Whether you have a houseplant or you’re trying to grow an indoor herb garden, the Aceple LED 6W Desk Plant Grow Light is a simple, inexpensive solution to healthier, happier plants. Grow lights help plants thrive through the winter or when they’re unique growth needs warrant controlled lighting. We wanted to see if the Aceple LED grow light’s minimal features could give our plants a boost. Keep reading to see our take on what this grow light has to offer and under what circumstances it might be the perfect choice for you.
Setup Process: Quick and easy, but think about space
When it comes to setup, it doesn’t get much easier than the Aceple. You have a couple of mounting options with this lamp. The easiest, of course, is using the built-in clamp to attach it to a table or counter. With its wide opening, the clamp can attach to most standard tables, countertops, chairs, and shelves. The clamp is also outfitted with rubber pads, which prevent surface damage. If you’d rather attach the light directly to the wall, the Aceple comes with a screw. You’ll need to measure carefully to make sure the light will still be within the right distance of your plants—too close and you can burn your plants, too far and they won’t benefit from the light (more on this below). For us, finding a way to use the clamp without permanently attaching the base was the best option, and here’s why: If you attach the Aceple to a wall, you lose one of its best qualities—portability. It’s small enough that you can use it for a plant on your desk one day and move it to another plant in your living room the next. We also love that this light can be coiled in on itself, making it small enough to store in a drawer.
Design: Simple and basic
The Aceple is basically a standard desk lamp but with red and blue LEDs rather than white. Blue light stimulates the growth and production of healthy leaves, while red light promotes blooming and helps produce fruit. The Aceple’s instructions weren’t helpful in deciding exactly how to use the light, only in setting it up. We’d recommend researching your specific plants to determine the best placement of the 6-watt light. We found that the model’s nearly 16-inch adjustable neck didn’t give us adequate space above the plants. If that’s the case, you can always use the clamp or mount it to the wall, as discussed above. Luckily, the strength of the clamp works on a flat towel rod, chair, or shelf. So that might be all you need to get the extra distance you’re after. The light is super lightweight at just 14.1 ounces, making it highly portable. The clamp—which can open 2 inches—also features a cord holder that prevents the electrical cord from getting caught. Considering that you may have the clamp facing downward, that’s a small but nice feature to have. An on/off switch makes the light super easy to control. We do feel that there’s one major design flaw, however: the light is lacking a timer. Without an automatic timer, you have to remember to turn the grow light on and off. Plants don’t need light 24/7 so you really do have to keep tabs on how long you leave the light on. To ensure you don’t burn or overexpose your plants, we would consider plugging the grow light into a timer or smart plug.
Performance: Lights it up and enhances growth
We had some pretty specific goals for this light, namely African violets. The perennial plant grows best when placed in an east-facing window that receive lots of sunlight. That’s nearly impossible in our home, however, so we wanted to see if the Aceple could solve our problem. With four potted African violets arranged in a circular potholder, we attached the Aceple to a towel rod and let it do its work in six-hour increments. Based on our research, that was the optimal amount of light exposure to give them. After almost two weeks with the Aceple, one of our African violets—which hadn’t sprouted in years—started to produce a new bud. The Aceple produced adequate light and allowed us to time that light to our flowers’ unique growth needs. Even more noteworthy was the fact that it produced enough light for several plants. We didn’t direct the head at any one plant in particular, but targeted all four. Would our African violets have done better had they each had their own grow light? Maybe, but the light of the Aceple was better than our natural limited sunlight. African violets weren’t our only test subjects. We also used the Aceple with our lemon cucumber. This part of the testing was a little different because we did it in a greenhouse. There’s a corner of our greenhouse that’s particularly shady and we’ve had more than one plant die while inhabiting its dark recesses. We attached the Aceple to a shelf and let it do its work. Our lemon cucumbers still have a way to go until maturity, but they thrived just as much as our plants that were in full sunlight.
Price: Hard to beat
The Aceple is inexpensive and cost-effective—while it has an MSRP of $36, you can often find it for $15 or less. If you’re looking for a grow light that can service one or two plants and you’re looking to tuck it away after, this is a great option.
Competition: Advanced features might be worth a few more dollars
Roleadro LED Grow Light: The Roleadro panel grow light is designed for indoor use and requires a semi-permanent set-up. Once it’s up and running, though, the $30 light is capable of germinating seeds or providing light to a large collection of plants. If you’re looking for a light that can tend to more than two or three plants, the Roleadro is a great option but if you want a set-it-and-forget-it model that’s best suited to small jobs, you can’t go wrong with the Aceple. PPUNSON Dual Head Grow Light: The PPUNSON has everything the Aceple lacks including a built-in timer, dual or single light option, and multiple light levels. This is the grow light for someone who’s serious about plant health and with a $24 price tag, it’s also cheaper than the Aceple (when purchased full price). The simplicity of setup and use make the Aceple LED 6W Desk Plant Grow Light worth it if you’ve only got a few plants to worry about it.
