The Ongoing Shift in Technologies
Throughout this report’s history, the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in commercial cannabis cultivation has steadily grown. 2022 marked the first time that more than 70% of research participants reported using LEDs during all growth stages. That represented a 55-percentage-point jump from 2016. In 2024, LEDs continued to dominate lighting in both veg and flower (the study no longer tracks usage in propagation), and more growth in LED usage lies ahead. 
Vegetation: 78% of 2024 research participants reported using “LEDs” for the vegetative phase, up 2 percentage points from 2023 and 61 percentage points from 2016. At 23%, “fluorescent lights (compact, T5, other HO fluorescents)” were the second most common lighting used in veg, down 6 percentage points from last year and 14 percentage points from 2016. “High-pressure sodium (HPS) lights” were used for veg by 19% of research participants in 2024.
In this report’s first year, “metal halide (MH) lights” were the light most commonly used by study participants for the vegetative stage. For 2024, only 13% of participants report using metal halides for veg, down 30 percentage points from 2016.
Flowering: LEDs show similar gains this year for use in flower: 77% of participants report using “LEDs,” representing a 4-percentage-point gain from 2023 and a 62-percentage-point gain since this report’s inaugural year.
Of this year’s research participants, 22% report using “high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights” in flower, down 9 percentage points from 2023 and 40 percentage points from 2016, when HPS was in the top spot for lighting during the flowering stage.
As evidenced last year as well, more shifts in lighting and LED use appear to be in store.
The research also found that dimming and control systems are used by most growers. Three-fourths (75%) of commercial growers in indoor facilities or greenhouses with lighting use some type of dimming technology. More than nine out of 10 (91%) of those same growers use some type of control system.
Considerations Driving Lighting Decisions
When considering lighting fixtures for flower, factors driving cultivators’ decisions reflect the increased interest in and use of LEDs—and, it would seem, increased knowledge about LED benefits.
In 2022 and 2023, “energy efficiency” was ranked by the largest percentage of growers as the most important factor influencing their lighting decisions for flower. In 2024, however, participants most commonly ranked “must be LED” as being most important to their lighting decisions for flower. The other factors among the top five, in order, in 2024, were: “price,” “scientific research supporting product development,” “energy efficiency,” and “light spectrum.”
In a question new to this year’s study, research participants reported which spectral properties were most important in their purchasing decisions for lighting for flower. Nearly one-fourth (23%) of research participants said “40-50% red” was the spectral property most important to them. Next in line was “50-60% red,” with 19% of participants indicating that spectral property was of top importance. Coming in third was “<40% red,” with 15% of growers citing it as the most important spectral property for flower.
Research participants who grow cannabis commercially indoors or in a greenhouse and currently use or would consider using LEDs in their growing operation in 2025 ranked the three considerations most important to them in opting for LEDs. Cited as the No. 1 consideration by 42% of study participants, “crop quality” was the clear winner. “Yield” was next, cited by 26% of growers as the most important consideration, and “energy efficiency” followed, with 11% citing it as the No. 1 consideration in choosing LEDs for their grows.
Lighting-Related Cultivation Challenges
As lighting technologies continue to advance—and relevant tech support from lighting manufacturers improves—some lighting-related challenges noted in this study in previous years have diminished. But others remain.
For 2024, 23% of research participants cultivating cannabis indoors or in a greenhouse with lighting named “managing energy costs” the single greatest lighting-related challenge—the fourth straight year it has held the No. 1 spot.
In second place is “lighting’s impact on plant growth (yield, internodal spacing, etc.),” cited by 13% of growers as the greatest lighting-related challenge. “Managing heat load” was the greatest lighting challenge for 12% of study participants.
Interestingly, given the increased focus on light uniformity across the industry, “ensuring consistent/even lighting across the crops”—the top lighting challenge in 2020—went from 17% of growers citing it as their No. 1 lighting challenge (and second place) in 2023 to just 8% in 2024. Whether that 9-percentage-point drop reflects a former challenge being solved remains to be seen.
Perceived benefits of using LED lighting mirror the challenges growers report. When asked about the top three benefits of using LED lighting, 74% of commercial cultivators growing indoors or in greenhouses cited “energy efficiency” as a top LED benefit. “Low heat” was the second most commonly cited benefit at 54%. Reflecting the growing interest in retrofits to LEDs, “increased output (watt for watt)” at 28% moved ahead of “lifetime of the product” (22%) this year.
