Hello everyone,
I’m in the process of restructuring the lighting for my seed germination/growing area. Previous years, I was using a large windowsill, but I cannot any longer. I was thinking of LED lighting, but it appears as though that could be a very expensive proposition? There also appears to be a push from lighting suppliers to get different color spectrum lights intermixed? Anyone have any thoughts/experience on the use of LED lights?
Andy
LED grow lights are still new. The aquarium trade is slightly better at this right now but they are both not yet paced with the likes of Christmas lights, flash lights or vehicle brake lights when it comes to cost or efficiency.
Sorry.
LEDs are going to get a whole lot cheaper to buy, eventually (they are certainly cheaper to run) Now though, they are still new so I would wait as the second and third iterations are always significantly better (and a lot less costly) with this tech.
Since LEDS give off so little heat, I would expect that they could be placed very near the plants.
See Google search below.
Link: scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=1714920255017299600&as_sdt=5,36&sciodt=0,36&hl=en
Personally I think it would be more cost effective to go with a 400w HPS ballast purchased from ebay ($100) and then use a Ceramic Metal Halide lamp in it. Most here would say that was overkill but I use it to light all my houseplants in winter.
Thank you everyone for your responses. I talked with some people who sell hydroponic supplies. They weren’t very encouraging about the technology. In short, from what I’ve been told, the technology is currently being tested, but results aren’t encouraging. The correct spectrum for growing plants hasn’t been perfected yet. The same was told to me by a supplier of lighting for reptiles. Maybe in a few years?
Andy
I bought a screw in LED light (50w) the other day for 10 bucks !!! Finally … the prices are lowering. The bad news? The lights come in disney princess colors. Theyre pastel magenta and powder blue, together. They emit zero heat and seem to be working though. The biggest con is that the light emitted doesnt seem to have much distance =/ …
In some greenhouses they combine LED with regular lighting options. LED is used to get a better spectrum (more red/blue depending on growth stage).
Rob
I came across an article about a large plant tissue culture laboratory in China that uses LED lights. At the U of MN and WI, students have done some minor experiments as special projects combining LED lights with ambient light to see how well it works as an alternative for standard supplemental lights. I’m not sure what their results were. With sucrose in the tissue culture media the plants grow well and the lights generally just help with good tissue development for chlorophyll when they come out and for the type of growth and development desired.
This is just a pieced together collection of stories I have heard people share over the years, so I’m not sure the level of truth. THere was a scientist at Slyvania that had the goal of developing a bulb with a spectrum to better enhance plant growth. He loved African Violets and used them as the model as he tweeked the spectrum. Other plants can use slightly different spectrums too and there can be a bit of optimization based on species. Red and blue are of course the important wavelengths for photosynthesis. Supposedly carotenoids can absorb light in a little wider range and channel it appropriately so it can help with chlorophyll and photosynthesis. LED lights can be such specific wavelengths compared to more of a spectrum with some higher peaks in our typical lights. Maybe that can play a role on their efficiency in plant growth. For cool white florescent lights that I have been using, it has been good enough for roses and good growth, but for other species like cranberry, blueberry, and ninebark it is not good enough. The seedlings suffer and do not grow appropriately until they are under “grow lights”. Cool white florescent lights are good in the blue area of the spectrum, but seem to be a little skimpy in the red.
Hopefully with LED lights as they are developed more for optimum plant growth one of us who loves roses and will us them as one of the models will be part of the work!!
My personal hope is increasing the useful length of the light itself. Even with deflectors, it does not travel very far. So far, the 13 watt realux day grow I rigged into my architecture drafting lighting fixtures, usually used by aquarium enthusiasts and weed heads, is far out-pacing the 50 watt LED bulb. I am actually wondering if the LED spectrum is better suited to germinations, with flourescent day grow as better for growing them out.
According to all of the stoners and sellers on the cannabis forums, the LED lights stretch out their, uh… “product”.
More logistical advances need to be made before I go nuts loving LED grow lights. However, if ever made more efficient and powerful, it could mean tons of potential for those in the nursery business due to the cost efficiency and bulb longevity.
I keep hoping someone will develop a lithium iodide horticultural lamp. The spectrum emitted by lithium almost perfectly matches with the most photosynthesis efficacy… mostly red with some blue.
See the link below.
Link: hortsci.ashspublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/2/217?etoc