How to setup your grow light for maximum yield | Make a PAR chart with your phone or lux meter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ค. 2021
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Lux meter to PAR meter hack: • LUX meter to PAR meter...
Smartphone PAR meter App test and calibration: • Par APP test and compa...
Using this simple and cheap method you can calculate the optimum hanging height for any grow light in any space without expensive tools or specialist equipment. We will show you how to use a free PAR meter App on your phone or a cheap lux meter to measure the PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation, the light that causes photosynthesis and growth) across the grow canopy. We show you how to map out the PAR intensity across your grow area at different heights, calculate the Average PAR for each height and the uniformity (how well the light is spread).
The first step is to hang the grow light at the height the manufacturer recommends or where you think it is probably the best setting taking care of the following:
Run the light for 30 minutes to warm it up.
Level the light fixture
Adjust to maximum power setting
Then you create a 'target surface' to take the measurements. You can use the bottom of the grow tent or a piece of board to simulate the plant canopy and setup as follows:
Use a dark surface which does not reflect much light so you do not get false readings from reflected light
Divide the area into squares - I suggest 15cm or 6" squares (you can go smaller for more accuracy or larger but it will be less accurate)
The next step is to use a lux meter or PAR meter to measure the intensity in each square and make a chart with the numbers in each square (Using a spreadsheet is ideal).
Find out how to calibrate a cheap Amazon Lux meter to a PAR meter here: • LUX meter to PAR meter...
Or use the an iPhone and the IOS app, Photone for accurate PAR readings, link here: • Par APP test and compa...
This is your first PAR or LUX chart, congratulations!!
You can then calculate the average light intensity or PAR (if you use the lux meter calibration or Photone App)
Then take the readings again with the light lower and higher for comparison. This is trial and error but I would suggest lowering and raising in the same increments i.e. 10cm or 5" each time. Take one lower than your first reading and two higher. You will then be able to compare the average and total light intensity reaching the plant canopy and also determine the most uniform or even spread (please note this example did not have reflective walls on the nearest side and the light intensity is lower, this was to enable filming of the process).
You can clearly see the total amount of light increases as the fixture is lowered. The increase in lowering just 10cm or 5" is nearly 10%!! This would equate to a yield increase of 10% also. However lowering too much will result in hot spots (readings over 1,000 µmols/m²/sec) and less even coverage, particularly in the corners.
By taking a reading of the power consumed by the light fixture you can also calculate the efficiency of the setup. First calculate the total PAR by multiplying the average PAR x the area in sq. meters. Then divide the total par by the power consumed to get the total efficacy of the lighting setup.
Using this method you can now map out the light spread for any light in any space and optimise the setup by adjusting the grow light to the perfect height.
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This channel is gold.
Thank you
Of one of the most important and most thorough descriptive performance on par Readings ive seen.Thankyou.
DIY grow light using store-bought bulbs, DIY PAR meter using cheap lux meter, setup your grow area using all the DIY methods mentioned.... You are a God walking among us, mere mortals.
TheVansar ❤😊💚👌🏾
You are the man!! Thank you so much for the amazing info as always!!!
My stoned ass tryin to follow these calculations lol. Awesome vid! Will be rewatching.
Lmao, long story short just move your cheap Lux meter around to see what hight and positions are good for your area.
Lol I feel ya.
But its actually more simple than it sounds.
all your videos are full of info. they are all great . thank you so much . cant wait to try your lights . im hearing great things for them too. you deserve it
Thank you Shane. Always giving great info.
Thanks Shane. Those aray 2's performed fantastically. 240w grew four huge plants, and with 3 weeks of the UVB..... the strength of the fruit was noticeably stronger.
Much appreciated, I bought a cheapish Lux meter but never used it. Now is the time.
My uvb light arriving today 🥳🥳🥳. Another great video Shane, keep it up 👍
i have a hlg 135 v2 based on your recommendation, and have just recieved a Ts1000 i will be comparing it against in a micro 2x2. i hope next to try your Aray 2 set up in the same set up but have been very happy with your advice so far, and have had good result's.
thnx for doing these videos! setting up my 1st grow n this helps so much
Awesome video Shane... very informative!!
