Greenhouse Lighting Fixtures

Whether you would like to promote general plant development or propagate new plants, then you may need to install lighting fixtures in your market. Plants need colors in the light spectrum for certain periods of time in order to grow and develop. As an instance, plants need full spectrum light for photosynthesis and many plants, such as pepper and tomato plants, need 16 to 18 hours of light and 8 hours of darkness to bloom and set fruit. Greenhouse light fixtures range from monitoring systems to bench top lights with flexible reflectors and hold a number of illumination types.

Fluorescent

Fluorescent fixtures can hang in the greenhouse ceiling or sit on a bench. A T-8 fluorescent tube measures 1 inch in diameter and 48 inches long, and needs a ballast to supply electrical current. Each tube lasts about 20,000 hours. A compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb has its ballast and will match a normal fixture with a medium screw base. CFL bulbs cost more initially but use one-fifth the energy and last 10,000 hours or 10 times longer than a normal incandescent bulb. Fluorescent bulbs and tubes produce low light and little heat, so that they function best 4 to 6 inches from spreading plants and magnets less than 15 inches tall.

High Intensity Discharge

High intensity discharge lamps include metal halide and high powered sodium lamps. Some fixtures can hold both kinds of bulbs, while others can hold only one kind. These heat-producing lights are acceptable for mature plants which are at least 15 inches tall and should remain 2 to 6 feet apart from plants. You can put in a monitor system for all these bulbs over grow benches. Metal halide lamps last about 15,000 hours and use iodides and mercury to supply full-spectrum light, increase daylight hours and promote general increase. High pressure sodium lights continue about 24,000 hours and produce red, yellow and orange light as an electric current goes through sodium vapor. Red and yellow hues promote flowering and fruit set.

LED

Light emitting diodes (LED) burn 85 times better than incandescent lights and have last about 50,000 hours. Vertical, horizontal and moving fixtures are offered for all these bulbs. It is simple to dim LEDs and set them to operate on a cycle. It is also possible to place the fixtures near plants, because the bulbs produce little heat. Researchers are studying ways to combine colors for plant development, and some new LEDs feature flexible spectrums that supply the ideal kind of light for specific plants, notes John Bartok of Greenhouse Management Online.

Other Lighting Considerations

Incandescent or standard bulbs are cheap upfront, however, the bulbs produce elevated levels of heat and continue only 1,000 hours. Halogen lights, that will fit into a incandescent socket, last about 2,000 hours and burn up to 40 percent better than incandescent bulbs. A waterproof fluorescent fixture in the peak of the greenhouse provides work light, notes Carol Yaw of Charley’s Greenhouse and Garden. To guarantee appropriate lighting when you’re away in the greenhouse, use a grounded timer to set lighting cycles. Use the sort of ballast specifically designed for the kind of bulb you select and prevent more affordable, inadequate quality fixtures and ballasts that could shorten bulb life.

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