Ways to Supply Artificial Lighting For Plants
It is important to supply plants grown indoors with the right lighting.
If it is not feasible to do it with sunlight through a window or in a greenhouse, then artificial light is needed.
There are several different types of light bulbs that can be used to achieve the right quality and intensity of brightness.
Incandescent bulbs are not really good as grow lights for plants.
They don't supply enough of the spectrum needed.
They are also too hot to place close enough to a plant to have the best effect.
The most common type are fluorescent light bulbs, which are good for plants in any stage of development.
These can supply brightness with very little heat.
That means that they can be placed close to the plants, enabling better use of space.
They also come in a variety of sizes, including the newer compact fluorescents that will fit in any conventional light socket.
These are also the most inexpensive of the useful grow lights.
A high-output fluorescent High Intensity Discharge (HID) hybrid bulb is sold that combines the best qualities of both to produce a better blend of colors and greater output.
HID Metal Halide bulbs are very efficient and put out a white hue leaning toward the blue spectrum, which is a close approximation of sunlight.
This makes the appearance of the plants more appealing, and the growth habit resembles that of those outdoors.
They are also manufactured in a type designed more for greenhouses, with the light shifted to the red to encourage flowering and fruiting.
The output is higher and the lifetime much longer than traditional bulbs.
The High Pressure Sodium bulb is more specialized and is designed to produce a narrower spectrum.
These are the lights seen in streetlamps and parking lots.
The bulbs produce a slightly yellower hue which makes the plants less attractive visually, but also encourages fruiting and flowering.
Sodium lamps are usually used to supplement other types of bluer lighting in greenhouses.
They also are very efficient and have a life span of up to two years.
There is a combination lamp available that uses both a sodium and metal halide bulb together to utilize the light properties of both and has a very high output.
Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are being researched for use as plant lighting, but so far the results have been disappointing.
LED's are also still considered expensive and not yet practical for general use.
If it is not feasible to do it with sunlight through a window or in a greenhouse, then artificial light is needed.
There are several different types of light bulbs that can be used to achieve the right quality and intensity of brightness.
Incandescent bulbs are not really good as grow lights for plants.
They don't supply enough of the spectrum needed.
They are also too hot to place close enough to a plant to have the best effect.
The most common type are fluorescent light bulbs, which are good for plants in any stage of development.
These can supply brightness with very little heat.
That means that they can be placed close to the plants, enabling better use of space.
They also come in a variety of sizes, including the newer compact fluorescents that will fit in any conventional light socket.
These are also the most inexpensive of the useful grow lights.
A high-output fluorescent High Intensity Discharge (HID) hybrid bulb is sold that combines the best qualities of both to produce a better blend of colors and greater output.
HID Metal Halide bulbs are very efficient and put out a white hue leaning toward the blue spectrum, which is a close approximation of sunlight.
This makes the appearance of the plants more appealing, and the growth habit resembles that of those outdoors.
They are also manufactured in a type designed more for greenhouses, with the light shifted to the red to encourage flowering and fruiting.
The output is higher and the lifetime much longer than traditional bulbs.
The High Pressure Sodium bulb is more specialized and is designed to produce a narrower spectrum.
These are the lights seen in streetlamps and parking lots.
The bulbs produce a slightly yellower hue which makes the plants less attractive visually, but also encourages fruiting and flowering.
Sodium lamps are usually used to supplement other types of bluer lighting in greenhouses.
They also are very efficient and have a life span of up to two years.
There is a combination lamp available that uses both a sodium and metal halide bulb together to utilize the light properties of both and has a very high output.
Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are being researched for use as plant lighting, but so far the results have been disappointing.
LED's are also still considered expensive and not yet practical for general use.
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