This is absolutely brilliant. I have been building my own LED lights for the last few years. I design my own circuit boards and have them printed on aluminum. This allows me to use the LED's I want and build them as flexible as I want. I actually just finished building a 600+ watt fixture that uses highly efficient Cree 5 watt LED's (2.66 PPF per watt). I can go from 200ish PPF for seedlings to 2000+ PPF for providing supplemental light in a large area like a greenhouse. In a much smaller package when compare to other LED fixtures in the same wattage group.
The method he shows is exactly how I test my lights. However, I use the Apogee Quantum ePAR sensor to do the testing. I personally believe any serious grower should invest in a good PAR meter.
I also wanted to say. The Migro lights in this video use Samsung LED's. Samsung make some of the best Horticulture LED's on the market. In my opinion they are second to Cree but not by much. As long as a manufacturer is using one of the top three brands of LED's you can't go wrong. Remember the names Cree, Samsung and Osram / Osram Oslon.
Dang bro! You are a great teacher! Thank you for your videos
Received the Aray 2 pro and very impressed. Thanks
Thanks Shane, looking well mate!
In the eighties I grew 12 plants for 100 days using 2×2ft white fluorescent tubes and 2×2 UV fluorescent grow tubes with soil using the Dutch soil hydroponic technology watering from the bottom in a container. Seaweed to help the roots with the excess heat 100+f ( 35'C ) every day. Small desk fan, all in a cupboard with walls painted white. Total cost in 1987 $70.
Harvest was 120 grams every 100 days. Proof of how little light plants need and you don't need to spend heaps. I used this setup for 10 year's. Now I'm using cheap worklights on tripods and it's working. 95 watts of LED lights growing 6 plants in soil.
Another awesome video cheers Shane
Talk about a sweet Array?
Looks like there's nothing there, not even the 2 raincoats? Ha ha. Love it!
I don't think it gets more hi tech than this.
Thanks always Shane and MG!
I have a Aray 8 Pro red an This info is golden, just what I was looking for. Thanks for posting Shane.
Thanks for your great reviews and coll channel, link here: th-cam.com/channels/XDJtdvSj1_dQHSFdOVRokA.html
Yet another superb video
Thank you so much
Love the shirt, very smart pun.
Thank you so much for all you hard work, and great advice. I'm looking at a light called colofrog on Amazon but I can't find any information on it. Have you heard of these? Are they any good? Thank you!
What are your reflective walls made out of? Thanks!
Growing, details, and engineering all my favourite things brilliant channel mate. Listen I loved the interviews with Bruce bugbee and the Prof, any chance you could get Bruce back on for another chat? with really good sound this time mate love your channel mate I even watch the ads so you get paid thanks again mate I'm really enjoying it.
Look him up hes got heaps of his own videos.
Thanks very useful videos like these
Tnx for video Shane.
Hey Shane, are you using the Luxx setting or the FC setting?
Great info. But curious. You speak ppfd but the chart says par. .. ? And what meter then do you reccomend for hps and mh lights?
Have you tried tent buddy for Android?
Hi Shane
Why are you not doing hps info
Hight, light intensity,and all the other info you know helping us get the parcel from the post
Can i get those arays here in Argentina? I have a 180cm x 80cm x 180cm tall how many of these you recomend?
amazing!
thenk you men, you are the best:)))
Would never have thought to get a PAR meter. Then I had some problems with some burnt tips on my seedlings. After watching your videos I purchased one and found I was running them too high for that pheno. Thanks Shane
Glad to help
I always enjoy your informative videos. Another more rigorous method for looking a variation in light intensity under the light is by calculations the standard deviation of the values (many calculators can do this or use a spreadsheet program). The standard deviation divided by the mean is the coefficient of variation. When multiplied by 100 it yields the percent variation of the mean value. Example: if your mean par is 300 and the std deviation is 30, then the coefficient of variation is 0.1 or 10%. It provides more accurate information on variation since it uses all data, not just the max and minimum values.