Utility Rebate Incentives and Pursuit
For growers who don’t use LEDs, reasons vary widely, but funding challenges, installation costs, and delayed return on investment (ROI) are often cited as grounds for their decision. But for many growers who have switched to LEDs or are in the process, utility rebate incentives have helped overcome those obstacles and make conversion a reality.
For 2024, nearly half (49%) of research participants have explored utility rebate incentives to subsidize the cost of LED solutions for their commercial operations—up 5% since last year. 27% have “submitted and received rebates,” up 9 percentage points from 2022, and 16% of research participants have explored incentives “but have not submitted for a rebate yet.”
On the flip side, slightly more than half (51%) of 2024 research participants have not explored utility rebate incentives, down 5 percentage points from 2023. And 29% of commercial cultivators growing indoors or in a greenhouse reported they were “not aware of these rebates.”
Canopies, Average Yields and Vertical Racks
In 2022, the “State of the Cannabis Lighting Market” research shifted how it reports canopy size. Averages can be misleading when thrown off by extremes—and cannabis canopy sizes are a study in extremes. So, instead of the average, the report now looks at median values, or the number where 50% of all participants fall above and 50% fall below.
In 2023, the median value for total plant canopy among indoor and greenhouse growers—filtering out those operating both commercial and personal grows (as personal-grow canopy size could also present a slightly less accurate commercial picture)—was 19,370 square feet, a 31% increase in canopy square footage over 2022. In 2024—again filtering out dual commercial-and-personal growers—the median value for total plant canopy hit 21,670 square feet, a 12% increase in square footage compared to last year.
In 2024, 19% of commercial growers, including those who operate both commercial and personal grows, reported a total plant canopy of 80,000 square feet or more, compared to 21% in 2023. 35% reported a total plant canopy of less than 5,000 square feet, identical to 2023.
Average yields have kept pace as cultivation knowledge and technology advanced. This year’s report reflects a growing focus on quality—driven by gains in yields with quality intact or improved. In 2022, 55% of study participants reported average yields, across all genetics, of or exceeding 50 grams per square foot of flowering canopy. For 2024, 70% of growers reported yields of or more than 50 grams per square foot, a gain of 15 percentage points.
In 2023, a new category was added to the study to further break down average yields: “80 grams per square foot or more.” Last year, 14% of commercial operations fell in that range. In 2024, that figure rose 33 percentage points to 47%. In addition, 12% of 2024 participants reported yields of 130 grams per square foot or more of canopy.
When it comes to multitier cultivation, this year’s research found that more cultivators working in commercial operations are using vertical racks. For 2024, 42% of research participants growing indoors or in greenhouses with supplemental lighting reported they currently use vertical rack systems for “vegetation (not including propagation),” an 11-percentage-point gain from 2017, the first year this report asked about racks. Another 23% is considering using vertical racks within the next 12 months.
For flower, nearly one-third (30%) of commercial growers cultivating indoors or in greenhouses under supplemental lighting report using vertical racks, up 8 percentage points from last year and 17 percentage points from 2017. Another 15% is considering using vertical racks for flowering within the next 12 months. (See the charts below for more information.)
As far as what types of facilities commercial cultivators are operating, multiple facility types are the norm again this year, with the biggest growth in outdoor grows.
Indoor grows, while down 17 percentage points from 2022, still remained the most popular facility type, used by 71% of research participants.
At 48%, cultivation in a “greenhouse with or without lighting” gained 9 percentage points over 2023.
But outdoors grows, reported by 42% of commercial growers, gained 19 percentage points over last year as more growers took to the fields.
About the Research and Participants
Independent research firm Readex Research conducted the study and compiled the data for the 2024 “State of the Cannabis Lighting Market” report. During August 2024, a research questionnaire was sent to all emailable, active subscribers to Cannabis Business Times located in the United States or Canada.
To present data most pertinent to commercial cannabis cultivators, this research focuses on the 189 research participants who currently own or work for an operation that grows cannabis in an indoor facility and/or greenhouse. Data was then refined to exclude non-commercial operations. Unless otherwise indicated, the results found within this report represent participants who cultivate cannabis commercially indoors and/or in greenhouses, with or without supplemental lighting.
The margin of error for percentages based on the 189 participants who reported they currently own or work for an operation that grows cannabis in an indoor facility and/or greenhouse is ±7.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
The geographic breakdown of all study participants is: Northeast (17%); Midwest (24%); Southern U.S. (16%); Western U.S. (33%); Canada (7%); and other* (19%). (*Only cultivators with operations in the U.S. or Canada were included in the research; however, participants could select “all that apply,” so their operations may be in one or more regions of the U.S. and/or Canada, plus a location other than the U.S. and/or Canada.)
