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HID (High
Intensity
Discharge) indoor
plant grow lights
make indoor
gardening practical
and
productive.
General
Lighting
Requirements For
Cannabis
Plants
To determine
how much light a
plant will require,
consider where and
how it grows best
in its natural
environment. Most
vegetables,
for instance, grow
best in full
sunlight, which
means as much light
as possible must be
supplied to grow
vegetables indoors.
Foliage
plants like
the Philodendron
grow in full shade
and therefore can
grow normally with
relatively little
artificial light.
Exotic
plants, such
as Bromeliads, grow
in varying
conditions
depending on the
species. Some grow
in deep shade in
the jungle, while
others grow in
bright sunlight.
The lighting level
required for growth
indoors depends
upon the
characteristics of
the particular
plant being grown.
Cannabis
likes lots of lumen
because it is a
fast growing
plant.
Pot Plants
Need
Darkness
Cannabis
needs dark periods
for proper
blooming. Light
(called
photo-periods) and
dark periods and
their relative
lengths have an
effect on plant
maturity. Recent
studies have
conclusively proven
that it is not just
the length of the
day which affects
growth, but the
duration of the
dark period which
follows. The dark
period of each day
affects flowering
and seeding of most
plants including
weed. Although many
plants can grow
under continuous
light, nearly all
plants prefer a
dark period each
day for normal
growth. All
marijuana plants
need some darkness
to grow well or to
trigger flowering.
The ideal
photoperiods of
plants vary, some
preferring long
days and short
nights; other the
reverse, and some
do best when the
length of the night
and day periods are
equal. Pot stays in
a vegitative state
with 18 to 24 hour
photo-period.
Color
Temperature
In scientific
terms, Kelvin
temperature is a
measure of the
color of a light
source relative to
a black body at a
particular
temperature
expressed in
degrees Kelvin
(°K).
In simpler terms,
it is the degree of
warmth or coolness
of a light source,
not with regards to
the physical
temperature, rather
to the visual
temperature of the
light. The higher
the degree K, the
more blue, or
"cooler" the lamp
appears. The lower
the degree K, the
more "warm", or red
the light
appears.
Lamp Spectrum
Chart
Incandescent
lights
have
a low color temperature
(approximately
2700°K) and have a
red-yellowish tone;
natural daylight has a
high color temperature
(approximately
6000°K) and appears
bluish. Today, the
phosphors used in
fluorescent and high
intensity (HID) lights
can be blended to
provide any desired
color temperature in
the range from
2800°K to
6000°K.
Some
things to know about
the types and terms of
lighting marijuana
are:
Color
Rendering Index
(CRI)
A
rating scale for light
sources (lamps) from 0
to 100 to indicate how
accurately colors can
be perceived under a
light source. The
higher the CRI, the
more accurately colors
appear. Technically,
CRI ratings should only
be compared for lamps
with similar color
temperatures (Kelvin
ratings).
Color Rendering
Index
Chart
Incandescent
Plant Grow
Lights
Most
incandescent plant
lights are best used to
highlight indoor plant
groupings and have very
little use as a true
plant 'growing' light,
even those that are
labeled as a "grow
light".
Newer color corrected
incandescent spot grow
bulbs are suitable for
adding supplemental
light or highlighting
to a single plant, such
as an orchid or indoor
bonsai tree.
However, you should
never place an
incandescent bulb
closer than 24 inches
over your pot plants.
Incandescents burn very
hot and will burn
plants when placed
close enough for them
to appreciably affect
plant growth.
Most incandescent bulbs
have an average life
span of 750
hours.
Fluorescent Plant
Grow Lights
Recent advances
in fluorescent
technologies provide
the indoor gardener
with a multitude of
fluorescent plant
growing options.
Standard Fluorescents
are an excellent choice
for starting seedlings
to get a jump start on
spring plantings. They
also are excellent for
cultivating a cool
weather harvest in the
basement year round.
Leaf lettuce, spinach,
and herbs all will do
well year round under
fluorescent lamps.
The trick to using them
successfully is to keep
standard fluorescent
bulbs no further than 4
inches away from the
tops of the plants.
Since the tubes burn
relatively cool to the
touch, you do not have
to worry about burning
plants unless they are
actually touching the
bulb.
New advances in color
blending make
full-spectrum
fluorescents one of the
truest color rendering
lamps on the market
today. Standard
fluorescent tubes are
twice as efficient as
incandescent bulbs,
producing twice as many
lumens per watt of
energy consumed and
have an average usable
life span of up to
20,000 hours... more
than 25 times as long
as an
incandescent.
High
Output
Fluorescents
produce almost
twice as much light as
standard fluorescents
while still burning
very cool to the touch.
HO fluorescent fixtures
have a very thin
profile, making them
extremely useful in
vertically limited
areas. High Output
Fluorescent fixtures
are available in 2, 4,
6, and 8 tube models,
making them ideal for a
wide variety of
horticultural
applications. An 8-tube
4-foot model produces
approximately the same
amount of lumens as a
400 watt Metal Halide
fixture, but with much
less heat and the
ability to more evenly
spread that light over
the coverage area. High
Output Fluorescents
produce about 5,000
lumens per 54 watt
4-foot tube and are
available in warm
(3000K) or cool (6500K)
versions. Also
available are 2-foot 28
watt tubes that produce
2,450 initial lumens.
Average usable life
span for High Output
Fluorescent tubes is
about 10,000
hours.
Compact
Fluorescents
take
the cool burning
fluorescent technology
and pack it into a
focused, high output
"bulb", that you can
use not only for
propagation, but for
growing larger plants
as well. Compact
fluorescents work in
specially designed
reflectors that
efficiently direct
light to the plants,
much like the high
intensity discharge
lamps described below.