Thanks for info, interesting but really the plant will tell you how far you can set it...
Sometimes they cannot take the max set and need to be dimer...
Great video as usual. Does it apply to the older cob lights line 100+ or the readings would be less accurate compared to the aray?
I think it would be nice if you keep them "alive", at least as a term of comparison in your charts while great lights even if from an elder generation.
Hi, yes the 100+ has a 'white LED' spectrum and readings will be accurate if you use that conversion :)
What do you even grow? I grow pot, run my lights (2 viparspectra p1500 in a 4x4) at 18" throughout all stages of growth and grow plants that's produce huge colas in all areas of the tent. Cheers.
Great information , my light fits my tent perfectly only 3" to the wall , I keep my light at the top never moves , my plants are on an elevator type setup so I only move them up and down , my canopy is always perfect even though some plants are 2' some are 4 ' , it works for me !
@michael king Ok , I made mine with those white food grade pails threaded rod a little plywood and a few other little things , nuts washers , it would take a long time to go through it all so basically reinforce the lid , put heavy weight in the pail , drill hole in lid , attach rod to to plant base I used 3/4" rod , if you are handy at all you can do it easy I have about 18" of adjustment and I just spin it up or down depending on where I want it !
@@bruceholinight7978
I use 2 scissor jacks, 4 drawer slides and a cordless drill to raise/lower a 3x3 platform. With the jacks mounted one on top of the other i have about 28" of adjustment and 1 ton lifting capacity :)
@@GeoAeroponic That's awesome , I considered screw jacks but I already had all the material , but it's awesome to have an even canopy but just giving the base a spin , I mainline so my plants only grow about a foot in flower ! I even looked at desk chairs just take off the chair and there's a foot adjustment for raising but I'm sticking with this because it's worked for year's !
Είσαι τέλειος.
Pls test the sanlight Q serie
Thanks Shane for the great advice. I’ve just ordered a aray 8 and can’t wait to try it out ! Lots of people recommend starting out much higher with young plants, what height and power % are optimal for the seedling stage and the first few weeks ?
Ppfd .. for seedlings 🌱 and clones between 100-300 ppfd.
Also Example. 18300lux
× 0.0185
= 338.38ppfd... that's the mathematical conversion.
338.55 ,... my math was off but you get the idea 💡
Perfect thanks !! Bout to turn on 4 660wtt lights in a S.I.P sealed flower room and this will help big time . Great timing ! My pulse pro should be here in next few weeks so I will have SOME idea of par ..maybe not apogee accurate but close from what I've heard . Maybe you could compare the two readings ?? Respect & Blessings 💚🌱💚
I hadn't heard about the Puls Pro, looks good. I've asked them for one to test and review. Toys toys toys 🤓
@@MIGROLIGHT awesome sawz .. I am glad I mentioned it then . Thanks for your informative content Sir ! Kudos and 🍻 Respect & Blessings💚🌱💚💯
I'm planning on doing this with my new lights when they arrive but was wondering, if the measurements will be done in my tent, why would I use the black side of the tray insert up, instead of the reflective side up? Wouldn't using the reflective side up be more indicative of the actual light conditions during the grow? Does the light reflecting off of the bottom, not affect the conditions in a significant way? Thanks!
Ahhh! Well, I'll answer my own question as I actually just read the blog post and read that apparently, the light reflecting from below could cause false readings.
I just received a tasi light meter. We have orchids in an east northeast window and I added some led grow light. I just used the meter and with no lights on I am reading 1000 lux but when I switch on the led lights the lux drops to 400. Why?
I have the vipsrspectra xs2000 how would that compare to your 240w 4 array? I would assume your array would produce much less heat.
The ARAY 4 PRO would be about 30% more efficient so you would get around 30% reduction in heat output for the same APR intensity( in addition our drivers are located outside of the grow area contributing another 10% reduction in heat in the grow space)
How high should I hang my array 8 in a 4 by 4 tent? Your the best!!
Hi, 18cm or 8 inches minimum for best light efficiency.
Its great info, thank you for doing this! But Could you please change the microphone settings because I am listing to every swallow you have.
