Not Understanding LED Tape?

[kg5]

Very Thankful for any help. I am trying to give more light to the shaded areas of a hot & shade house that will have stacked shelving.

I have been reading & reading and it is not making any sense to me. I have searched & searched and I just do not get it.

How far apart does this type of tape need to cover any given area? Examples below.

How far from the tape does the plant need to be?

Are these lights bad for ones health?

5M 5050 300 LED Strip Light Plant Growing Hydroponic RED BLUE 5:1/7:1/8:1 WP 12V

5M 5050 SMD Red Blue 7:1 Plant Growing Hydroponic Aquarium LED Strip Light IP65

[SilverShaded]

The more light you want, the more strips you need. Generally the light output from these strips is very low...

[kg5]

So I need a strip for 50% sunlight & full sun?

What strips would you suggest & what spacing's would they need?

It is for orchids & lotus. 50% for 6hrs orchids & 4hrs full sun for lotus.

Hope this info helps.

[SilverShaded]

LED strips consume about 5W / m, you need at least 500W/m2 assuming you get 100 lumens per Watt, to get 50% sunlight. So you would need to fit 100m of tape onto a 1m2 surface to have ~50% sunlight. (all numbers are approximate).

[kg5]

Thank You very much SilverShaded.

Now I have an idea of what is going on!

No wonder the info is so hard to find.

---------- Post added at 06:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 PM ----------

It is sad that 12v is not going to work as a solar panel would of been a great power source!

[SilverShaded]

Most plants will grow quite happily with much less light, im using some 40/50W led corn bulbs with some plants and results are quite ok so far.

[kg5]

Aquarium lotus & water lilies or miniatures should be able to cope with heaps less light. An aquarium light should be in the range...maybe.....

Looks like I need to find orchids that suit what micro climates I have instead of trying to find lights that suit a high light need orchid........hmm

[kg5]

Have done a search for electrical shops specialising in grow lights.

Picked out 3 shops and sent them an email of a description of my situation & basic needs and asked for a design + a cost 600mm wide or 2 foot x per Meter or yard up to 25m on stacked shelving.

It is a very specialised area. Not one for me to sort out!

[SilverShaded]

What kind of plants where you thinking of growing? Many plants that grow in full sun in nature do quite well under far less light in horticulture.

Many plants that in nature would get a maximum of 150,000 Lux will grow in a terrarium with 10,000Lux perfectly happily. In a terrarium you can leave the lights on 14 hrs a day and have a longer photoperiod.

[ALToronto]

Originally Posted by SilverShaded

LED strips consume about 5W / m, you need at least 500W/m2 assuming you get 100 lumens per Watt, to get 50% sunlight. So you would need to fit 100m of tape onto a 1m2 surface to have ~50% sunlight. (all numbers are approximate).

At what distance?!

These numbers may apply to white light that is 2+ metres away, but not to red/blue that is 50 cm away. You need much lower wattage with those. You will find much more information on red/blue lights on pot-growing forums.

I have orchids doing well with 70 W spread in a line across 1.8 m. There are fourteen 5 W LEDs in the light fixture that is lighting this wall. The wall is 1.2 m tall.



Finally a stupid question: if this is a shade house, wouldn't it be better to just reduce the shade?