Hydrolife Magazine August/September 2016 (USA Edition)

grow
"THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY
FOR YOU DEPENDS ON
YOUR BUDGET, APPROACH
TO NEW TECHNOLOGY, AND THE
CHALLENGES YOU FACE IN YOUR QUEST
FOR HOME GROWN SELF-SUFFICIENCY."
Indoor growers have never had as much choice for
grow light technology as they do today. In addition to
the faithful old HPS technology there are competitive
newer technologies such as the rapidly maturing LED,
and the emerging ceramic metal halide lights which
offer something completely new.
The right technology for you depends
on your budget, approach to new
technology, and the challenges you
face in your quest for home grown
self-sufficiency. Here is an overview
of the main options and latest
developments.
HPS
Without
doubt HPS is the
lowest cost mainstream way to buy
yourself an indoor grow light capable
of serious bud production. HPS may
be cheap to buy but it doesn’t boast
the lowest running costs due to
the inherent inefficiency of ageing
HPS technology. HPS was adapted
to work for indoor growing rather
than designed specifically for
it. HPS produces a lot of heat, and
it uses a lot of energy producing
less useful orange and yellow light
wavelengths. The heat can be dealt
with through extraction, and in hot
climates air conditioning can be
used to reduce heat to manageable
levels. HPS running costs also include
regular bulb replacements after three
to four cycles.
For a 4x4 foot growroom a 600W HPS
is often recommended. A 400W HPS
is often recommended for a 3x3 foot
growroom. 1,000W HPS lights tend to
be used only in larger rooms, such
as 5x5 foot or more. However, many
growers feel superior performance
and better light spread is achieved by
swapping 1,000W HPS lights for larger
numbers of 600W units.
40
grow. heal. live. enjoy.
myhydrolife.com