How does a plant light work?

An HID lamp operates with a properly matched transformer, capacitator and lamp bulb which consists of an inner tube filled with a chemical mixture. To simplify, it is a metal ballast with a cord that goes to the wall outlet and a cord that goes to the socket powering the bulb. A reflective hood sits around the plant light bulb and reflects light onto plants that would otherwise be lost. Reflectors are painted white inside or else will be plated with a highly reflective aluminum or brilliant chrome. Some reflectors are built to allow for air cooling which exhausts hot air out from the bulb and out of the room.

Are there any drawbacks to plant lights?

The two main drawbacks are 1) the  intense heat put out, which subsequently causes plants to dry out faster 2) they are incapable of providing the entire natural spectrum. Grow lights come as close to natural light as human technology can take us, but natural sunlight is still more full and vibrant.

You mentioned High Pressure Sodium lights and Metal Halide lights, what is the difference?

There are two types of plant lamps to be aware of, Metal Halide lights and High Pressure Sodium lights. Although high pressure sodium indoor grow lights and metal halide plant grow lights are both types of  indoor grow lights, they emit different color spectrums. High pressure sodium light bulbs emit very bright light that is concentrated in the red to yellow side of the spectrum and weak in the blue-violet end. Metal halide grow light bulbs, by contrast, emit a very balanced light, which contains all the energy peaks of the visible spectrum. Both types of lighting have their place in an indoor grow room environment.

Another difference is the lumens per watt of both bulbs.  High pressure sodium lights produce between 97 and 150 lumens per watt and Metal Halide lights produce 65-115 lumens per watt. An easy way to tell difference between the two grow lights is by appearance. High Pressure Sodium bulbs appear very yellow-orange; metal halide bulbs appear more blue-white.

What is the difference between lumens and wattage?

Lumens is the measurement for the efficiency of the bulb or how much light you’re producing for the amount of electricity you’re using and refers to the total number of light particles coming from the bulb. Wattage refers to the amount of electric power, expressed in watts or kilowatts which a bulb uses. In other words, lumens describe bulb brightness while wattage describes the power usage.

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Benefits of Fluorescent Grow Lights

There are some very important benefits of using fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent bulbs are energy-efficient, relatively inexpensive, and emit a wide spectrum of light suitable for most plant growth. They also have a very low heat output. These indoor grow lights excel at seed sprouting and growing very young plants.

High Output (T5) Fluorescents are relatively new to this industry. They put off twice the amount of light when compared to normal (T12) Fluorescents for the same electrical costs. An example would be a standard, two-foot T12 fluorescent bulb, which gives off 1000 lumens compared to a T5 two-foot bulb which gives off 2000 lumens – both use the same wattage. High Output Fluorescents, like Compact fluorescents do really well Vegetatively growing plants or keeping Parent plants healthy. They can spread the light out over a square area (as in the the two-foot, 8 bulb fixture, taking up 2 ft. x 2 ft. of space) or over rectangular areas (as in the four-foot. 4 bulb or the four-foott. 8 bulb light fixtures) very well. High output Fluorescents put off very little heat compared to the great amount of light that they produce. As with Compact Fluorescents, these lights are not recommended for Fruiting or Flowering. These T5′s need to be run in specific fixtures with special electronic ballasts that can power their output such as the New Wave, Tek Light, & ;SunBlaze, or Hydrofarm Commercial units.

Along with T5 lights, Compact Fluorescents are great at providing a good light with very little heat. They are also affordable when compared to HID lights providing the same amount of light. What makes Compact Fluorescents great for some applications is that the light emits from a single source as opposed to long banks of light like those found in normal (T12) fluorescents or those found in High Output (T5) Fluorescent banks. These work well in creating a square of light for plants to bask and grow in. A 100-125 watt Compact Fluorescent is good for a 1×1 to 1.5×1.5 Grow Space which can either house Vegetative Plants or Parent Plants (from which a grower can take cuttings from). A 250 watt Compact Fluorescent can provide enough light for a 2×2 Grow Space housing either Parents or Vegetative Plants.  In our experience these bulbs do NOT do well with Blooming – Fruit / Flowering Plants.

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