Hydroponic Grow Lights For the Indoor Plants

We have been familiar with the benefit of Hydroponics that enables us to grow plants with the requirement of soil & water.

All it needs is the required nutrients for the roots.

Here we have another factor that is important for the plant - Sunlight.

For Outdoor Plants, the Sunlight is there but what about the Indoor Hydroponics gardening that is practiced in locations having lesser or no sunlight at all? Do not worry!

The solution is by using artificial light with the help of Hydroponic Grow Lights. Yes! By using hydroponics grow lights, a gardener can

- Grow any Plant - Any time - Anywhere

Welcome the Sun Indoors, by using Hydroponics Grow Lights that are easily available in the market. Let me share few examples of those grow lights useful the gardener & giving a clear idea.

We, have Light movers, Lylar, reflectors, bulbs, light hangers coming under the category of Hydroponic grow lights.

How to choose the right Hydroponic grow lights?

To choose the right type of Light that is required for the garden, few factors needs to be considered like-

- In the early seasons of spring, one can use a high pressure sodium bulb. It can also be used on cloudy days.

- For excellent vegetable growth like lettuce and basil, a very wide spectrum bulb like the Metal Halide bulb should be used. The Halide bulbs emit blue light that is required by plants for photosynthesis leading to growth.

- For longer life expectancy & efficiency, the sodium bubs are more used instead of the halide bulbs. The Sodium bulbs emit more light & lasts longer with twice the average life of a halide bulb. But to get a more spectral distribution of light, the halide bulbs are the best. So, it depends on what is required at that time of necessity. The sodium lights emit red light that is good for at the flowering or fruit stage of the plant.

- Then we also have something called fluorescent Grow lights. These are good for violets, orchids & other house plants that do not require much sunlight. Such lights are often used at the time of seedling of the plants.

Often we have seen that the growers or gardeners switch the type of bulbs during the various stages of growth.

Initially Metal halide bulbs are used to keep the plants tight & then they use the Sodium bulbs at the time of fruit growing, budding or flowering stage when the plants will require more light. So, a flip over switch is used.

So, the switching of bulbs depends on 4 factors -

- Amount of space used for gardening - Amount of light required for that type of plants. - Decision of the growers - Wattage use & the electrical requirements. - The required wattage per square foot of the garden is 25. - For a 2' x 2' area, required wattage will be 150-175 - For a 3' x 3' area, required wattage will be 250 - For a 4' x 4' area, required wattage will be 400 - For a 6.5' x 6.5' area, required wattage will be 600 - For an 8' x 8' area, required wattage will be 1000

Metal Halide bulbs that are used for 18 hours per day will last 6-8 months. The lamps emit blue or violet light & are available at 2600° Kelvin To 6500° Kelvin Similarly, Sodium bulbs used for 12 hours daily will last 12 - 16 Months. High pressure sodium lamps are available in 2000° Kelvin to 3000° Kelvin.

Let us discuss something more that is related to the hydroponics grow lights Systems here,

- Switch able Systems - We have discussed this earlier.

A Metal halide bulb & a high pressure sodium bulb will be used here.

By the flip of the switch, the gardener can allow the plants receive light from metal halide or sodium light depending on the various stages of the plant.

- Conversion Lamps - For all the growing stages of the plant getting a balanced spectral output, the conversion lamps are used.

These are available in Sodium or Metal Halide with limited wattage. During the vegetative growth stage, the metal halide conversion lamps operate on high pressure sodium ballast and during the budding stages, the High pressure sodium lamps operate on metal halide ballasts.

From seeding to maturity of the plants, all type of hydroponics grow lights are available.