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Grow lights

Thinking about adding some to my greenhouse. Does anyone ave experience and/or recommendations for fixtures, bulbs, etc.?

How big is your Greenhouse?

What is the purpose of the lights? By that, I mean, day length extension or supplemental lighting?

Jon,

All depends on what you are wanting the grow lights to do. 

The greenhouse is 8' square. This may sound funny, but I want to experiment with them to provide supplemental light to encourage growth. I want to use them as if there was no natural light available.

Hey Jon,

http://www.greenhousecatalog.com/grow-lights

Using a grow light is a great way to boost plant growth and to extend your growing seasons. Many plants have requirements for light that may not be met without supplemental lighting, depending on your location and the season. You should consider a grow light if you want to actively grow in the winter, especially if you live in a particularly cloudy area or if you have exceptionally short days (most plants like about twelve hours of light.) Without sufficient light, plants are not able to adequately photosynthesize and they will not mature properly. There are several types of grow lights available, each produce specialized types of light that will benefit your plants in different ways at different stages in their lives. You can find a complete listing of all available grow lights.

Fluorescent Grow Lights

These grow lights emit a soft white full spectrum of light. The are very energy-efficient and inexpensive to operate. Fluorescent lights work best placed directly over seedlings that need extra light to stimulate growth. Fluorescent lights have a short range of effectiveness, the lights need to be within a few inches from the plants canopy. Fortunately, fluorescent lights put out very low heat which allows you to put the light within inches above the plant.

T-5 Fluorescent Grow Lights T5 grow light stand

Use less energy and provide a more intense light than there fluorescent cousins. T-5 full spectrum lamps are superior to other fluorescent lamps because they are thinner, lighter and more efficient, and capable of producing greater light intensity. One T-5 high output lamp produces virtually double the light output as other fluorescent lamps. T-5 lights should be place a few inches from the top of your plants like the fluorescent lights.

 

Metal Halide Grow Lights

These systems emit the violet and blue portions of the sun’s spectrum. This is the kind of light that is found during springtime. As a result, the plants these lights help the plants develop a compact green growth, a stronger root system and are consequently more disease-resistant. For that reason, metal halide light is best for starting plants and supporting them while they are in early development. An advantage of this system is that you can buy one grow light to cover a large growing area. It is not necessary to place the light close to the plants. In fact, Metal Halide lights do give off some heat so you want to keep the plants at a distance to keep plants from burning. The extra heat can be a nice way to provide some extra warmth in your greenhouse during the winter. Over time, Metal Halide bulbs get weaker and need to be replaced, the average lifespan is about 10,000 cumulative hours.

For metal halide or high-pressure sodium lights (which produce a much more intense light than fluorescent lights), a 400 Watt bulb is best used for approximately a 4' x 4' area, but it will give some coverage to an 8' x 8' greenhouse. If your plants require lots of light or if you have a larger greenhouse, a 1000 Watt bulb is more appropriate for that area. If you do not see the wattage you are looking for on our website, be sure to contact us so that we may special order the proper bulb for you.

High-Pressure Sodium Lights

These systems produce more of the orange and red spectrum. This light naturally occurs during late summer and fall and encourages flower production, fruiting and ripening. Therefore, this light is best for plants that are more mature and in production. An advantage of this system is that you can buy one grow light to cover a large growing area. It is not necessary to place the light close to the plants. In fact, High-Pressure Sodium lights do give off some heat so you want to hang the fixtures 3 to 4 feet above the plants to keep plants from burning. The extra heat can be a nice way to provide some extra warmth in your greenhouse during the winter. Over time, High Pressure Sodium bulbs get weaker and need to be replaced.the average lifespan is about 18,000 cumulative hours.

For metal halide or high-pressure sodium lights (which produce a much more intense light than fluorescent lights), a 400 Watt bulb is best used for approximately a 4' x 4' area, but it will give some coverage to an 8' x 8' greenhouse. If your plants require lots of light or if you have a larger greenhouse, a 1000 Watt bulb is more appropriate for that area. If you do not see the wattage you are looking for on our website, be sure to contact us so that we may special order the proper bulb for you.

LED Grow Lights LED grow lights

LED grow lights are the newest type of light on the market. LED lights are the most economical to run. They take a little bit of getting used to. When on, they produce a pink light and the plants look a bit on the pink side. When you turn them off, you can see the wonderful green of your plants. These lights work great and we highly recommend them. LED lights are recommended to be placed about 12 inches from the plant canopy. They give off very little heat and the bulbs have a very long life cycle. One big plus with LED lights is there is no mercury (as in fluorescent lights), so they are safe to recycle.

incandescent grow lightIncandescent Grow Lights

Incandescent grow lights are best suited to highlight or showcase a plant. They are not as energy efficient nor do they provide very rich light. Look for full spectrum lights specifically designed as a grow light. These spot lights get hot, so place at a safe distance from your plant.

I just bought an LED for a decent price. It's 280 watts. I raised my light about 3 feet, above the fig trees tops, so it covers my area, about 6 feet x 9 feet, It doesn't put out a lot of heat. So far the plants seem to thrive under LEDS.

Jon:

IWannaFig covered alot of the in's and outs of lights above.

LED's will become more popular as the costs come down.   The energy savings still isn't there to offset the high costs of the fixtures.  In your area of CA, I'm not sure what your electric rates are, but they might be high enough to make sense.    There are two things to consider with LED.   The lights need to be close to the canopy.   And they don't put off heat, which is an added benefit sometimes.

Also, it seems like with the change in legalizing marijuana for medicinal use here in MI, there is a Hydroponic shop on every corner that could offer suggestions. Not sure if you have those where you're at. They have the fixtures and bulbs to supply what you want and maybe some better advice for your specific purpose.

