28/07/2009 Growing Under Artificial Lights « We…

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Growing Under Artificial Lights

How to Grow Indoor Plants Under Commercial Bulbs
Advancements in artificial lighting technologies over the past decade have introduced a whole new generation
of plant growing lights for the indoor seed starter, gardener, and houseplants enthusiast that are brighter,
more efficient, and better looking than ever. Now it is possible to remove the weather aspect of gardening
forever, by bringing your garden into your home. Now you can even grow vine-ripe tomatoes indoors, all
year long with high intensity garden lighting!

In this article you will find brief information on the various artificial light sources used in gardening applications
along with some of the more important factors to consider when choosing from among the many different
indoor and greenhouse plant growing lights that are available today.

General Lighting Requirements For 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 houseplants like the Philodendron grow in full shade
and therefore can grow normally with relatively little artificial light. Exotic plants, such as Bromeliads and
Orchids, 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.

Dark Time and Photoperiods

Plants need dark periods. Periods of light (called photo-periods) and dark periods and their relative lengths
have an effect on plant maturity. A proven fact 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. Although many plants can grow under continuous light, nearly all plants prefer a dark period
each day for normal growth. All plants need some darkness to grow well or to trigger flowering. The ideal

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photoperiods of plants vary, some preferring long days and short nights; others the reverse; and some do
best when the length of the night and day periods are equal.

Color Temperature - Kelvin (°K)

In simpler terms, Kelvin (°K). 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.

Color Rendering Index (CRI)

The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is 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).

Growing Lights Types

There are various types of lights that may be used for indoor growing but it is not in one size and it does not
fits all.

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. A typical incandescent spot grow light fixture.

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On a cautionary note, you should never place an incandescent bulb closer than 24 inches above your plants.
Incandescents burn very hot and will burn plants when placed close enough for them to appreciably affect
plant growth. Most incandescent bulbs have a relatively short average life span of 750 hours.

Fluorescent Plant Grow Lights

Recent advances in fluorescent technologies provide the indoor gardener with a multitude of options. Not
only can you start your seeds with fluorescent lighting, with new high-output and compact fluorescent
technology, you can grow full size plants that produce full-sized fruit and flowers.

Standard Fluorescents

Standard Fluorescents are still an excellent choice for starting seedlings to get a jump start on spring
plantings. They also are excellent for cultivating a cool weather harvest of leafy greens in the basement year
round. Leaf lettuce, spinach, and herbs all will do well year round under fluorescent lamps. Standard
Fluorescent tubes are available in both wide and full-spectrum versions for plant growth.

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. Fluorescent tubes are an excellent choice for the
display and grow lighting of African violets, small cacti and succulents, and many kitchen herbs.

New advances in color blending make full-spectrum standard fluorescent tubes one of the truest color
rendering lamps on the market today. Standard fluorescent tubes are more efficient than incandescent bulbs,
producing twice as many lumens per watt of energy consumed with an extremely economical usable life span
of up to 20,000 hours… more than 25 times as long as an incandescent.

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High Output Fluorescents (HO)

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, around 3 inches in most cases, making
them extremely useful in vertically limited areas. Most can be hung vertically on a wall for side lighting as well.
High Output Fluorescents produce about 5,000 lumens per 54 watt, 48-inch bulb and are available in warm
(3000K) or cool (5000-6500K) versions. Average usable life span for High Output Fluorescent tubes is
about 10,000 hours. High Output Fluorescent tubes produce twice as much light as standard fluorescents
per watt of energy consumed. High Output Fluorescent fixtures are available in 2, 4, 6, and 8 tube
models.High Output Fluorescent fixtures look good and are especially suited to height restricted growing
areas.

Like standard fluorescent fixtures, High Output fluorescent fixtures are available in both two and four-foot
lengths. Unlike standard fluorescent fixtures, High Output fixtures are available in 2, 4, 6, and 8 tube models.
An eight-tube four-foot High Output fluorescent fixture produces as much light as a 400 watt metal halide
lamp (40,000 initial lumens), but spreads that light much more evenly over the growing area. Most High
Output fluorescent fixtures can be hung vertically against a wall for very effective side lighting applications.

