lights, but I suppose I can understand the reasoning. So many of the lower-cost (and even many of the big brands, like Kind LED), misrepresent what their lights are actually capable of and if you don’t, people will mistakenly believe your light is not as good.
If you can look past that, you’re still getting a great light, as long as you are aware of its actual capabilities.
It simply is not going to replace a 1000 watt HID light or come close to the top 1000 watt LEDs on the market. It is a 200 watt equivalent light. But as a 200 watt light, it’s a good one that sells for a very good price.
KingLED 1000 Watt Review: Summary
Should you get this light?
That depends. It is not going to come close to matching a real 1000 watt LED plant light. But it costs so little that you could get many of these for the price of one top-brand light.
Let’s look at an example.
Say you want to light a 10 by 10 foot area. Some of the best lights on the market are the Black Dog Phytomax-2 line of lights.
Their 600 watt fixture (equivalent to 1000 watts HID, because they label their lights accurately) costs $1899 and covers a 5 by 5 foot area, so you’d need 4 of them to cover 10 by 10.
Total cost to light the space with Black Dog lights: 4 x 1899 = $7596
If you went with this King Plus 1000 watt horticultural light, you’d need 17 lights to cover that area, but let’s just say 18 to be extra sure we have enough light.
Each light usually sells for under $100 (though it can cost more, at times).
Total cost to light the space with King lights: 18 x 100 = $1800
As you can see, although you need far more lights, you still come out way ahead in terms of expense. That said, a Black Dog light is obviously constructed better, so the chances of getting a defective light are lower.
Those chances aren’t high with King Plus either, but definitely higher than Black Dog. Yes, King give you a 3 year warranty and you can return any defective fixture, but you still lose time.
Whether the cost savings are worth the potential loss of time, no matter how small the chance of it actually happening, is something you will have to decide for yourself. Personally, I tend to always go with the lower cost option, especially if there is a warranty.
After reviewing the Kings Plus 1000 watt LED, I can definitely recommend it and all other lights in the series. But not as a 1000 watt light (or the wattages the others are being advertised as; see the table above for the actual equivalent wattages).
As long as we agree to consider it a 200 watt equivalent light, it is a great value and I give it a overall rating of 4.6 out of 5. It should come as no surprise that King lights made all of my best LED grow light lists: the best overall, the best sub-$100 and the best 2000w.
Shannon says
How big of a canopy will too 1000w Kings cover
Steven says
About 3 by 6 feet.
mass says
About nothing, kings led are big pieces of sh**. Never buy this or you’ll never had assistance or sav. Forget it
Steven says
See my answer to Jerry’s comment below.
S says
Accept it isnt 1000w is it and so you rubbing in the false advertising even more with this shite
Steven says
You should probably read the article before you criticize. I have a whole section on the exaggerated wattage claims. Also, it’s “except”, not “accept”. Two completely different meanings.
Aaron says
It’s like 150w or something close. And it’s the exactly the same Light style and spectrum as The Bestva DC Series
mark w says
I bought the kings led 1000 on Jan 16th it’h.it’s is 5 star light works ecellent I recommend all growers to get one
Anonymous says
I no this guy he escaped from a mental instute.. its it’s a king piece of shit. Don’t listen to him. Led show lights not grow lights in my opinion after u seriously thinking a100 dollar light can do any thing. Shut this king led down the lady who emails u back is a real asshole bottom line no bang for ur buck u just got fukked
Glen says
Very good useful peice of information about wattage and height
Steven says
Thank you, I’m glad you found it helpful!
Jerry says
I have 2 king lights. An 1800 watt model and a 2000 watt model. Great lights, until you need service. The 1800 watt light has burnt out led’s, as does the 2000 watt light. They are under 3 years old and I can no longer get parts for the 1800, since they are no longer made. Customer service is hard to deal with being in China and would recommend not to buy it you ever run into a problem.
Steven says
Yes, this is exactly the risk you run with these Chinese brands. If you want to avoid this risk, you have to pay quite a bit more. In then end you have to decide for yourself what is more important: saving money or avoiding this kind of situation.
Generally, even if your light stops working after a year or two and you can’t get it serviced or replaced and you have to just buy a new one, they’re so cheap that you still come out way ahead.
mass says
You right
Jerry says
Spot on. I own other lights and will avoid king at all costs. Still haven’t heard from them and others should be warned that they do not honor their warranty. Going on 3 months of e mails and still no resolve. Everyone….do yourself a favor and avoid king and bestva ( same company) at all costs.
Dave says
I ran my king 1500 for a year straight running auto flower had a couple led start to melt and burn out emailed the support. They literally just simply a brand new one. And offered to repair my old one for $35.
