Hydroponics Lighting

Everybody knows that all plants require natural light in which to grow. As plants that are grown in hydroponic conditions are grown in an artificial or controlled environment therefore providing them proper lighting is a necessity.

Fluorescent lighting was a preferred type of lighting as the heat discharge was low and plants require the light and not the heat. Research in different types of lighting that are required by plants that are grown indoors has come a long way and now there are HID lights that are used for hydroponic plant cultivation. HID stands for ‘high intensity discharge’ lighting. The light emitted from these lights is extremely bright and the power consumption is relatively low. The sodium based HID lights are preferred by people who are into hydroponics. The bluish glow that this particular type of light emits is said to be the most suitable for plant growth.

Different types of plants require different amount of light to flourish and have a healthy growth. Some require high intensity lights and some low. Like herbs require relatively less lighting then tomatoes. So making a choice of the lighting requirements is dependent on the plants that one intends to grow. As providing too little light or too much or uneven lights can cause a lot of damage to the plants. With lights one may need to use reflectors to provide even lighting to all the plants.

First of all what one needs to know what plants they will be growing. Secondly what type of lighting is best suited for the plants. The number of plants and the space that they are going to take up has also to be considered.

After these details have been worked out then the question of the lights can be tackled. Hydroponic grow lights are available in a large variety and it’s really a matter of choice. The better lighting provided the better the plants. Care must be given to ensuring that the lighting is evenly distributed over the plants and that lights have also to be switched off. There are moveable racks that are also available which keep moving the light over the plants which take care of the light distribution requirement. Remember that diffused lighting is preferred to intense light.

One can make their own home made grow light and there are instructions available on the net as to how this can be made. The instructions can be for a single or multiple lamps and with or without reflectors. Reflectors are almost always used as one does not want any light wasted and the maximum lighting is given to the plants.

It is not only the type of lighting but the distance at which they are placed is also important. Are the lights to be stationary or moving and what is a safe distance at which the lights should be placed?

Hydroponic compact fluorescent lighting is available as bulbs and as tubes. The bulb can be mounted in any bulb mounting however the tube lighting requires a special holder. Most tube lights that are manufactured specially for hydroponic grow lights have a high intensity reflector with the mounting so that the plants get the maximum light.

Lighting is extremely important for the plants as without proper lighting the plants will not flourish or grow. If the lighting is not adequate or not properly placed the plants are going to suffer. All hydroponic plants growing instructions give clear instructions about the lighting requirements. The lumens, type and distance are clearly spelt out. If one is growing plants using hydroponic methods and this on a large scale then one requires not only to have proper lighting but also to control them. That is turning on and turning of the lighting is important and one may use timers to do this.