Dick
Couple of Questions from a novice. Is the hanging height from the top of the canopy or from the floor? Does the hanging height stay consistent throughout the whole grow? Do you simply adjust the light at the same rate of growth to keep it the same height?
top of canopy readjust as plants grow into light .try keep the optimal distance
Do you drink water?
Could you tell me if it’s ok to change lights 8 weeks into flower, would be going from 100 watt to 400. Thanks
Ill tell you that you can definitely change to add more power that far in. Your will be golden Just make sure you pay attention so you dont burn them. The higher wattage light will probably need to be further away then the lower one. But yes your plants want more power in flower anyways. Hope this answers your question! Happy growing
Yes it does, rolled the dice on the Phlizon CREE Cob Series 2000W, I needed more light but don’t have the budget,
I have zero room left to add another light but still want more. Imao! Im using 8xts1000w in a 6x6! Great results everytime
Please please please an App controlled with UV and spectrum Migro
Shane - i was just thinkin about the methodology we use to compare these lights. we hang at the recommended height and measure over an area. but the simulated canopy is nothing like a real canopy which can be quite vertical. as light intensity drops off with the cube of distance from the source (i think?) a less bright source hung closer will drop off faster than a brighter source hung higher. this seems like it might be an important factor that is not beign considered.
perhaps more testing could be done with +1, +2 and +3 foot hanging height. no need to do the whole area just a few spots to see the drop off curve.
This is why iam probably the only grower after 35 years that is still using HPS, there are so many companies & so many units, how the hell can some-one decide & dish out $500 to $1000+ for a light..
What happened to the efficiency that LEDs are suppose to have !? when LEDs were first introduced they were suppose to provide the same output as an HID but at half the watts..
A house light is 12 watts but has the output of a 100 watt Incandescent.. That is like 95% efficiency.. Now it seems like its the total opposite regarding grow lights, i just dont get it.
Happy Growing ❤🌱
Has anyone found the exact lux meter he is using on amazon? I haven't been able to find it so far
Its on aliexpress
details in the blog post here: www.migrolight.com/cheap-par-meter-hack-use-a-lux-meter-to-measure-par-accurately/
It's on ebay £13.99 if your in the uk
noice
How am I 1st?
Cant get app to work on my phone.
You need a iPhone in your life 💯🤷🏾♂️😆
7:15
My lux reading on my phone is 150000 to 200000! That can't be right lol
How to bleach a plant:
Set LEDS at 18cm from canopy right from the start!
100% you need CO2 at high level to be able to set those at 18cm from canopy!
I have seen many burned and sad looking plants because of 18cm...
Best for vegetative is 50cm on full
Once flowering 30cm is top for normal grow room and healthy plants!
I think you will find he is talking about the Migro Aray.
You need higher temps for CO2 in the first place. Also, it's not just about PAR, but the amout of hours (DLI). Try 2000 PAR for 3 hours. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.
@@sixmillionsilencedaccounts3517 so let's add that on top, you need to heat up your room and add CO2 generator to be able to set Migro Aray at 18cm and produce 3g per watt
Or be able to control intensity in burst, like a dimer controller every 3h?
😎4️⃣
Wow that's an awesome science project but don't you think people would benefit from simply explaining how much light a plant needs during different phases of its lifespan, such as a seed coming out of the medium, the first two weeks, the veg stage, beginning of flower, mid flower, end of flower. How close to the plants? What can and cannot be tolerated for example. My lights have a dimmer switch, can I hang lights 6 inches away if I turn them down? Should I have the light as high as I can get it? Nobody talks about that. Plants also grow into the lights. When should they be moved up? Do plants handle the light becoming more intense as they grow? If so, how much can the handle? Your channel is heavy on the technical aspect of par readings...but why? Theres zero practical aspect for a grower just wanting to learn about plants light needs.
Bars are spaced out far to much for equal spread as can be seen by the video.
yyyyyeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss
Shane, have you ever been checked for problems with excessive swallowing and mouth noises? Heavy breathing...lip smacking...
OOPS. I was reading the meter wrong.