Compact Fluorescents

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 pack a lot of fluorescent light into a very
bright bulb!

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

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High Output Fluorescent HID Hybrids HID Hybrids combine the incredibly bright cool burning power of
high output fluorescent tubes with the penetration that can only be achieved through high intensity discharge
(HID) technology. These fixtures combine four high-output fluorescent tubes with one or two 150 watt HP
Sodium lamps, which provide a full-spectrum high-output lighting fixture that produces less heat and a more
intense light for growing fantastic flowers and vegetables. The primary advantages to these fixtures is their
blend of light colors and broad even coverage. Combination High Output Fluorescent & HP Sodium
Fixtures provide an excellent blend of wide coverage and depth penetration.

High Intensity Discharge (HID) Plant Grow Lights

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps in metal halide (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS) have shown
themselves to be particularly suited for growing large plants indoors. Initially these lamps were utilized for
horticultural purposes as supplemental greenhouse lighting, allowing commercial growers to add lighting to
their crops on cloudy days or extend the day length during the winter months.

Metal Halide (MH)

Metal Halide (MH) is a highly efficient light source capable of delivering a white light in the range of 2700 to
5500 Kelvin degrees with a 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 (below) yield yellow lighting (2200K) and have a very poor color rendering index of 22.

By varying the blend of chemicals in the arc tube, metal halide engineers are able to alter the characteristics
of the light output. This flexibility in design is what makes metal halides 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.

Metal halide lamps are widely used where color rendering is important such as stadiums, malls,
manufacturing plants, and supermarkets.

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For horticultural purposes, metal halides tend to produce a shorter, more compact plant habit 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, hardly noticeable to the naked eye, which is
added for improved 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)

High Pressure Sodium (HPS) 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 fruits or flowers. A typical HP Sodium (HPS) high
output horticultural lamp.

The major consideration to growing under high pressure sodium alone is that the plants tend to be taller and
leggier with a longer internodal length (spacing between branches) than plants grown under the bluer light of
metal halide. Another factor to consider is that plants generally do not appear very healthy growing under HP
Sodium light. The operative word being ‘appear’, because in fact most plants do grow very well under HPS
lighting. As a result of the poor color rendering characteristics of high pressure sodium, the plants tend to
look pale, washed out or nitrogen starved.

The benefits of high pressure sodium lighting include an incredibly long usable bulb life… up to two years in
most cases; and unparalleled 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 from the sun, HP Sodium lamps are the preferred supplemental greenhouse light. Many indoor
gardeners will grow their crop under metal halide lamps to keep the plants more compact during vegetative
growth and then switch to a high pressure sodium system for the fruiting and flowering stage to increase
yields and fruit quality.

Combination HPS/MH

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.

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Convertible, Switchable & Two-Way

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 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 Diode (LED) Grow Lights

Plant lights that utilize Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are now hitting the market after a decade of research by
universities and NASA. LED Plant Grow Lights for hobby use are still in the early developmental stages,
however the potential benefits of this new type of plant light include their extremely low power consumption,
low heat production, extremely long lamp life, and their ability to refine the spectrum of light emitted to only
those that the plant actually uses for photosynthesis.

And while the future holds great promise for LED plant lighting, present drawbacks for home or hobby use
include poor color rendering, a comparatively high initial cost, and limited depth penetration.

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Tags: artifical light, artificial lighting systems, Compact fluorescents, cri, fluorescent lights, grow lights, high
output fluorescen, high sodium pressure, incandescent lights, kelvin, metal halide, photoperiod

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2008 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Grow Lighting Basics, Growing Under
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One Response to “Growing Under Artificial Lights”

1. John says:
April 7, 2008 at 12:28 am

Great site and useful content!

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