Enough artificial lights for phals and oncidium?

[Mercurianmad]

Thank you so much! I’ll keep an eye out for the purple color.

[Orchidtinkerer]

the purpling can be a good indicator but not every orchid will do it as much as this one! Some don't give much warning at all before they get damaged, generally Vanda's do.
Rhynchostylis and phalaenopsis generally don't give much warning but even a little damage to the leaf is not as serious as one might think, as long as any damage is caught in time.

[Ray]

The specs provided are quite lacking in detail. Is there a label on the unit that gives the amperage draw?

Orchidtinkerer’s assertion that the wattage in the US is 3x the actual wattage isn’t strictly true, but it might be close. Just as the “color temperature” of LEDs and fluorescent lamps are corrected color temperatures (i.e., corrected based upon how it looks to the human eye), the wattage of LEDs are often expressed as “equivalent” wattages - the wattage needed in an incandescent bulb to provide the same amount of light (in lumens) output.

Depending upon the LED chips used, I’ve seen the equivalent wattages anywhere from 4 to 10x the true wattage - which legally must also be shown on the device.

[Orchidtinkerer]

nothing to do with the US Ray, I blame chinese manufacturers for that one. The LED's sold on Amazon here are also labeled "wrong" in my opinion.

Like you I believe in comparing lights by the electricity they use. Otherwise we all know too well sellers will routinely claim their product is 10x better than their competitors identical product.

The specs like you say are very vague so if you go by the reviews you will see like I said one person measured it used 28 watts so roughly 10 watts per light. That is as good a point to compare as any in my books and absolutely fine to use. Unless you don't know how strong a 10w led is of course but it is what any standard Ikea grow light is rated at also for comparrison.

You could go into details about the CRI of different LEDs and that higher CRI Led's will produce more light per watt but at these low levels that difference can be achieved by adjusting the light a few cm's so really not worth going into complicated details imo.

[Ray]

You could go into details about the CRI of different LEDs and that higher CRI Led's will produce more light per watt but at these low levels that difference can be achieved by adjusting the light a few cm's so really not worth going into complicated details imo.

CRI has little to do with the power. It’s more of a spectral thing and again, it is a perceptual thing - the Color Rendition Index is a measure of to what degree some appears like it would in sunshine.

The red/blue LEDs have poor (no) CRI, yet can be quite powerful for growing under.

Interestingly enough, if the white chips are not really designed plants lights, the “warmer” ones (3000K, for example) tend to have more far red in them, which can be a boost for blooming.

[katsucats]

The LED lighting industry is so filled with misleading specs, so unless you want to earn a degree on lighting jargon, I suggest just buying a light meter and see directly how light penetrates the distance required for your setup.

Amazon.com

P.S. Wattage doesn't mean anything directly unless you also know the efficiency, which would require you to keep tabs on the brand and model of the LED module itself, and how well the power supply is constructed. If vendors say their lights are 28w or 45w, you're basically trusting that the same percentage of power goes into the lights, geometry/reflectors/etc. notwithstanding.

[Steve83]

Another option is to purchase a Kill-a-watt, and test the lamp.

Many LED lights are legitimately labeled for the combined wattage of all diodes, but then are only driven at a fraction. (probably how they get away with it).

If that lamp is actually 150w total, you may want to back off on power a bit while your plants acclimate.