There is no shortage of sunlight here in the Caribbean, but as explained in another post there are compelling reasons to grow indoors. Professional grow lights can be very expensive, but you might be surprised what you can come up with on your own, so long as you are aware of a few basic principles.
Firstly, when it comes to light more is always better. But intensity is not at all the only factor. You want lights that will be efficient and not produce too much heat, which could risk burning your plants. There are several major types of bulbs each with their advantages and disadvantages.
1. Incandescent
These are your typical household bulbs. They produce a yellowish-white light and are very cheap and very common. They are also completely useless for growing plants indoors. They are terribly inefficient, giving off 80% of their energy as heat and only 10-20% as light. They get extremely hot, they don't last long, and the light they produce in no way resembles natural sunlight. The average household incandescent bulb uses 60-100 watts of power and only gives off about 800 lumens.
2. Fluorescent
Fluorescent bulbs are nothing new but are gradually replacing incandescent bulbs even in household use. They are many times more efficient, converting about 80% of their energy into visible light. They get warm, but not so hot that you can't touch them with your bare hand when they are on. This means little or no risk of damaging your plants if they grow into the light and touch the bulb. The light they produce much more closely resembles daylight, and they are inexpensive and common in many countries. Fluorescent bulbs come in many sizes, shapes, and colors. Wattages can vary greatly. A 20 watt bulb can produce as much as 1,000 lumens.
3. Metal Halide
These are common in hydroponcis and indoor gardening, as they have a very high output. But they also use a lot of power. They are quite efficient, the only problem is they don't come in small sizes. They tend to be in the 400-1000 watt range and produce enough light to seem like there is a second sun in your closet. They get hot though, so if you go big with these you should think about cooling systems as well. Metal Halide bulbs are commonly seen in older street lamps and give off a blue-green light.
4. High pressure sodium (HPS)
Also common in large scale gardening and hydroponic systems, Very similar to metal halide bulbs, but using a different chemical reaction. They are equally bright, but slightly more efficient. The difference is mainly the color, these are bright yellow, usually these are used in combination with metal halides.
5. Light Emitting Diode panels
This is a new technology on the market of indoor gardening, I have experimented with it somewhat with mixed results, but I believe that it is by far superior to other grow lights. It also costs more. LEDs are extremely efficient and almost never burn out. They use a fraction of the electricity of a fluorescent bulb, but give off far more light. 120 watts of LED lights can easily be enough to grow large plants like tomatoes and chili peppers to fruiting stage. The light output may be deceptive, as they are often tuned to specific color spectrums. Be careful with high powered LED systems though, as looking directly into them can be like looking at the sun and damage your eyes. This is a good thing for your plants though.
So how do you decide what to use? Well I just use what I can get my hands on. In my case the only thing available was CFL fluorescent bulbs. But what really matters is providing what the plant needs.
No comments:
Post a Comment