Ok so we all know that plants don't really see lumens so much and that par is what's important but after all the reading I've done and from my experience with CFLs I was wondering if lumens aren't more important . Now follow me for a minute and please do correct me if I'm wrong as I don't know everything about CFL lights but it seems to me that lumens in regards to CFLs is really the only way to gauge how much light you need and if that is so I want to know why people base their CFL light setup off lumens like why if plants don't really see lumens do we say we need 3-5k lumens per sqft. I also see that sum base it off watts as well is that a better way to gauge it? I guess what I've never seen explained is why lumens actually matter. I mean ofcourse I've read that the sun puts out like 10k lumens per sqft but if par is what's important why do lumens matter. I guess maybe I'm missing something. I'm just a little more curious then I should be sometimes I guess. I just always see people say you gotta have 3-5k lumens minimum per sqft and 150 watts per plant minimum but never why. Thanks for indulging my ramblings and take it easy.
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was wondering something about CFLs
- Thread starter Lexort420
- Start date
amanda88
Well-known member
Lumens or Lu even Lux is how we humans measure light, start with 1 candle = 1 foot, to give an indication of how 'bright' light in a given area is.
There are a bunch of guys who like to argue, that not all that light is available to the plants, but rather 2 segments of the available light is used by the plant( blue and red) tho this has been proved time and time again ..I prefer to let the plant decide what wave length to use, from the available kelvin range available in my lights.
Just like with air and soil temperatures, if the temp is not in range then the plant will fall dormant, so too with light, if not enough the plant will sleep, taking whatever is available to satisfy survival and life needs, hoping to catch up later in the growing area.
This can be seen by many growers using the wrong light, at the wrong time the plant needs, those who grow in cool whites(6500k) produce short squat plants, with very narrow internodes, others use warm whites(2700k) and produce the opposite stretched look. so have a mix.
If you want growth ...give the plant as much as you dare, then ease of a little, as its very difficult to give cannabis 'light burn'.
...good luck
There are a bunch of guys who like to argue, that not all that light is available to the plants, but rather 2 segments of the available light is used by the plant( blue and red) tho this has been proved time and time again ..I prefer to let the plant decide what wave length to use, from the available kelvin range available in my lights.
Just like with air and soil temperatures, if the temp is not in range then the plant will fall dormant, so too with light, if not enough the plant will sleep, taking whatever is available to satisfy survival and life needs, hoping to catch up later in the growing area.
This can be seen by many growers using the wrong light, at the wrong time the plant needs, those who grow in cool whites(6500k) produce short squat plants, with very narrow internodes, others use warm whites(2700k) and produce the opposite stretched look. so have a mix.
If you want growth ...give the plant as much as you dare, then ease of a little, as its very difficult to give cannabis 'light burn'.
...good luck
Lumens = What man sees with his eyes.
PAR = Photosyntheticaly Active Radiation
Two different ways to measure a lights quality for two distinct purposes.
Lumens are spoken of because there aren't very many grow specific bulbs sold at the local discount center.
PAR = Photosyntheticaly Active Radiation
Two different ways to measure a lights quality for two distinct purposes.
Lumens are spoken of because there aren't very many grow specific bulbs sold at the local discount center.
Well thank you both for stopping by. Amanda88 I don't mean any disrespect however I must say what you posted is pretty much the typical info I always run across time and time again and I understand that stuff just fine, I will say I get compact and tight growth from my 2700k cfls so I'm not entirely sure if I agree with the Kelvin thing but to each their own I always say. Mjpassion I suppose that makes sense as I have yet to be able to find information on what the PAR is for my cfls. Is the a way to calculate that or is it a individual thing where each brand is different on that. I guess I just want to understand things from my plants pov. I will say I have very little understanding of PAR but that is more due to I never see anyone really talking about it so I haven't had a real reason to look into it alot.
Its probably because over the decades people have been growing cannabis under artificial lighting, after lots of trial and error a formula for the most successful crops emerged. The rough guide on light/sq ft is a reflection shared experience.
IME CFL's work just fine for vegging plants but are impractical for flowering. The spiral CFL's at least.
IME CFL's work just fine for vegging plants but are impractical for flowering. The spiral CFL's at least.
JohnKimble
Member
Lumens means more photons of light. More photons, the plant can process more energy faster.
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