What Is HPS Grow Lighting?
High-Pressure sodium growth lighting or HPS grow lights are high-intensity discharge (HID) grow lighting that usually gives off an orange-like or reddish output. If you see an indoor grow light with this output, it's most likely using HPS grow lights.
You can also see this kind of grow lights being used in street lights and parking lots since this light system gives generous illumination, which is stronger than fluorescent lighting.
High-quality HPS lights are made specifically to use for growing plants and produce more light than the usual HPS lighting, but they can be also used for general lighting applications.
What Are The Benefits Of Using HPS Grow Lights?
When it comes to choosing which HPS light to get for your grow room, you have to consider how large the lamp can cover in lighting your grow area.
You can also see these grow lights used in street lights and parking lots since this light system gives generous illumination, which is stronger than fluorescent lighting.
High-quality HPS lights are made specifically for growing plants and produce more light than the usual HPS lighting, but they can also be used for general lighting applications.
What Are The Benefits Of Using HPS Grow Lights?
When choosing which HPS light to get for your grow room, you have to consider how large the lamp can cover in lighting your grow area.This will depend on the wattage that your HPS light has. Ideally, this is how you measure the HPS grow lamp's coverage:
- 150-watts - for tiny areas around 4 square feet in size. This is ideal for growing small plants such as herbs and lettuce.
- 250-watts - for areas around 9 square feet in size. This is ideal for use in small indoor gardens.
- 400-watts - this is the commonly used HPS light bulb, providing ample light for spaces around 16 square feet. This wattage is sufficient enough to produce high yields.
- 600-watts - this is considered the most efficient HPS grow light. This wattage is sufficient for areas around 36 square feet, and it gives off more light output per watt used.
- 1000-watts - this is the most potent kind of HPS bulb. It is strong enough for growing spaces measuring 49 square feet.
Where Can You Use HPS Grow Lights?
You can use your high-pressure sodium lights in grow tents, and large grow rooms, either in your homes or greenhouses. You will need to pair your HID lights with reflectors (which you can buy separately) and a compatible ballast.
When looking for the correct ballast, check for one with an ANSI code that matches your HPS grow light.
If you're thinking of switching between HPS and MH light bulbs, buy a system equipped with a ballast that can operate both types of bulbs.
How Is HPS Grow Lighting Good For Growing?
There are several reasons why using HPS grow lights can be the best choice for you as a grower.
HPS lights mimic natural light, which plants need for healthier growth and maximum yield. High-pressure sodium lights have the light spectrum that provides plants with lighting with the strength and wavelength closest to natural light from the sun. This ensures the best growth potential, especially at the flowering stage.
Paired with the correct ballast, HPS lights can give plants the optimal amounts of light for the best growth. It can sometimes provide better light than it would receive naturally.
An HPS light system is powerful and effective. Your grow lights will have a high potential for producing light. If you're using a 1000-watt HPS light bulb, you are guaranteed to get 130,000 lumens of light at 1150 photosynthetic photon flux density or PPFD.
Other light systems will have far less lumen output. This means that with energy-efficient HPS grow lights, and you can grow a wider range of plants than you would if you're going to use other types of grow lights.
Affordability is another plus when it comes to using an HPS light system. The bulbs themselves are priced reasonably, and you will not sacrifice quality for the price. If one or some of your bulbs die out, you can easily replace them and not have to shell out for a whole new light system.
Lastly, using HPS grow lights gives you lots of flexibility. You can take your pick among different types of reflectors to use with your lights. Regardless of whether you need lots of lights or enough for just a few plants, you will indeed find the HPS grow light with just the right broad-spectrum perfect for your needs.
How To Mount Your HPS Grow Lights Correctly
High-pressure sodium grows lighting gives off a lot of heat, so lamps with high wattages should be mounted far enough from your plants. You can mount your HPS grow lights anywhere from 6 to 34 inches away from your plants, depending on the kind of plants that you are growing.
You must do your homework about your plants to create the ideal growing conditions for them and to be able to use HID grow lights that will not burn them by light intensity. A ventilation system is also something you will probably need in your grow room.
How To Maximize Your Plants' Growing Potential By Using HPS Grow Lights
Many HPS grow lights are designed to be used together with metal halide (MH) lamps, but there are times that you can use your HPS lights on their own. You can find HPS grow lights with a higher blue light spectrum, which can benefit your plants' vegetative stage.
In this case, there's no need to use MH grow lights in your grow room. You can also forgo using MH lights if your grow area receives natural sunlight - the sunlight itself is the source of blue light.
You can maximize your HPS growth by using them with light rails and timers. Light rails will move your light fixtures slowly along your rows of plants, which will ensure that your plants will receive equal amounts of lighting.
Meanwhile, timers will help you keep your crop on a schedule and ensure that your lights will be turned on and off at fixed times every day.
To ensure that your plants get the full light they need in your grow room, you should replace your HPS grow lights every 10 to 14 months.
How Important Are Reflectors For Your HPS Grow Lights?
The light spectrum of certain bulbs and the required spectrum for your plants are important considerations when choosing the right to grow light for your plants. Fruiting and flowering plants work better with red and warmer lighting, which is most similar to sunlight during fall and winter.
For vegging plants, blue light is better since it best resembles the whiter light of the spring and summer seasons.
So if your plants are in the flowering stage, you should go for HPS grow lights because of their red-orange glow and warmer wavelengths.
If your plants are in the vegging stage, it's best to use MH grow lights because of their blue and white glow and cooler wavelengths.
Your plants will probably need both wavelengths to thrive, so you may use both HPS and MH grow lights. However, there are HPS bulbs that already have enough blue light in them to aid your young and vegging plants during their flowering stage.
How Important Is Light Coverage To Grow Plants?
You also need to consider the size of the area you need to light up to ensure the optimum growth of your plants. Many growers go for canopy coverage instead of covering the entire grow room. Canopy coverage is more particular about the light spread across the plants in your growing area to ensure successful growth.
To get the ideal to grow light footprint, you have to consider the size of your canopy. The layer of leaves at the top of your plants is the top canopy. It will depend on the number of plants you intend to grow and your desired size.
It would be best if you also thought about how high you want to install your grow lights. The higher you need to position your lights over the canopy, the wider the footprint it will produce. Keep in mind that the farther your light distance is, the weaker your plants' lights will get.
The minimum height requirement for most plants is 12 inches above them. It could increase to 24 to 36 inches depending on the type of plants you're growing and their current growth stage.
It would be best if you also kept in mind that your plants will get larger eventually, which means your canopy size will also increase.
It all comes down to finding a plant light with the right combination of intensity and footprint.
How To Choose The Best HPS Grow Light For Your Plants?
HPS grow lights are an excellent choice to ensure quality harvests, whether you have closet grows or bigger grow operations. The two most important things to remember are to make sure that your plants are receiving the right amount of lumens from your grow lights and the wavelengths that your plants need to thrive in your grow tent or grow room.
Also, you must invest in a good reflector to control the different aspects of lighting coming from your different bulbs.
Get The Best Deal On HPS Grow Lights at Canada Grow Supplies
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Trust that our prices are among the best in the market. We sweeten the deal further by giving you free shipping for Canada-wide orders over $199. Visit our online shop and find the best HPS grow lights for your plants at prices you can't beat.