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lighting using incandescent lights after dark
- Thread starter Dot Com
- Start date
here is a little chart i found,
Name Colour temperature (K) (Mired)
Warm/soft white ≤ 3,000 ≥ 333
(Bright) white 3,500 286
Cool white 4,000 250
Daylight ≥ 5,000 ≤ 200
guess the chart didn't cut'n'paste too well.
but what i wanted to show is what would appear to be a standard terminology for CFL bulbs in the naming convention. i purchased a 6 pack of cfl bulbs a few years ago and the box only says warm/soft white and does not list the kelvin temperature rating, not even on the bulb is the temp rating to be found - i can only conclude that they are <3,000K. so perhaps once flowering starts in my dwc, i may convert over, actually i am going to have to research that. i know red temperature is better for flowering but i wonder if that is with all plants or just flowering plants(those that do not produce fruit). Well off i go googling.
and share with us the lumen value...... go job, it will only improve your plants perform.
(also, just for comparison, T12 fluoresant tubes, 34 watt pump out at around 12,000 lumens).
Name Colour temperature (K) (Mired)
Warm/soft white ≤ 3,000 ≥ 333
(Bright) white 3,500 286
Cool white 4,000 250
Daylight ≥ 5,000 ≤ 200
guess the chart didn't cut'n'paste too well.
but what i wanted to show is what would appear to be a standard terminology for CFL bulbs in the naming convention. i purchased a 6 pack of cfl bulbs a few years ago and the box only says warm/soft white and does not list the kelvin temperature rating, not even on the bulb is the temp rating to be found - i can only conclude that they are <3,000K. so perhaps once flowering starts in my dwc, i may convert over, actually i am going to have to research that. i know red temperature is better for flowering but i wonder if that is with all plants or just flowering plants(those that do not produce fruit). Well off i go googling.
and share with us the lumen value...... go job, it will only improve your plants perform.
(also, just for comparison, T12 fluoresant tubes, 34 watt pump out at around 12,000 lumens).
For one bulb or four? Most of the 34 watt bulbs I have seen are under 3000.
you are right Josh, that would have been for 4. so a typical 48", 2 fixture setup would deliver and this is just an approximate, because different manufacturers have different ratings would be approximately 5,000 lumens. i saw some bulbs today rated at 2750. my basement tubes say 2200K. saw another that said 2700 with an "*", and then stated 2450 usable on the packaging.
I bought a wire shelf unit from Costco and set it up with 4 shelves (17" x 48") about 16" between each one. I use two "Jump Start T5 x 4ft" light units at 5k lumens each and 10k per pair. Once the plants have about 5 leaves I transplant them to bigger pots and move to the window. I kind of copied my friend's system. Back then I didn't know that "The Hot Pepper" ever existed. Since then I have learned about many different configurations i.e. "light types and enclosures". I insulate between the heat mats and wire shelves. I wrap around reflective media to maximize light coverage. I don't know what design I'll be using in a couple years from now, but I do enjoy learning from others and wait for inspiration.
Great thread guys! I'm totally taking notes to fine tune my ghetto lighting system for my babies.
Is it possible to have the lights to close to the plants? I have three shop lights hanging over each shelf. They each hold two tubes. I have 6500k bulbs in each fixture, and according to the box the produce 2180 lumens each. I had these just about two I chest abode the tops and some of them seem to be yellowing but nit all of them. I did raise them up a bit and now thee are I would guess about four inches or so above.
Thanx T.M.H
I actually have mine about 12" as they get plenty heat..But last yr I was able to start my plants outside because I got started so late...But they were up and at it in no time ..But now although they are grow they seem to be kinda of slow..Maybe they sense it is still winter. I am using an adequate fertilizer ( same as last yr and did good for me)so I was wondering if using the lights 24/7 was good or not......
I actually have mine about 12" as they get plenty heat..But last yr I was able to start my plants outside because I got started so late...But they were up and at it in no time ..But now although they are grow they seem to be kinda of slow..Maybe they sense it is still winter. I am using an adequate fertilizer ( same as last yr and did good for me)so I was wondering if using the lights 24/7 was good or not......
Just picked up one of these ystrdy. Had to pay $10 instead of $5.50 (for single way) because my socket is a 3-way. The box says 3way daylight and has an arrow pointing at 6500 Lumens BUT the light output says 1600???
http://www.dogoodplanet.com/feit-25w-3-way-ecobulb-twist-esl30-100t.html
Here is what I have for Light,Flourescent wise.
T10-
The BEST I've ever used but can't find them anymore.
VI Tech 93F
6700K
3240 Lm.
40 watts
Now using:
Philips
T12
3300 lm.
40 watts
85f
3000k
Philips
2800 lm.
