Hydroponic Lighting

The best lighting for hydroponics 

Researchers have never been to bed, that explains the more inventions coming through every new day. No one would have thought that plants would ever be grown without soil, from seedling stage to bearing. Thanks to technology, this is now possible, and more is yet to come. Hydroponic Lighting is a very vital aspect in the success of hydroponics, considering light is a key player even in the traditional setting.

The greatest aspect about lighting that should be prioritized is certainly the intensity. For your information, initial hydroponics lighting was done by candles, with a candle being placed 30 centimeters from the plant. 1 candle represented one foot, and that is now known as a lumen. It was hectic then, but now there is more advanced lighting systems with automated intensity regulators.

From light intensity, the other important factor is the color spectrum of light. Naturally plants require a crimson range of light and also bluish green range. Crimson is ideal for budding and flower stage while bluish green is required during growth.

Incandescent bulbs give an ideal intensity but the harbor high heat making it an expensive choice. The best option for hydroponic lighting is white fluorescent bulbs which do not heat. Cool bulbs can be used in the early set up before being replaced with warm ones upon maturity. They can still be used at the same time; provided they do not emit too much heat and the electricity consumption is fair. This form of lighting is cheap, even in the usage because 30 watts can sustain one square foot.

HID hydroponic lighting is another very good method of lighting. As the name suggests, High Intensity Discharge, this form uses pressurized gas to light. They are suitable for indoor setting due to their ability to produce too much light from a pressed portion. The only setback is that, HID lights are costly to use and maintain and they are known to heat fast.

The newest invention in the lighting segment is the LED lighting, initials for Light Emitter Diodes. This is a form of lighting that has been specifically formulated for hydroponics. Manufacturers looked at existing methods and decided to combine advantages of each, eliminating the side effects to produce an ideal garden lighting.

The Lighting Is Most Important

The theory behind the provision of light to plants is that unlike animals, plants cannot eat or drink, rather they produce their food by a process called photosynthesis. It is the process by which the chlorophyll cells in the leaves of a plant make glucose out of water and carbon dioxide, using light as a source of energy. Therefore if a plant is not provided with a proper amount of light, it can stay malnourished and may die off at a point in time. Light is therefore vital to the survival of a plant and on the average, a plant needs between eight to twelve hours of light in order to make the optimum amount of food for itself. The Hydroponic Lighting therefore becomes a necessity if one intends to practice hydroponics and house the unit indoors.

There are different types of Hydroponic Lights available for use by both the professional farmers as well as for those who practice backyard hydroponics or are garden hydroponics enthusiasts. Whatever the scale of production, the concept and technology behind the lights are the same. In the earlier days, there used to be only one type of filament based Hydroponic Lighting, but with the passage of time and advancement in technology, several different versions of lights and specialized lighting equipment is now available, which will now be discussed in detail.

The first type of Hydroponic Lights is the High Pressurized Sodium or HPS lighting. These lights are known to provide the brightest light of artificial lights. This is because a sodium filament when pressurized under an inert gas produces an intense light, which can be said to simulate the light of the sun. Such lights are good but consume a good amount of energy. The second type of Hydroponic Lighting is known as the metal halide lighting. Although it produces bright light, the intensity is less than the HPS lights, but these lights tend to last longer than most HPS lights, due to lower filament temperature. The third generation of Hydroponic Lights is the fluorescent lighting, which is known for its cool and mild lighting, suitable for mildly growing plants. A fourth generation of LED grow lights is also capturing its share of the market.

Hydroponic Lighting is therefore a must for indoor usage, but it must be chosen according to the needs and the conditions under which they are to be used, otherwise the desired results will not be achieved.