SHINING A LIGHT ON REFLECTIVE MATERIALS
Creating abundance is one definition of
gardening, a slight of hand accomplishment that enlists the power of nature
to help make plants grow faster and
produce better yields. Bringing a garden
indoors sheds light on just how important illumination is to this process. Good
lighting is critical, and what seems so
natural and effortless outdoors can be
difficult to duplicate within four walls.
Providing supplemental lighting is
one of the first concerns of any indoor
gardener, whether that involves opening the drapes to shine some light on a
houseplant or setting up a large grow
tent that will house multiple mature
plants. Making lighting choices comes
from understanding how plants use
specific wavelengths of the light spectrum during different stages of growth
(PAR). It also helps to know how to
fully utilize the intensity of different
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Maximum Yield USA | June 2016
lighting technologies while minimizing
potential disadvantages like high energy
consumption and heat buildup.
Managing Light
Multiple factors contribute to the
development of an effective strategy
for good light management beyond
choosing a particular type of lighting technology. One good example is
the use of a reflector hood to divert
light that would otherwise be wasted
illuminating the ceiling. The hood
reflects light back down onto the plants
where it can increase light efficiency
by 40%, or even more if the patterns
of reflection overlap across multiple
fixtures and reflectors. Reflector hoods
aren’t the only options when taking
advantage of redirected light energy.
Light reflected from a number of locations, not just from one or a series of
“Multiple factors contribute
to the development of an
effective strategy for good
light management beyond
choosing a particular type of
light technology.”
overhead fixtures, helps approximate
the diffused lighting conditions of an
outdoor garden. It’s an over, under,
around and through approach to comprehensive, distributed illumination,
and one that can remediate problems
that arise when using focused light.
To get the best use of illumination,
indoor gardeners place lights directly
above plants and as close as possible