32 watts
78f
4100k
t12
philips
40 watts
84f
6500k
philips
32 watts
2950 lm.
5000k
2325 lm
In general I don't like any of them except the VI Tech.
I'm using LEDs(homemade) with lots better results for both sprouts and individual plants indoors.
Not doing massive grows indoors though past sprouts.Indoor grows are a different animal-adult plants.
Though I do have a couple mite infested plants in hydro indoor that are hanging in there under LEDs.
I find also that verticle and horizontal lighting is way better than reflective material.
T 8's also put out too much heat for my likes compared to T12's and other Fluoros.
I like bulbs with 5000k-6000k color.
As many Lumens as I can find.
T10-
The BEST I've ever used but can't find them anymore.
VI Tech 93F
6700K
3240 Lm.
40 watts
Now using:
Philips
T12
3300 lm.
40 watts
85f
3000k
Philips
2800 lm.
32 watts
78f
4100k
t12
philips
40 watts
84f
6500k
philips
32 watts
2950 lm.
5000k
2325 lm
In general I don't like any of them except the VI Tech.
I'm using LEDs(homemade) with lots better results for both sprouts and individual plants indoors.
Not doing massive grows indoors though past sprouts.Indoor grows are a different animal-adult plants.
Though I do have a couple mite infested plants in hydro indoor that are hanging in there under LEDs.
I find also that verticle and horizontal lighting is way better than reflective material.
T 8's also put out too much heat for my likes compared to T12's and other Fluoros.
I like bulbs with 5000k-6000k color.
As many Lumens as I can find.
Just an FYI, consumer-available LEDs are improving BY THE DAY, and as an interesting sidenote, for yard lighting, I have noticed that replacing mercury vapor lighting with LED, one really interesting thing has happened: no bugs. none. no moths or flies or anything swarming the lights at night. even a 30 minute long exposure photo showed only a couple little tracers of insecs flitting about....
Taller one is a 97450083 C.Galopagoense and the other is a Red Savina.
Those LEDs are several wavelengths of red and blue.Some of the Blues look whitish to the camera.
Those LEDs are several wavelengths of red and blue.Some of the Blues look whitish to the camera.
Both plants look very healthy/filled-out.
I was thinking if the white LED might appear blue but wasn't sure. Thanks.
One of these days ill get around to building my own LED panel, but until then this will have to do.
This was VERY easy to build. 6 sockets @ about 1$ea, 1 piece of 2" PVC, some wire, and some spray foam. Lights are wired in parallel, 6 lights @ 13w ea =78 watts / fixture. 4 lights are 5000k and 2 are 2500k. Its just used for seedlings, cuttings, and beginning of veg.
This was VERY easy to build. 6 sockets @ about 1$ea, 1 piece of 2" PVC, some wire, and some spray foam. Lights are wired in parallel, 6 lights @ 13w ea =78 watts / fixture. 4 lights are 5000k and 2 are 2500k. Its just used for seedlings, cuttings, and beginning of veg.
What is the advantage of using this over the shoplights?
NOTHING. Last year I used 2 shop lights with 2 bulbs per light. BUT I had a 4' long table. This year im using 2'x2' shelves stacked on top of each other. So its just a space issue. LED has a few really good advantages...less watts = less heat, so plants can be closer, and they're more intense than a florescent.
I tried some Bhut plants under three different lights: a 600-watt MH, a 125-watt Red/Blue/Orange LED and a 105 watt 5000K CFL. The LED plants did the worst, by far. I might have had them too close. The MH did the best - short internodes, great growth, thick leaves. The CFL plants did very good also, but not quite what the MH did.
From an electricity usage point, I'm not sure the MH is better than the CFL. I can grow eight 1020 flats of plants under it. It would take four, maybe five CFL bulbs to cover the same area. The MH has a teeny bit more PAR light (.000022) per foot candle but significantly more lumens - 72,000 vs. 28,000-35,000 for the CFLs. The MH costs more though - $200 against $100-150 for the CFL.
But the best lighting will be my GH. More light, though only about 12-13 hours per day, but it is free. I may need to run a heater a few nights but that should be about a buck a night (kerosene). On the plus side, the plants will not need to be hardened off!
Mike
From an electricity usage point, I'm not sure the MH is better than the CFL. I can grow eight 1020 flats of plants under it. It would take four, maybe five CFL bulbs to cover the same area. The MH has a teeny bit more PAR light (.000022) per foot candle but significantly more lumens - 72,000 vs. 28,000-35,000 for the CFLs. The MH costs more though - $200 against $100-150 for the CFL.
But the best lighting will be my GH. More light, though only about 12-13 hours per day, but it is free. I may need to run a heater a few nights but that should be about a buck a night (kerosene). On the plus side, the plants will not need to be hardened off!
Mike