The basic choice you have when you're in the market for a physical light meter. Apogee devices on the other hand act as the de-facto industry standard and are priced at around $500 upwards. The Hydrofarm device is relatively cheap at $200 but also not as accurate as other quantum sensors. There are mainly a few widely used light meters such as the Hydrofarm and Apogee Quantum Sensors. Using a lux meter is therefore a practice to avoid, as it can result in completely wrong results when it comes to plants.įinding an accurate PAR light meter at a low price point is almost impossible. However, as you know, measuring illuminance (Lux/fc) is not what we need to take care of our plants.
There are cheap (and dangerously inaccurate) physical lux meters available starting at around $15. So keep this in mind when tinkering with light meters for your plant lighting. Gauging the light correctly is crucial and an inaccurate light meter can be extremely dangerous. Some plants are more fragile than others, however, whenever artificial lighting is involved, using the grow light not as optimally not only hurts your plants but your wallet as well. A Word of CautionĪ plant’s lighting is such an important and decisive factor between a plant that thrives and a plant that dies off. If you want a deeper explanation of Illuminance and PAR, we recommend our article on exactly that. The PAR spectrum contains the light that is actually used for plant photosynthesis.
As for plants, the important factor to measure is PPFD within the PAR spectrum.
Illuminance is measured in Lux or foot-candles, which has been developed to accurately represent brightness as perceived by the human eye. There are different measures of light such as Lux, Lumen, Foot-Candles, PPF, PPFD, and more. What to Measureįortunately enough, you can spare yourself the trial and error as plant lighting requirements are well understood by plant scientist across the world today. This lays the basis to optimize the lighting to achieve the biggest yields whilst also keeping your electricity bill at a minimum. As our eyes aren’t able to gauge lighting conditions correctly, a light meter is used to actually measure the amount of light our plants receive.
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