Light Movers Extend the Efficiency of Hydroponics Grow Lights

The most efficient way to use high intensity lights is to have them moving within the grow room. Moving the lights will eliminate the plants tendency to grow toward the light source and provide light to areas which otherwise may be shaded. Since the light is moving, it can pass closer to the plants without burning the leaves.

More intensity also allows plants to be placed much closer together, greatly increasing yield and quality. Moving your grow lights from one end of your garden area and back provides a number of advantages and a few disadvantages:

• The light can be placed closer to the plants without generating plant killing heat
• The light’s area of coverage is increased
• Provides a much greater variety of light angles to each plant
• Light will more frequently reach foliage at the bottom of the plant which may have been shielded by higher foliage
• Movement of the light will result in a decrease in the amount of light that each plant will receive
• A timed hesitation at the end of each travel will prevent the middle plants growing faster because they received twice the light overhead as did the end plants
• The timed hesitation will result in a level growing area
  Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium lamps can be mixed on the light mover as desired.

The size and shape of your room will determine the type of light mover that will best suit your needs.

• Lineal movers carry the light fixture slowly along a track and back again during the light cycle. Most are six feet long, support a single lamp, and are recommended when the growing area is long and narrow.
• Circular movers are best when the length and width of the room are similar. They are designed to carry either one, two, three or four lights, in a 360 degree circle, ideally lighting a ten by ten foot area. This diameter can be reduced but rarely extended.

See
for an example of an efficient rotating light system.

For more information about a rotating light unit visit
http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/product-701.html

Vertical Cylindrical Hydroponics Gardens provide optimum use of space and light

It is very hard to beat a vertical cylindrical garden for the optimum use of space, light and air flow. A vertical indoor garden can yield several times more than a 3’ by 3’ or 4’ by 4’ flat garden with a more efficient use of floor space and electricity. This type of garden will appeal to urban gardeners without a lot of room or anyone else wanting to use their resources more efficiently.

A vertical design allows a significant increase in the efficiency of light capture and utilization of space. Because light is emitted from all sides of a bulb, conventional gardens require an array of shades and reflectors to direct the maximum amount of light towards the plants. These compromises result in inconsistent light distribution and an inefficient conversion of light energy to plant production.

The vertical garden neatly overcomes these inefficiencies by wrapping the garden around the lights permitting virtually 100% conversion of light to plant growth. Since the majority of flowers have a vertical growth pattern, vertical lighting is the best to maximize the plant’s potential. When more light penetration occurs, there is more yield.

Multiple lights will produce an overlapping light coverage to give a nearly equal amount of bright light to every plant, something not always possible with flat gardens. Vertical cylindrical garden systems fully utilize the bulbs 360 degree light output.

An open vertical cylindrical design permits the free flow of air around the upright columns. A closed vertical cylindrical design may require a fan to blow the warm air up and out of the unit.

The efficiency and design of vertical cylindrical gardens allows them to:
* Easily double your yield for the same wattage as traditional systems.
* quadruple your yield for the equivalent floor space of traditional systems.

See http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/hydro-vertical-garden.html?p=0 for more information about some interesting and efficient vertical gardens.

LED Supernova Enhanced Spectrum Hydroponics Lights available

Two new SuperNova LED Grow Lights have been added to the efficient LED UFO light systems.  These new Light Emitting Diode lamps produce 1000 watts of HID light while using approximately only 270 watts of electric power.   The Supernova’s independently adjustable spectrums allow you to fine-tune the red/blue ratio of light to your plants specific needs.

The SuperNova LED’s contain seven different circuit boards which project the light at different angles for maximum coverage and flexibility in use.  The SuperNova’s provide the high intensity lighting required to grow lush and bountiful gardens within a five foot by five foot growing space.

All LED lights are very efficient with a long 8 – 10 year life span while running much cooler than HPS lights.  This reduces or eliminates the need for additional air cooling which saves more money. 

The Enhanced Spectrum SuperNova includes six additional custom spectrums of LED light.  These added LED’s extend the photosynthetic range covering the entire spectrum from 405nm to 465nm in the blue, as well as 620nm to 740nm in red.

The LED SuperNova comes with everything necessary for plug and use performance.   The system is 120v/240v switchable and comes pre-wired for 120v.

See http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/product-678.html for more information about these new and innovative garden grow lights.

Save Money and the Environment while obtaining Good Plant Growth

Save money and the environment by utilizing the new, cool, highly efficient LED
(Light Emitting Diode) 400+ equivalent watts lamp in any gardening application – hydroponics or soil, home or greenhouse!

LED UFO Concept
The LED UFO is a simple concept – it uses highly efficient 1 watt LEDs, uses only the exact spectrums required for photosynthesis, and uses wide angle directional bulbs. The 1 watt LED is one of the most efficient light sources in the world (lumens per watt). By using only the spectrum required, no light is wasted. Spectrums of light that do little or nothing for a plants growth, like green light, have been eliminated. Plus, the directional LEDs ensure 100% of the light points downward without the use of reflective materials to direct the light.

The LED UFO light system
is a self-contained product that generates virtually no heat, and does not require heavy gauge wiring.  It includes the appropriate LED bulbs, ballast, small efficient cooling fans,
electrical cords and mounting hardware.

Because LED Grow Lights are environmentally friendly, they will result in healthier, more productive plants.  Because they emit very little in the way of heat, LED Grow Lights allow your plants to keep cooler.  Plants thrive at room temperature, receiving all the light they require without growth-stunting excess heat affecting both plant tops and roots. Therefore, your plants will require less watering.

Long Term Economics
The higher initial cost of the LED UFO system becomes more and more economical as time goes by with its much lower power consumptionand much longer bulb life.  One 80,000 – 100,000 hour LED UFO system emitting just the light spectrum used byplants does the same job as purchasing both MH and HPS bulbs, ballasts, reflector,and cooling fan(s).  The MH and HPS bulbs use far more electricity and must be replaced much more frequently.

For more information about Hydroponics Lighting products and solutions, see http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/inf-hydroponics-lighting.html

Comments on additional problems are quite welcome.

Hydroponics Lighting Potential Problems

Lighting your hydroponics plants can be a very trying and expensive part of your hydroponics experience.

The most important aspects of artificial light to consider are intensity, color, and duration. If you can come close to duplicating sunlight, plants will flourish. For vegetative growth:

• Plants require 200 to 1000 foot candles of blue light
• wavelength of around 440 nanometers
• This is best provided with metal halides.

For flowering and fruitation,

· Plants require about the same intensity of light except in the red-orange part of the spectrum

· wavelength of between 640 and 700 Nm

· Sodium vapor (High Pressure Sodium) lights provide these frequencies.

Potential Problems:

• Place the light in the center of your system and you can get a pyramid effect with the plants receiving the most light in the center growing tall with diminished growth for the plants on the outer edges of the system who receive less light.
• Place the light bulb too close to the plants and you can burn the plant from the heat of the bulb.
• Place the light bulb too far from the plants and you can get scraggly growth from lack of sufficient light reaching the plants.
• Utilize a low wattage bulb to save costs and the plants may not receive sufficient light for optimum growth.
• Utilize a high wattage bulb can result in excess electricity costs and problems caused by heat or excessive light.
• Vertical bulbs placed above a hydroponics system can result in most of the light reflecting out to the side with only a small amount shining or reflected down on the plants.
• Lighting systems may be primarily Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium which are very good for only part of the growing season. Multiple lighting systems can be very expensive.

For more information about Hydroponics Lighting products and solutions, see http://www.hydroponicsfarming.com/inf-hydroponics-lighting.html

Comments on additional problems are quite welcome.