Jungle Hobbies LED lights - reducing the brightness?

[MiniatureOrchids]

Our Jungle Hobbies LED light arrived last week, and we finally got it in place and running over the weekend. They're so awesome.

However, there is a concern that they're a little too bright. So a couple of questions:

1. Can the light be too bright for the orchids? I know that there's a lot of talk of sun scorch, but I'm presuming that's mostly around heat, if it's cool but bright, will the plants just lap it up?

2. If we reduce the brightness of the lights using the program settings, will it reduce the lifespan of the LEDs (compared to running them at full brightness)?

Ideally I'd like to tag Marty in this thread, as he'd presumably know for sure - how might I do that?

[jkofferdahl]

I can only answer the first question. Yes, artificial lighting can be too bright for some orchids. Others not so much. It depends on what you're growing.

I don't know much about LEDs, but with MOST things, using them at less than their peak will extend their life.

[MiniatureOrchids]

Thanks. I know what you mean about extending their life, but LEDs might be different, depending on how they dim. May need to google a bit.

[Subrosa]

The killer of leds is heat. Run them lower and they run cooler and last longer.

[Salixx]

I'll second that you can grow too bright under LEDs. I, unfortunately killed a new growth on a Catt. hybrid - I didn't pay attention to the warning signs the plant gave before it was too late.

That said, if the leaf surface turns purple, and I mean a solid shade, not just freckles our highlights, it's most likely too bright for that orchid. Some plants, like Masdies, turn a sickly shade of yellow-green when grown too bright. The plants will tell you what they like and don't.

[MiniatureOrchids]

Heard back from Marty, and reducing the max brightness won't have any detrimental effect on the LEDs, which is good to know.