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Shedding some light on lamps and light systems |
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| A look at some of the high intensity discharge lamps (Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium) supplied with our light systems and the wide range of replacement lamps available. |
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What’s supplied with your GroWell light system
250 Watt systems - These systems are ideal for smaller areas and are supplied as standard with a Son-T-Plus or Nav-T-Super high pressure sodium lamp. These lamps are good for any stage of growth but are particularly suited to flowering rooms. All of our 250 Watt systems will also run a 250 Watt Metal halide lamp if required which provides a much better spectrum of light for vegetative growth but is not so good for flowering.
400 Watt systems - These systems are ideal for areas of approximately 1 square metre and are supplied as standard with a spectrum adjusted Sylvania Grolux high pressure sodium lamp. These lamps give outstanding performance in both the vegetative and flowering stages as they provide a wide spectrum of light condusive to both stages of plant growth. All 400 Watt systems can also be supplied with a Son-T-Plus or Nav-T-Super high pressure sodium lamp if preferred and are also capable of running a 400 Watt Metal halide lamp if required.
600 Watt systems - The most popular and efficient (in terms of lumens per Watt) of all the light systems. All 600 Watt GroWell systems are supplied with a Sylvania Grolux high pressure sodium lamp as standard, but will run other High pressure sodium lamps if required. This system will also run a 600 Watt Metal halide lamp if required.
1000 Watt systems - This system is supplied with a Son-T or Nav-T high pressure sodium lamp as standard and will also run a 1000 Watt Metal halide lamp if required.
Horizontal Fitting
All the high output metal halide and high pressure sodium light systems sold at GroWell use horizontally mounted tubular type lamps as these give a lot more light and are more efficient for our purposes than either elliptical type lamps (vertically mounted with cone reflector) or universal type lamps (semi-elliptical lamps that can be mounted vertically or horizontally).
The horizontally mounted tubular lamps are the standard equipment type in the UK. New lamps like the Grolux Sodium or Sunmaster Halide as well as old favourites like the Son-T-Plus tend to be available only in this horizontal mount format.
Replacing Lamps
If you have a high output high pressure sodium or metal halide light system then it won’t be long before you need to buy a replacement lamp. We recommend you purchase a new lamp at least every 9 months to keep light levels up and not lose yield. Many people choose to change their lamps every 6 months, especially if the lamps are used more than 12 hours a day. This advice is good for all lamps expect the Grolux where our latest research shows that the loss in yield by using grolux lamps for more than one crop makes it more economical to replace your lamp every crop. The low prices of the Grolux make this a relatively inexpensive job when you consider the extra light and yield that you will get.
When you buy a 400 Watt or 600 Watt light system from GroWell it comes with a Sylvania Grolux lamp as standard. This lamp is the highest output high pressure sodium we have found and with adjusted spectrum for plant growth (more blue and red) it makes these lamps ideal for both the vegetative and flowering or fruiting stages. We have also found that in practice these lamps are preferred by many of our customers due to the fantastic results that can be achieved.
So which lamp is right for you? Despite our preference for the Grolux lamp, the differences between makes and models of lamps of the same Wattage is relatively small. We encourage you to experiment with lamps to find which works best for you and your specific species or variety of plant. All high pressure sodium ballasts and control gear sold at GroWell will run most Metal Halide and Sodium Lamps of the same Wattage. Check with our Technical Team on 0845 345 5176 if unsure.
Metal Halide Lamps
Metal halide lamps (available in 250, 400, 600 and 1000 Watt) like sodium lamps need a ballast/control box to ignite and run the lamp. The lamp itself has a full spectrum with quite a large amount of blue. The light looks quite white and is traditionally used for vegetative growth or for mixing with pure sodium’s in flowering rooms. The lumen output of a halide lamp is way down on a sodium lamp and the growth rates slower. On the plus side the plants will get quite bushy and generally won’t stretch even if your light levels are a bit low - often very useful for mother rooms or large cutting rooms. The use of halides has declined with the advent of adjusted spectrum sodium lamps adjusted spectrum sodium lamps (like the Grolux), as these new sodium lamps with extra blue in them combine the bushier greener growth of the halide with the fast growth rates of the sodium.
Sodium Lamps
High Pressure Sodium lamps (available in 250, 400, 600 and 1000 Watt) like Halide lamps need a control box to ignite and run the lamp. The lamp itself has a full spectrum with a large amount of red for good flowering and fruiting. It also has a high lumen output with large amounts of yellow and orange which is where you get most photosynthesis per Watt, in other words this is the spectrum of light your plant uses most efficiently and effectively to produce energy through photosynthesis, this accounts for the vigorous growth rates and high yields associated with high levels of sodium light. This lamp is primarily an excellent flowering lamp but also works well for vegetative growth. Phillips version of this lamp is a Son-T-Plus, and the Osram version is a Nav-T-Super, they are basically the same and both are excellent makes.
Adjusted spectrum High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps
The Sylvania Grolux (available in 400 Watt and 600 Watt only) is the most popular of this type of lamp at the moment. It offers not only improved spectrum but also retains its high lumen output. The improved spectrum and extra levels of blue and red light make it excellent for vegetative or flowering growth.
Relatively new, the Sunmaster Lamp is also a spectrum adjusted grow lamp that is great in both vegetative and flowering growth. Some customers have reported getting superior results when using a Sunmaster, and the allround performance of this lamp in both vegetative and flowering growth make it a great alternative for many indoor gardeners.
This improved spectrum ensures improved metabolic function (chlorosynthesis, photosynthesis etc) giving good health and a greener colour. The large levels of yellow/orange inherent in the high pressure lamp ensures the plants gets lots of energy through photosynthesis for vigorous growth and high yields. Some customers still prefer to switch to pure high pressure sodium for the latter part of flowering to help lose some colour or aesthetic or other reasons or just down to specific plant preferences.
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