LED Lighting Help for Dummies Please!

[estación seca]

Color temperature is a measurement of how artificial light appears to a human eye. It is meaningless for describing the effect on plants. Plants experience light differently than we do.

By a random accident 6000K color temperature fluorescent lights work well for growing plants; that's because the combination of elements used in the tubes to generate that light just happen to emit photons in a spectrum good for growing plants.

6000K LEDs tend to emit different wavelengths than 6000K fluorescent tubes. The 6000K number is meaningless.

[thefish1337]

I have LEDs that are 4000k mixed with deep red diodes (a horticultural spectrum), I also have 3000k and 4000k without added red. No way to say which is better without a controlled experiment. LEDs with spectrum higher than 4K have way more blue than you ever need and are extremely harsh on the eyes IMO. Many new lights are coming out with UV, far-red, added red some of it is real some of it is untested.

Deep red 660-700 nm supposedly increases the efficiency of photosynthesis in combination with white light Emmerson Effect

far-red has variable effects depending on the plants you chose, it increases the yields of lettuces but can negatively impact the morphology in other plants without increasing yield.

[marylandmike]

How many hours a day do you run the lights in winter vs summer? thanks, Mike

[ElleBlyth]

Hello...i would like to add to your knowledge in terms to timing. that is too much lighting time. 12 hours is generally max amount, so you need to give up some time in the morning or evening. I have no idea whether an Acadian Cycle is important to coral or if it is just the total amount of light they get each day. A good compromise might be some moonlights that allow you to see what is going on, but is like night to the sea creatures.

pcb online ordering

[SADE2020]

Lumen, Lux ..too complicated.

LED's by WATTS ... 12W = 1,000 Lumen
You want your plants min 6-7 inches under +16W (Phals) to 30W(Cattleyas)..

To get to 30W you can add 3 10w Leds for example.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by SADE2020

Lumen, Lux ..too complicated.

LED's by WATTS ... 12W = 1,000 Lumen
You want your plants min 6-7 inches under +16W (Phals) to 30W(Cattleyas)..

To get to 30W you can add 3 10w Leds for example.

That's far too black and white, IMO. The problem with that is that the efficiency is really dependent on the light source, and even within a light family (LED for instance), you can have a wide range of efficiencies at converting electrical power into lumens.

There are good reasons why Lux, footcandles, and PPFD are used to quantify light in relation to plants. All these are measures of the light actually hitting the plant when measured at plant level, independent of the light source characteristics (including the sun!). These are far more meaningful measures than electrical output of a unit.

[SADE2020]

Originally Posted by camille1585

That's far too black and white, IMO. The problem with that is that the efficiency is really dependent on the light source, and even within a light family (LED for instance), you can have a wide range of efficiencies at converting electrical power into lumens.

There are good reasons why Lux, footcandles, and PPFD are used to quantify light in relation to plants. All these are measures of the light actually hitting the plant when measured at plant level, independent of the light source characteristics (including the sun!). These are far more meaningful measures than electrical output of a unit.

That is true! Distance form the light sources, temperature as well, quality over quantity, you are totally right. But it is also like the Coke formula...when comes to measurement Light Intensity or by Genus and adjusting to all different needs, it is complicated. I didn't mean to sound careless.

PD: I think at the end they (our plants) are smarter than us and adjust to what we provide.

Cheers!

[Ray]

Originally Posted by SADE2020

I think at the end they (our plants) are smarter than us and adjust to what we provide.

Yes, plants will adjust, but whether that's acceptable or not depends upon the type of grower you are - one who grows plants that "tolerate" what they are given, or one who works to provide what they need.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by Ray

Yes, plants will adjust, but whether that's acceptable or not depends upon the type of grower you are - one who grows plants that "tolerate" what they are given, or one who works to provide what they need.

I completely agree with this. I fell in the former group until recently, and my plants had to deal with the natural light they were getting in the winter. My windows may all face south, but winter in the Netherlands is often cloudy, on top of the very short days. I was still thinking they were growing and blooming fine, but in the fall I finally went the 'provide what they need' route, and I have to say that I have never seen so much growth happening in the winter until this year! I'll be curious to see how they will bloom this year.

[Alukard]

These plants bloom in strong light, therefore LED lights are the best choice! I'm no expert when it comes to this, but my wife is. She's saying that you should start with a 'poorer' light and then increase its brightness. An easy option would be to buy LED strips, this way, all your orchids would get the same amount of light with not so much effort. I know that's what she used at first, and then bought some more 'professional' LED lights from litelume.com . Also, please pay attention to their leaves! Their color will always tell you if they're getting too much light. Oh, and you'll learn this in no time, trust me.