If you're a gardener or a farmer, you probably know that plants need sunlight to grow. However, in some cases, natural sunlight isn't enough. This is where supplemental lighting comes in. In this blog post, we'll explore what supplemental lighting is and how it can help you achieve better yields in your grow room.
What Is Supplemental Lighting?
Supplemental lighting refers to the use of artificial lighting to supplement natural sunlight in a grow room. In other words, it's a way to give your plants more light than they would receive naturally. This can be particularly helpful in regions with low levels of sunlight or during the winter months when daylight hours are shorter.
Supplemental lighting can also be useful for plants that require specific light conditions to grow properly. For example, some plants need more blue light for vegetative growth, while others require more red light for flowering.
Types of Supplemental Lighting
There are several types of supplemental lighting that you can use in your grow room. Here are some of the most common:
- High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting: HID lighting is one of the most popular types of supplemental lighting for grow rooms. It includes metal halide (MH) and high-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs, which are both very efficient at converting electricity into light.
MH bulbs emit a blue light spectrum that's ideal for vegetative growth, while HPS bulbs emit a red/orange spectrum that's great for flowering. However, these bulbs do produce a lot of heat and require a ballast to operate.
- Light Emitting Diode (LED) Lighting: LED lighting is becoming increasingly popular for grow rooms due to its energy efficiency and low heat output. LED lights come in a variety of colors, so you can choose the spectrum that's best for your plants.
However, LED lights can be more expensive than other types of supplemental lighting, and they may not be as effective at penetrating the canopy of your plants.
- Fluorescent Lighting: Fluorescent lighting is another option for supplemental lighting. It's affordable and produces less heat than HID lighting. However, fluorescent bulbs don't produce as much light as HID or LED bulbs, so you may need to use more of them to achieve the same level of coverage.
How Supplemental Lighting Works
Supplemental lighting works by providing plants with additional light energy that they can use for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy, which they use to grow and produce food.
When plants receive more light than they need, they can use that extra energy to grow faster and produce more flowers or fruits. This is why supplemental lighting is so important for indoor gardening and farming.
However, it's important to note that plants can only absorb a certain amount of light energy per day. If you provide too much light, it can actually be harmful to your plants and lead to a condition known as light burn. Light burn can cause damage to the leaves and reduce the overall health of your plants.
To avoid light burn, it's important to use a light meter to measure the amount of light your plants are receiving. This will help you determine how much supplemental lighting you need to provide.