I would contact your electric provider and see what they recommend.   Lots of times, they have some good suggestions.

Jon,

With the statement of wanting supplemental light for growth and in an area the size of 8 foot square there are really only a few options. I use different bulbs for different times in the plants life cycle. These are units as I have and do use with my own plant production. One must pay attention to the band of light produced within the lamp to be used at differing times of the plants life. Otherwise one may not get the intended results being looked for.

LED as a current interest would require a lot of fixtures at extreme prices. However the market for plant LEDs is based off flower and fruit production. These do put out high amounts of light with the newer fixtures using the higher wattage diodes (1+ watts). Be cautious of which units being purchased as lower quality diodes can last unto 1/4 the time of good quality diodes. 

High Output T-5 are great for seed sprouting and initial few months of growth. One must remember that the lumens on these are spread out over the entire bulb and not in one generalized area.  

High Pressure Sodium covers more area per lamp, but just like LED is used in flower and fruit production. 

Metal Halide will probally be you best bet for the growth of small to large trees. Covers a lot of foot print per lamp and offers the bluer light useful in growth of plant material. 

For an 8 x 8 area, I would go with four metal halide systems bases off of 600 watts placed about 3 feet above the plants. Place the bulbs 3 feet from the corners of the room. You can raise and lower them as the plants develop and get used to the intensity of the light and heat. Installing a heat release and several fans will help with the air flow in the room. 

Metal Halide and HPS can be a fire hazard in an apartment or a room. I have HO T5s and everything I put on that shelf seems to have taken off (4ft/4 tubes orchids, tropical Ficus seedlings and so on. some orchid leaves are turning reddish so it is enough light.

I got off ebay 4 14W LED panels that I put on 2 shelves. They are 4 band - They are good also as accent lights. I was suspicious about their effectivness but after a couple of weeks plants there seems happy. 

I am testing T5 and LED panels by having put very young seedlings of Fatalii chilies in 2 same sized pots, one under LED panel and another under T5. And an established seedling of Ficus crocata in my windowsill and a similar sized one under LED. so I will see if it is enough. 

Plants I grow are small / bonsaied - a large plant probably requires more. But Figs and Peppers grow fast annd I can cut them back in the winter

Are the specific spectrums or characteristics that are more conducive to plant growth? SEGeo seems to indicate this.

I am thinking that HPS and MH are rather hot for a small space?

It there a preferred spectrum bulb in a flourescent?

Thanx for the responses so far.

Jon: Below is a link to some information on lighting. The chlorophyll in plants utilizes a specific spectrum of light that is not replicated exactly by any bulb. Some are closer than others, but I will instead point you to my Alma Mater. Eric shares a wealth of knowledge here from his studies and his own research. Dr Paul Fischer is also an expert in the field of horticulture. I know them both personally and they know their stuff. Better for you to read these articles and make your own decision. Where I work we use HPS and we have over 1000 of them. http://www.flor.hrt.msu.edu/lighting/ thanks Dan

chlorophyll has absorbtion bands in the red and blue. red stimulates flowering and fruiting more than blue, blue stimulates vegetative growth more than red. I use T8 fluores ent tubes, 5000K, 4' lomg and 100 W equivilent cfls to fill in. These produced very good growth of my cuttings and plants last year. 16 hrs on seemed to be too much but 14 hrs on was just right. The T5s are better but not available in my tiny town. The T8 2 tube shop lights were$10 and the ten pack of tubes made each tube $3. Very inexensive. An orchid grower near me sells n Led u it for less than half what they were 2 yrs ago. His units are not bright enough for figs, though. If you have time and basic soldering skills you can make your own LED unit much better and cheaper than anything you can buy. PM me for links to learn how.

Bob,
how much would be to make a fixture with 50 LEDs 3 W each? Did the orchid grower manage to bloom his orchids? 
I find T5 apparently more efficient than T12. I got a fixture on ebay for 97$. efficient and has a nice reflector that the cheap shoplights lack. I get mor elight with 4 T5 than 6 T12. the 40$ you spend extra you save them in the long run with more light and less electricity cost

Jon,
Greentrees Hydroponics (www.hydroponics.net.) has a very good site and good systems. Their shipping is very high, but their site is worth looking at and you might be able to pick up as they are just up the road from you in Vista, CA. Very informative site. Only online support - but it's good. They are sold out of the 3 systems I'm interested in. The Hydrofarm brand gets good enough reviews and these guys have a lot of options.

Also Maverick Sun (www,maverick sun.com) looks good. You can approach MS easily and get signed on as a wholesale customer using enchanto. They are very good to speak with. Yes they answer the phone. They are in Kansas, though - so shipping's going to be high. This company got great reviews.
I'm looking at a 1000 watt MH/HPS convertible system to cover the same space you are. I won't need the HPS for my needs so I'll get 2 MH bulbs. I've done a lot of reading and shopping for the last three weeks and I think this is the way to go until LED systems come down in price without also coming down in quality. It is only 30 or 40 bucks to hook up a fan to suck out heat --I want the heat -- so . . .

anyway if you want any more info on the systems I've priced, etc. I'm happy to help and hopefully save you the crazy amount of time I've dumped into this so far. PM me and I'll send you my phone number if you want. Otherwise I think these are the 2 sites to look at. 
Good luck. I'm ordering my system this coming week.
mgg



Jon,

There are several choices to consider and each brings it own uniqueness. The following are the frequencies and their use for terrestrial plants. 

3000K flower/fruit 
5400K Best for dense lush growth of plant materials. Must be changed/mixed with flowering bulbs. 
6400K considered the most versatile spectrum of the vegetative growth when only using one source of light. (sometimes called full spectrum)
10000K Good in conjunction with HPS systems on controlled timers.

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