Normal fluorescent light emit a fairly broad light spectrum, which comes in two basic types: cool white, which emits ample blue wavelengths but not all that much red light, and warm white, which emits plenty of red wavelengths but not much blue.
Until fairly recent development, fluorescent grow lights have had a poor light to watts ratio, but with the t5 full spectrum light that give a whopping 80 lumen's for each watt used. That double compared to the t8 and t12 tubes, not bad hayThe lumen's of these t5 bulbs can then be dubbed again, when used with a reflector, which reflects all the light that escapes , back to where its useful, your plants.
T5 Fluorescent grow lights are much more efficient at converting energy to light than most, "the exception being led lights". But these also radiate light from a limited spectrum Sold as bulbs or tubes, fluorescent lights come in two types: cool white, which emits ample blue wavelengths but little red, and warm white, which emits plenty of red wavelengths but not much blue.A good solution is to install one cool white and one warm white tube in a two-tube fluorescent fixture. Place the lights as close as possible to the plants without touching.
T5 fluorescent grow light tubes come in either 2ft/24w 2,000 lumen, 4ft/54w 5,000 lumen's, and are recommended replacing after about six months of use.
? Running costs
To work out your operating cost, per hour, first add up the total watts of each bulb used, ex I?ve got four t5 fluorescents piggy-back together, each bulb takes 54 watts, so that?s 216 watts in total, now divide 216 by 1000,and comes out as 0.416, then multiply this number by the cost of a kilowatt that you get charged for, and that info should be on your utility bill.
? WHICH MEANS WHAT!
The ?T? on the tube means tubular, and the number after the ?T? indicates the diameter of the fluorescent tube, in eighths, why so confusing I don?t know, so a t5 is 5/8, the down side of the t5, is that this tube will not fit, or rather not start on some ballasts, annoying I no to my own cost so just once more so you remember
T5 tubes do not work in standard T12 or T8 fluorescent fixtures. They are designed only for high-output T5 fluorescent fixtures.
200 - 280 nm UVC ultraviolet range, harmful to plants, highly toxic.
280 - 315 nm Includes UVB ultraviolet light, which can causes plants colours to fade. 315 - 380 nm Range of UVA ultraviolet light which plants don?t use hardly.
380 - 400 nm Start of the visible light spectrum. Process of chlorophyll absorption.
. 400 - 520 nm Peak absorption by chlorophyll occurs, and photosynthesis starts (Promotes vegetative growth).
520 - 610 nm This range includes the green, yellow, and orange of the spectrum and has less very little absorption from pigments.
610 - 720 nm This is the red band. Large amount of absorption by chlorophyll occurs, and most significant influence on photosynthesis.
720 - 1000 nm There is little absorption by chlorophyll here. Flowering and germination is influenced.670mn is about the max for red (flowering)
? POINT TO KEEP IN MIND
? Make sure you buy a high output t5 tube
? Preferably a full spectrum bulb
? For vegetative, Cool white
? For flower, warm white
? Use a reflector
? Hang fluorescent lights close to plants ( if possible )
Now having said all that, if your just starting out or just coming up to replacing your fluorescent tubes the you may well want to consider doing away with your tube altogether, especially if your set up consists of either T12 or T8 ballasts as T5 tubes wont fit them, so it worth considering?. ? Compact fluorescent grow lights
Compact fluorescents grow lights have been around for a while now, and are cheap to run and don?t require a ballast either, unlike fluorescent strip lighting and hp sodium lights, compacts can also be use as a primary lighting source and are available in both red and blue or full grow light spectrum's .
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