HID lighting for indoor plant growth
zxc...@aol.com
I currently have fluorescent lights set up in my basement for starting
flower and vegetable seedlings. I want to add a MH or maybe HPS light to
use when the plants outgrow the seed trays, and also would be nice to
have a place to keep patio plants alive during long Minnesota winters. A
local electrical supply house has "lowbay" industrial fixtures, lamps,
reflectors, diffusers, etc. for reasonable prices.
Would a 16 inch diameter lowbay reflector (bulb burns base up) reflect
too much heat back into a 400W clear hi-output lamp? Would a 23" be
better? What kind of luminaire efficiencies do these type of fixtures
provide? Whatever I get will be surface mounted on a low ceiling (7
foot) and hopefully provide reasonable illumination over a 5 to 6 foot
diameter area on the floor.
Assuming same lumens/watt, are 3200K lamps better than 4000K lamps for
plant growth? I would guess the lower color_temp would provide more red
and near_red wavelengths.
Would it make sense to use a HPS ballast with a MH conversion lamp in
late winter and early spring (young plants) so I could switch to HPS bulb
in the fall (for mature plants)? I would like to stick with
off-the-shelf standard lamps rather than special "agro" lamps to keep the
initial costs down. I haven't priced the conversion lamps yet, it might
be cheaper to just get a 2nd ballast if I need and when it.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.
Regards,
Bob
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Kurt Brown
I think a real horticultural light system will suit your needs better than
off the shelf industrial systems. The horticultural systems will cost more
but have a better spectrum for plants.
The Metal Halide systems available now can be ordered with broad spectrum
bulbs that emit more light in the red end of the spectrum. Congratulations,
you just saved $80 on a HPS conversion bulb you didn't need to buy.
Good Luck
Kurt Brown
ken
zxc...@aol.com wrote:
Bob,
I would also recommend to stay away from HID outdoor lighting, I would
recommend a indoor
horticultural light. You won't have to worry about wiring, it just plugs
into the wall, you also can take
advantage of the vent the lamp has by hooking up a kit which allows a squirl
fan and dyer hose to be
connected for removing the hot air. I use a Hydrofarm 400w Agrosun, with
exhaust and it works like a charm. Invest a little more now, but have a lamp
you wont have to worry about the will last
for years. Below are two links you might enjoy, Alternative Gardening seems
to be cheaper than Worms Way, but Worms Way has a better catalog.
ken
Worm's Way - http://www.wormsway.com/
Alternative Gardening - http://www.alternativegarden.com/mappage/outline.html
Joshua_Putnam
In <886571629....@dejanews.com> zxc...@aol.com writes:
>local electrical supply house has "lowbay" industrial fixtures, lamps,
>reflectors, diffusers, etc. for reasonable prices.
>Would a 16 inch diameter lowbay reflector (bulb burns base up) reflect
>too much heat back into a 400W clear hi-output lamp? Would a 23" be
>better?
I don't know for sure, but I can say that I don't see any
complete 400W low-bay fixtures in my Grainger catalog with
reflectors smaller than 22".
--
Jo...@WolfeNet.com is Joshua Putnam / P.O. Box 13220 / Burton, WA 98013
"My other bike is a car."
http://www.wolfenet.com/~josh/
ken
I'd use the wider HPS fixture or remove the lens from the narrower one.
Also, you can get one of those retro-lamps (400w HPS to 400w MH) from
Venture lighting for about $50. I think it's called "WhiteLux" or
something like that. Good luck,
Ken berg
go...@basec.net
zxc...@aol.com
In article <34D91B7C...@earthlink.net>,
ken <brot...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>
> zxc...@aol.com wrote:
>
> > I currently have fluorescent lights set up in my basement for starting
> > flower and vegetable seedlings. I want to add a MH or maybe HPS light to
> > use when the plants outgrow the seed trays, and also would be nice to
> > have a place to keep patio plants alive during long Minnesota winters. A
> > reflectors, diffusers, etc. for reasonable prices.
> >
> > Would a 16 inch diameter lowbay reflector (bulb burns base up) reflect
> > too much heat back into a 400W clear hi-output lamp? Would a 23" be
Ken, Thanks for the reply. I am looking at indoor industrial lighting.
They are pre-wired and resemble what I have seen for hydroponics use
except they are round instead of rectangular and the ballast is part of
the fixture instead of remote (makes it pretty heavy). I can get MH
ballast w/ mogul socket for about $75 or HPS for about $85. The
reflector adds another $15 to $100. Most of the special agricultural
bulbs I find on the Net seem to be variations of HPS. If I get the HPS
ballast, 4000K MH conversion bulbs are about $55 and deliver 100
lumens/watt. Plain ol' industrial clear lamps are about $20 for either
MH or HPS.
I have sent a note to GE to find out the spectrum for their 3200K
"SP30XL" MH lamps (110 lumens/watt), but no response yet.
Thanks again,
zxc...@aol.com
In article <6bcrlt$lre$1...@sparky.wolfe.net>,
> >reflectors, diffusers, etc. for reasonable prices.
>
> >Would a 16 inch diameter lowbay reflector (bulb burns base up) reflect
> >too much heat back into a 400W clear hi-output lamp? Would a 23" be
> >better?
>
> complete 400W low-bay fixtures in my Grainger catalog with
> reflectors smaller than 22".
>
> --
Josh, Oops, you are right. The 16" reflector is a "high-bay" and 23" and
30" are "low-bay". I got the spec sheets for the 16" reflector today,
but haven't studied it yet. It is rated for 400W lamp, and the sides are
fluted to minimize arc-tube voltage rise (I think that means overheating
caused by reflected heat).
I think the 23" reflector might get more even light distribution for such
a low ceiling height. I can add aluminum foil "barndoors" if there is
too much glare.
Thanks for the reply; regards,
Bob C.
I'm just starting to look into this stuff. How many lumens do things
like citrus need, and what have you found to be cheapest so far? I
have 3 locations I need to light. One's large so I was thinking of
using the 1000 W MH but this might be overkill. Grainger seems
pretty expensive for a lot of things. Have you found cheaper
sources?
Bob C.
rca...@worldnet.att.net
Bob C.
rca...@worldnet.att.net
Ken McLaughlin
try Alternative Garden Supply at 1 800 444-2837
or you can see their catalog at their web page. sorry I dont have the address
handy, but they can be found using a search engine.
ken