High Pressure Sodium Lights | Hydroponic Lighting Systems

? High Performance Lighting

High pressure sodium lights are part of the high intensity discharge family (HID)of lighting family, along with metal halide. HPS come out of the advancements of street lighting, where their most commonly used.

? Horticultural lighting

Horticultural lighting can be divided into to families; high intensity discharge and low intensity discharge-fluorescent tube technology High pressure sodium lights emit an orange-red glow. This band of light triggers hormones in plants to increase flowering/budding within plants. They?re the best grow lights available for secondary or supplemental lighting (especially if used in conjunction with natural sunlight). This is ideal for greenhouse growing and grow rooms.

? A more rounded light spectrum

High pressure sodium son t plus bulbs for a more all round bulb, these light have more blue light output, which have been designed pacifically for growing than street lighing, like the Metal halide bulbs although their a lot more efficient and with almost double the life span of Metal halide bulbs at 18,000 hours, although its recommend replacing after half this time if being used for grow lighting.

? So how many lumen's for my watts?

High pressure sodium HPS bulbs are real efficient. They produce up to 140 lumen's per watt. Although that lessons the further away the bulb is to the plant, but typically you?d expect 40,000 to 50,000 lumen's from a HPS.

? Can my plants absorb all the lumen's I throw at them?

Well short answer is no, lumen is a measurement of light for us humans, of what we pro sieve as bright light, but its most defiantly not a measurement that you?d use for plants as a large part of HPS spectrum is in the green, the same part that plants largely don?t use.

? Which parts of the spectrum do plants use then.

The lions share of the light spectrum for plants lay in the blue, like Metal halide and some fluorescents, and red like standard HPS bulbs, this is why son t plus is such a good all rounder for growing

? magnetic Ballasts

The most popular type of ballast is magnetic ballasts, these types are still popular due to there price tag and are technically referred to as CWAT (constant wattage auto transformers) which are large (due to the massive transformer inside) and can also become very noisy too,also shortens the life of high pressure sodium lights and sounds like a power sub station-BUZ BUZ

. Digital ballasts

Digital ballasts are a fairly new arrival, they?re more expensive than the traditional magnetic ballasts and some offer automatic detection of HPS and MH bulb as the two types cant be ran on the same type of ballast, inn less a switch able ballast is used, there also fairly silent, light and have an extend bulb life due to more accurate control over current, the appearance of a "flicker-free" light output due to the electronic ballasts high-switching frequency generally 15,000 Hz as opposed to 60Hz for the standard magnetic(transformer ballast)

? Bulbs for growing (vegetative growth cycle)

The most common bulbs used for growing are Metal halide and horticultural fluorescents and LED lights as the predominant light is blue spectrum that provides very healthy, lush, green growth making it ideal for vegetative and cloning applications.

? Bulbs for flowering/Bloom

The light emission from High pressure sodium lights bulbs tends to be predominantly orange in spectrum and HPS lamps produce the most lumen's per watt of visible light power and the highest PAR watt plant grow power of all classes of common discharge lights. Due to their high quantity of near-red and relatively high ultraviolet (UV) light output, these lights are well suited for mimicking the summer and winter seasons. Crops grown under these lights tend to be stockier with tight inter nodes and solid well-developed fruit sites, showing increased yields.

? Switching relays

Switching relays are used when a grow light needs switching off remotely, by a segment timer or digital timer, the relay is used to bypass the need for the light current to go though the timer, as domestic timers are not build for such high currents, and normally break down under these circumstances.

AlthoughHigh pressure sodium lights others mentioned above are at present the most common bulbs for horticulture growing see why LED lights are catching up?
LED grow lights page

? Safety

As with anything, when involving electricity, heat and water, please be careful, and remember to read all instructions and take all precautions, when dealing with water and electrics

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Intelligent Grow Room lighting | Best Plant Lights layout-explained

Whenever large grow rooms are mentioned, then this plant grow room picture that normally comes to mind, it?s what everyone thinks of as the classic indoors crop room for plants.

? What?s The Best Sized GrowRoom

As girls say ?it?s not the size that matters? and that couldn?t be more true, by growing intelligently you really can cut down on your monthly bill?s as well as your growing room setup costs, and that?s because when it comes to growing, there?s more than one way to grow.

Looking at the picture below. Show just how much grow lights are being waited, the over lapping plant light, is shown by the orange section, and that?s not the worst part, and that?s because them plants that are in the triangle zone are getting far more light than the rest, and that can mean only one thing, stretched plants that will grow taller than the rest, over shadow the over plants, and will run the risk of getting there leafs burnt too.

? Less Really Is More

By simply learning how to train and prune plants, you can grow shorter, bushier plant?s that will fill every inch of your grow room space that?s available, so instead of having ?say twenty? tall plant?s with long internodes, you could have eight or even less, in a smaller grow room with fewer grow lights, and still get more from your crop, so which would you rather have, a costly grow room setup, that?s also expensive to run, or a small economical grow room, that?s cheaper to setup and also run as well.

