Hey folks, for awhile now I've had the desire to put lights under the canopy in a SOG configuration. When I started to look at small, supplemental lights, I experienced a couple of odd realizations...
For one, many people lighting lower branches almost always use CFL's regardless of the main lights normally used. I noticed that the thinking here was some light was a lot better than none.
Fine, great. But I thought to myself, "why not put some small HPS in there?"
Before I did any research, I knew there had to be a reason. I was not, after all, the first person in the history of growers to think of that. And, I found the issue...
It appears that when one looks at HPS lighting below 200w, and especially below 150w, they hit a wall. Literally. The only lights readily available at these wattages were wall mount direct wire stuff. And, they're expensive. Fuck around with clicking around and you can spend as much on a 50w HPS setup as a 400w one.
Another issue which I already assumed is that of additional power draw and heat. Even though I only use HID lighting, the CFL's were clearly shining through (couldn't resist) for this use. I thought that until I started finding unwired ballasts in 50, 75, 100, and 150 watt configurations. Many of them were cheap, less than $20.
Having a history in electronics (DC circuits primarily) I found that by perhaps swapping out the main film capacitor with a very low current alternative, it'd be possible to make for a low amperage, and low heat setup.
So I got a 150w unwired ballast off of ebay for $18, and I ordered the cap from my electronics supplier (Jameco) and wired it all up with the switched out cap.
Voila!
This draws <1.5 amps on a 120v line! Heat? Almost non-existent. You can put your hand <1/2" to the bulb before it starts to feel hot. Perhaps lower amp caps will make heat and draw even less, but I feel going below that will impact lumen output.
Bottom line; This is a great setup for supplemental lighting while adding minimal heat and power draw to your setup. And hey, you're giving those flowering plants the spectrum and intensity we all know they really want.
P.S. - The "wave" appearance in the photo I believe is a demonstration Young's Interference, and Quantum Physics phenomenon. Didn't expect to see that when I snapped the photo!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment
For one, many people lighting lower branches almost always use CFL's regardless of the main lights normally used. I noticed that the thinking here was some light was a lot better than none.
Fine, great. But I thought to myself, "why not put some small HPS in there?"
Before I did any research, I knew there had to be a reason. I was not, after all, the first person in the history of growers to think of that. And, I found the issue...
It appears that when one looks at HPS lighting below 200w, and especially below 150w, they hit a wall. Literally. The only lights readily available at these wattages were wall mount direct wire stuff. And, they're expensive. Fuck around with clicking around and you can spend as much on a 50w HPS setup as a 400w one.
Another issue which I already assumed is that of additional power draw and heat. Even though I only use HID lighting, the CFL's were clearly shining through (couldn't resist) for this use. I thought that until I started finding unwired ballasts in 50, 75, 100, and 150 watt configurations. Many of them were cheap, less than $20.
Having a history in electronics (DC circuits primarily) I found that by perhaps swapping out the main film capacitor with a very low current alternative, it'd be possible to make for a low amperage, and low heat setup.
So I got a 150w unwired ballast off of ebay for $18, and I ordered the cap from my electronics supplier (Jameco) and wired it all up with the switched out cap.
Voila!
This draws <1.5 amps on a 120v line! Heat? Almost non-existent. You can put your hand <1/2" to the bulb before it starts to feel hot. Perhaps lower amp caps will make heat and draw even less, but I feel going below that will impact lumen output.
Bottom line; This is a great setup for supplemental lighting while adding minimal heat and power draw to your setup. And hey, you're giving those flowering plants the spectrum and intensity we all know they really want.
P.S. - The "wave" appearance in the photo I believe is a demonstration Young's Interference, and Quantum Physics phenomenon. Didn't expect to see that when I snapped the photo!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment
