Menu Close

How many watts do you need for hydroponics?

How many watts do you need for hydroponics?

For high-light plants like tomatoes you will want to achieve around 40 watts per square foot for optimal growth and fruit production. For low light plants, and small leafy plants like herbs and lettuce, you will only need to achieve about 25 to 30 watts per square foot.

What wattage grow light for vegetables?

Most edible plants require at least 30 watts per square foot, but fruiting species (like tomatoes) generally won’t produce abundant high-quality crops without 40 to 50 watts per square foot. Wattage is always indicated on the bulb package.

Can HPS lights be used for veg?

In response to the general question, can you use an HPS bulb for veg, the answer is yes. Basically you can use just about any light out there for any stage of growth, the real question is how well do each bulb work for veg.

How far should a 400 watt HPS be from plants?

For 400W HPS, the best distance from seedlings is between 12 inches or 30.48 cm (closest) and 19 inches or 48.26 cm (furthest). What is this? 400W HPS grow lights are the most commonly used HPS grow bulbs. These lights can cover around 16 square feet and produce high yields.

What is the best wattage for grow lights?

Low light plants, such as herbs and lettuces require about 11-18 watts per square foot of grow space. However, this will vary with crop and preferred light levels….2. What is the size of your grow space?

Grow Space Wattage
6 sq ft (2×3) ~200
9 sq ft (3×3) ~300
12 sq ft (3×4) ~400
16 sq ft (4×4) ~500

Are LED lights good for hydroponics?

LED’s can be a great addition to hydroponics grow rooms. LED’s can help reduce energy bills for the period HID lamps are not required, and then plants can get the boost in growth that these HID blubs still manage to deliver.

Is 400 watt HPS good enough?

When it comes to bulbs, the most commonly used sizes are 400W, 600W and 1000W. As a general rule, 400w HPS bulbs are the most common, 600w HPS bulbs are the most efficient, and 1000w HPS bulbs are the most powerful (but also the hottest).

Is HPS better than LED?

LEDs are much the same. Though they’re generally more efficient than HPS (with some clocking 2.8 µmol/joule), some LEDs are less efficient than high-quality HPS fixtures, and they give you less light. All too often, the µmol/joule rating on HPS products states the lamp efficiency, not the actual product efficiency.

How far away should my 600 watt HPS be from my plants?

How close can I put my 400w or 600w HPS system to my plants? Taking all of the above into account you should place your HPS system between 12 & 18 inches away from your plant, this is the ideal position.

What wattage do I need to grow plants?

As a rule of thumb, aim for 20 to 40 watts per square foot. Divide the wattage of your bulb by 20 (such as 400 watts divided by 20 = 20), and then divide the wattage of your bulb by 40 (400 divided by 40 = 10).

How many hours of light does hydroponic lettuce need?

Hydroponic lettuce does not require a lot of lighting. 10 to 14 hours of light is enough. Full sunlight could make the leaves bitter. However, the light quality will affect red leaf varieties, and you may consider supplementary lighting.

How big should high pressure sodium grow lights be?

The distance you keep your high pressure sodium grow light away from the tops of your plants (no matter how big the plants actually are) will be determined by three or four things. They are… If you have a 400 watt light, keep it at least 12 inches away from your plant tops.

How many Watts Does a hydroponic light bulb use?

Bulb: The most popular wattage for hydroponic bulbs is between 400-600 Watts. Most hydro gardeners use High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lights. HID bulbs produce light by sending an arc of electricity between two electrodes that are encased in glass with a mixture of gas and metal salts.

Which is better 600 watt or 1000 watt grow lights?

The 600 watt lights produced half as much heat as my 1000 watt light, so the lights could be placed much closer to the plants without heat damage. Light looses its punch quickly as it moves away from the light source, indeed! In addition, not only were my friends using less electric for their lights, they were also using less air conditioning.

How many watts per square foot for low light plants?

For low light plants, and small leafy plants like herbs and lettuce, you will only need to achieve about 25 to 30 watts per square foot. When figuring your area don’t necessarily go by the actual size of the room.