Also?.. Please subscribe to our Hydroponics Blog. I?ll let you know whenever any new web pages appear on Hydroponic-Growing-Systems.Com. And By subscribing to the RRS feeder (see left column) and we?ll keep you up to date with all new pages, as they go up, as well as any special postings.

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Metal Halide Grow Lights | Hydroponic Grow Box Lighting

Introduction

Metal Halide grow lights are Just like high-pressure sodiums their not all equal, some have more of the light spectrum needed for plant development than others, like the Hortilux bulb that?s mentioned below, so don?t be fooled into buying the first bulb you find,because of the price, because, remember ?light is life? it would be a shame to get everything right, only to end up the bulb you bought restricting your plants growth.

? Metal Halide grow lights

Metal halide grow light, lamps are the best for producing a strong output in the blue spectrum, which is the part of the spectrum that promotes strong vegetative plant growth and generally all round good growth.

Metal halide lamps can be used for the primary light source for growing plants from start to finish, such as lattice, tomatoes and cucumbers, although fluorescents are better for cutting and young plants, for flowering or fruiting, high pressure sodium lights are better as they match the late summer sun spectrum as the spectrum is more in the orange to red spectrum.

That being said, MH lights are still less than ideal for grow box applications, were it?s the primary light source because their light is predominantly greenish/pinkish in quality and thus produces less photosynthetic power, than the lamps actual electrical wattage or lumen (visible light power) output that would indicate.

? Don?t wait till its to late

Replace your lamps before they burn out! Sodium and Halide lamps gradually get dim over time and do not operating efficiently. When replacing a lamp you must use only the lamp made for your system. These bulb puts out 36,000 lumens from a 400 watt with a Color Temperature of 4000.

? Avoid the burn

Heres a general guideline on how close to keep the tops of your plants canopy from the bottom of your metal halide indoor grow lights. A good indoor/outdoor garden thermometer will help you determine if you can go closer or need to stay farther in your own set up. But by far the best way to determine the distance is to place the back of your hand (dorsum) under the bulb, and see if your hand feels ok, after a minute or two, and if not, neither will your plants.

? 250 watt light......10 inches

? 400 watt light...12-14 inches

? 600 watt light...16-18 inches

? 1000 watt light.....24 inches

As you can see, the higher the watts the further away your bulb will need to be, so some of that you gain with a large metal halide bulb, you loss with having it further away.

Using an air cooled reflector like my coolshade, that?s the trade name of my reflector, pictured below, will eliminate problem heat damage, caused to plants by bulbs being placed to close to plant canopy.

? So how many lumens for my watts?

Metal halide grow lights aren?t as efficient as HPS bulbs; they produce a little under 80 lumen's per watt, the further away the bulb is to the plant canopy. , But typically from a 400 watt you?d expect 45.000 to 50.000 lumen's from a MH bulbs.

? Can my plants absorb all the lumen's I throw at them?

Well short answer is no, lumen is a measurement of light for us humans, of what we pro sieve as bright light, but its most defiantly not a measurement that you?d use for plants as a large part of MH spectrum is in the blue, yellow and green, the same part that plants largely use for growth, blue being the bulk of what plants use for growing.

THEIRS A MUCH BETTER WAY TO MEASURE PLANT LIGHT

? Photo synthetically Active Radiation (PAR)

Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) is a range of light wave length, that?s between 400-700nm, this is the lions share of what plants can use for photosynthesis Of the 3 methods most commonly used to measure light (Lumens, Lux , PAR), PAR is the most scientific way of determining a light source's ability to drive photosynthesis. It?s the closest measurement of light that we have that corresponds specifically to plants, so when a shop tells you next time, how many lumen?s a bulb has you no what to tell them.

?PAR is the most scientific way of determining a light source's ability to drive photosynthesis. It is the only measurement of light which corresponds specifically to plants?

HERE?S Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) GRAPH for plants.

? Is there a way to convert lumens to PAR..

No afraid not, its like trying to convert an orange to a pineapple, which is never going to happen..teehee.Lumens is a measurement of visible, perceived light output, of that looks bright to us lot, where?s PAR is Synthetically Active Radiation. A lumen can have 0 PAR depending on the spectrum of light it emits.

A better way of providing just the right amount of the light that?s needed would be to use LEDs, only theirs so much hype surrounding led grow light, I thought I?d make my own at work, so if you have time on your hand, then follow along and if it really works I?ll follow up with a how to.

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T5 Fluorescent Grow Lights-Grow Room Lighting

Fluorescent grow lights have for many years been used to propagate seedlings, in plant nursery's and peoples hydroponic grow rooms, these fluorescents are used for early germination, giving months of extra growth to your growing season,giving you a real head start, no matter what you choose to grow.

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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