Can I use Work lights?

[CTB]

I have a 1000 watt stand work light, it has two 500 watt bulbs. Can these be used on orchids and how many footcandles does it amount too. I know I can't look at them, but don't know if they would work on orchids either. Thanks for doing the math.

[Ray]

Carol, those tend to be tungsten halogen lamps, and as bright as they seem, are actually quite inefficient in terms of their luminance.

For example, a 4' T5 lamp puts out about 90 lumens per watt, an normal 4' T12 shop light puts out about 40, while a 500W T-H bulb is good to get 20 lumens per watt.

However, 1000 watts x 20 - 20,000 lumens, so that's plenty of intensity. Don't forget though that they put out a LOT of heat, so keep the plant a good distance away.

Run at 115V, they are likely to have a color temperature of about 2500°K, or something close to that of a 40W incandescent bulb, meaning it's really heavy on the red end of the spectrum, with very little in the blue. Because of that, plants grown under them can become quite "leggy".

[CTB]

Thanks Ray, My orchid are grown outside, because of the freeze we are having, I brought everything inside, I may need to run lights for heat, I watching temp now, we are expecting 25 tonight, with 7 hours of freezing temps. they are on an enclosed porch area, out of any wind, or if we are inside for three days I might need them for light too., any suggestions?

[Ray]

If it's only going to be for a few days, I would put that light in a "better than nothing" category, and go ahead and use it.