Compact fluorescent
bulbs are also
available in warm
(3000K) or cool (6500K)
versions. Average
usable life span for
Compact Fluorescent
bulbs is about 10,000
hours.
High
Output Fluorescent /
HID Hybrids
combine the
incredibly bright cool
burning power of high
output fluorescents
with the penetration
that can only be
achieved through high
intensity discharge
technology. The primary
advantages to these
fixtures is their blend
of light colors and
broad even coverage.
Lifespan rated as long
as 20,000
hours.
Types of
Fluorescent
Lamps
Metal Halide
(MH)and High Intensity
Discharge (HID) Plant
Grow Lights for
Cannabis Use
Indoors
Metal
halide is a highly
efficient light source
capable of delivering a
white light in the
range of 2700 to 5500
Kelvin degrees with
typical Color Rendering
Index (CRI) ratings in
the mid-60's to
mid-70's. Some lamp
chemistries even obtain
CRI's in the 80s. The
CRI is an index that
measures how closely an
artificial light source
matches the natural
colors of sunlight,
with 100 being a
perfect score. In
contrast, high pressure
sodium lamps yield
yellow lighting (2200K)
and have a very poor
color rendering index
of 22. Metal halide
lamps are widely used
where color rendering
is important such as
stadiums, malls,
manufacturing plants,
and even local
supermarkets.
This flexibility in
design is what makes
metal halide lighting
so versatile. White
light is a very
important attribute of
metal halide
technology, because it
is the closest to the
natural sunlight that
people prefer. By
varying the blend of
chemicals in the arc
tube, metal halide
engineers are able to
alter the
characteristics of the
light output and
creating tubes
specifically designed
for indoor cannabis
cultivation. Hemp
plants grown under
Metal Halide (MH) light
retain a natural
appearance.
For horticultural
purposes, metal halides
tend to produce a
shorter, more compact
plant that more closely
resembles plants grown
outdoors. A plants
appearance growing
under most metal halide
lamps is almost
identical to those
growing outside, which
makes it the preferred
lamp for use in living
areas. Horticultural
metal halide lamps have
an enhanced red
spectrum, which is
added for increased
fruiting and flowering
without sacrificing
plant appearance.
Metal halide lamps are
about five times more
efficient than their
incandescent
counterparts and last
up to 25 times longer,
with a usable lifespan
between 10,000 and
20,000 hours, depending
on the
wattage.
High
Pressure Sodium
(HPS)and High Intensity
Discharge (HID)
Cannabis Plant Grow
Lights
High
pressure sodium lamps
have been used for
years in less color
critical applications
such as parking lots,
street lights and as
supplemental greenhouse
lighting. The benefit
of high pressure sodium
lamps to the
horticultural industry
is their ability to
enhance the fruiting
and flowering process
in plants. The
orange/red spectrum HPS
produces is the
spectrum plants use in
their reproductive
processes, which
generally produces
larger harvests of
higher quality buds or
flowers.
The major drawback to
growing under high
pressure sodium alone
is that the plants tend
to be taller and
leggier with a longer
internodal length than
plants grown under
metal halide.
Another minor negative
is that plants
generally do not appear
very healthy growing
under HP Sodium light.
The operative word
being 'appear', because
in fact most cannabis
plants do grow very
well under HPS
lighting. Plants grown
under High Pressure
Sodium (HPS) light
don't look very good.
Because of the poor
color rendering of high
pressure sodium, the
plants tend to look
pale, washed out or
nitrogen starved.
Additional benefits to
high pressure sodium
lighting are incredibly
long usable bulb
life... up to
two
years in many
cases; and unparralled
efficiency at
six
times more light
output per watt of
energy consumed than a
standard incandescent
bulb.
Due to their high
efficiency and the fact
that plants grown in
greenhouses get all the
blue light they need
naturally, HP Sodium
lamps are the preferred
supplemental greenhouse
light.
HPS Light with
Hood
Combination
HPS/MH lamps
combine a metal
halide bulb and a high
pressure sodium bulb in
the same reflector,
either with a single
integrated ballast
assembly or two
separate ballast
assemblies. The
combination of blue
metal halide light and
red high pressure
sodium light creates an
ideal spectral blend
and extremely high
outputs. I highly
recommend using a
combination of the two
HID lights for budding
cannabis weighed more
to HPS as the major
light and MH as the
minor for super robust
bud growth and high THC
content.
Convertible,
Switchable &
Two-Way lamps
are
configured to burn
either a metal halide
bulb or an equivalent
wattage high pressure
sodium bulb in the same
fixture, but not at the
same time. These
fixtures are ideal for
propagating and
vegetatively growing
plants under the metal
halide, then switching
to a high pressure
sodium bulb for the
fruiting or flowering
stage of cannabis plant
growth. Generally, all
that is required to
change between one and
the other is to change
the bulb and set a
switch to the
appropriate
setting.
Light
Emitting Diodes
(LED)
While
NASA and many
universities are
actively engaged in
studying this exciting
new technology for use
in growing plants, many
people are reporting
very disappointing
results when using most
of the LED plant grow
lights currently being
marketed to home
gardeners today. We
have tested many
versions in our store
and have reached the
conclusion that the
only ones that come
close to even
considering are priced
in the $750.00 range,
and in our opinion
there are much better
performing conventional
technologies available
today that outperform
LED's and do so at a
much lower cost. Prices
are dropping, and
performance is
increasing, so expect
sometime in the future,
cheap LED plant lights
that are fantastically
energy efficient for
growing
cannabis.
LED Grow
Light
Plants in nature
have the Sun moving at
angles over them. To
greatly enhance full
bud development indoor
growers use
light
movers.
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