Aaron Drake says
BESTVA D.C SERIES and The KINGLED is The Exact Same Light. I Have The BESTVA 4000w D.C SERIES Grow Lights And it has the same Spectrum Same LM301B LEDS The Only Thing Different Is The Colour And The Brand Name. Maybe Quality too… Cuz I Got My 1st 1 The Older Model Before The Upgrade To The Lm301B Model. August.1st,2021. My Only Issue With The Older Model was that you couldn’t clean the Glass between the LEDs and I could se some dust build up it annoyed the crap outta me. I Emailed The Company And They Sent Me The New Model with Lm301B LEDs. And the Best Part was I got to keep the Older Model too. They Even Offered To Sent Me Another One. Just To Make a Comparison Video Between The Old And New. So Now I Have 3 Bestva D.C Series Grow Lights For The Price Of one. I’ve been Using them NonStop. Since August 1 2021. I’ve Bloomed 14 Plants Harvested 11. Dried and Cured Yield was Nearly 7 Pounds Of Bud. 7 in VeG. 2 Seedlings 3 more in Bloom 1 Nearly Done. Haven’t Had Any Issues And Only 1 out of 3 Years Of Warranty Used Total Cost For Lights 467.90$ Canadian 😆. Gotta learn to Hustle Those Big Companies Bro There Rich Were Poor Compared To Them yet the love talking our money. I Make it Worth it. I Even Have 1, Wills 2000W Full Spectrum Cree CoB. And FeciDA Cr600 1000w Grow Light I Paid 0$ for. Don’t Let the Seller Walk all Over you! You Walk All Over Them! ✌🏼
Andrew says
I’ve had no problem with getting brand new 1000 watt light replacements for two lights that had burnt out leds from these guys https://amzn.to/2t5DdLw
Fast replacement and got back to me within 24 hours…Order from here. I use 4 1000 watt lights in a 4×4 tent and 8 lights in a 4×8 tent…If one messes up on you your covered using the other lights…Also with more than one light in use the coverage is much better than a single light.
Steven says
That’s great you had a good experience. Exactly the opposite of the previous comment. And that’s the big problem with Chinese brands. They’re very inconsistent. Hopefully they can get that ironed out.
Heath says
If you buy from Amazon you will have an easy time getting replacements in the event of a malfunction. Quality control is good when it comes to build quality but the internal parts ie resistors and capacitors can be hit or miss depending on where they were sourced during manufacture dates. This is what makes them so affordable. I have the 1500w in a 2′ x 2′ tent and it grows 4 plants in 3 gallon pots like there’s no tomorrow. I repeat buy directly from King Plus on Amazon and you won’t have any warranty replacement issues nor will you have to wait for it to ship from China. STRONGLY suggest these lights
Steven says
Great advice!
Anonymous says
I just bought the 1000 watt model and I’m excited to see how she works!! As long as it works and gets the job done I dont mind taking a chance on it pooping out on me. Cant complain when the price is so cheap
Steven says
Exactly. And if you bought it from Amazon, you can always return it if it doesn’t work.
Tim says
Anybody have an issue with KingLED light not turning on after power off? I accidentally bumped my power surge protector switch to OFF while my King light was running. Now it won’t turn back on. &*()^*^#$%%. Right in the middle of a growing season. Should I just buy another light or try to get replacement parts, and what parts? Light is 9 months old and been working very well. Thanks
Steven says
It should still be under warranty. Just get it replaced. This kind of thing is always the risk with these Chinese brands. I’d get a second light too, so you always have one as backup.
Mr Nice says
I have the king LED 1000W inside a 60(cm) X 60 X ^ 140cm I’m struggling to get above 30 inch from ground level… I’m kind of glad to see it’s equivalent to a 400W lamp… will I have issues with it not being high enough and are the spectrum graphs accurate if they’re not as powerful as they’re advertised ?!
Thinking I should have got a 600W for such a small space…
It’s my first grow and my seed is sprouting but think I might have problems to come…
Let alone I already have had to put a clip on fan to cool the bastard thing down :’)
Temps of over 32 deg Celsius recorded already !!
Yo says
Try to keep the light around 18″ from the tops of your plants. I’ve been using the same light for a while now and found that I get the best growth around there. I’m also in the same grow tent size. That heat builds up quick in such a small area so get yourself a decent exhaust fan to suck the hot air out of the tent. No need for a fan to push air in, just open your bottom vents up some and that exhaust fan will pull fresh air in there. Don’t get anything too crazy for the exhaust fan i think 250cfm is enough. That’s what I have and it seems like it’s gonna turn the tent inside out when it’s on high. I run it constantly around medium speed and temps stay around 75 degrees depending on the temp of the room my tent is in. Seems to be a good light so far. Also, always run it with both the veg and bloom switches on. Hope this helps. Cheers!
Mason says
How many 1000 W KingLed Lights would I need for a 60”x60”x80” Tent ? & is it enough space for 8 plants ?
Steven says
Yes, you can fit 8 plants in there. You’d want 4 of the 1000s.
medo says
Hello
I have led king plus 1200w
What is the appropriate height in the vegetative stage
Thanks
Steven says
It depends on a lot of things. Start at 26 to 30 inches and adjust from there.
Anonymous says
How many watts does just using the veg lights use and how many watts does just the flower light use? If its 400 watt hid equivalent then it should be 200 a piece right i have been trying to find the answer
Anonymous says
I want to grow 12 auto flowers in a perpetual grow I will have 4 different tents would 1 of the 4000 watt led lights cover 12 plants in one tent?
Steven says
It depends how big the plants are. If they fit into a space no larger than 5×5, then yes.
Bill says
Bought a king led 1000 watt grow. Light in February all the white lights are burned out emailed king led about the 3 year warranty NO RESPONSE lol They don’t stand behind their warrantee or build products and strictly speaking if this company were an airline company they wouldn’t be qualified to fly a cargo plane full of toy rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong
Cam says
I have a 10×10 tent and I ran 4-1000w king LEDs in a 7×5 area and everything went great. Had no issues, used full spectrum throughout the entirety of the grow. The 1000w lights are about $100 bucks a piece on Amazon now.