More lights, higher they go?

jayjay777

Well-Known Member
I'm currently running, well vegging under 16kw. Getting ready to expand to 32 lights (32kw) which will be (2) 16kw rooms on flipbox. Sealed 5 ton AC in Each. Blah blah. Now my question here is....

How do guys get away with having lights so far away in commercial applications? I understand the concept but Is there a rule of thumb in the commercial world? I see someone with 32, 50 or 100 lights way up there and they do great. It also seems easier.

To sum it up, obviously they're doing something right. So when do/should you apply this concept?

Thanks guys,

All positive feedbacks appreciated

Peace love n respect

Jay

#projectnugsforthemasses
 

FamMan

Well-Known Member
I'm currently running, well vegging under 16kw. Getting ready to expand to 32 lights (32kw) which will be (2) 16kw rooms on flipbox. Sealed 5 ton AC in Each. Blah blah. Now my question here is....

How do guys get away with having lights so far away in commercial applications? I understand the concept but Is there a rule of thumb in the commercial world? I see someone with 32, 50 or 100 lights way up there and they do great. It also seems easier.

To sum it up, obviously they're doing something right. So when do/should you apply this concept?

Thanks guys,

All positive feedbacks appreciated

Peace love n respect

Jay

#projectnugsforthemasses
What kind of lights are u running?
 

mjinc

Well-Known Member
It's all about the overlap. There some Gavita projects floating around where they show the light intensity where multiple lights overlap. In the documentation of a 24 light room, with a spacing of 4ft between lights in 4 rows of 6 and the lights being about 4 ft above the highest point the canopy gets, they found the highest light intensity was between the 2nd and 3rd row right in the middle and then between the 1st and 2nd row, and 3rd and 4th rows.
My guess would be you start to see the benefits of higher lights when you have a minimum of two rows of lights of 3 to 4 lights per row.
 

jayjay777

Well-Known Member
1000w hid open wings

Makes sense when your footprint is wider. My setup is 2x8 in each room. I could flip the wall and make it 4x4 but all that wiring. Ugh.( Which leads to another question I'll end with) but I use to keep my lights as close as possible. Got bleached buds here n there. Stressed leaves. Not worth the hassle. But It makes bud production denser for sure but that's about it, i found 12-18" is perfect. I also read a thread here that too much light can cause stress, photo... Something. I dunno.

Now i don't mean to change the subject here n steal my own thread but I'm kinda a perfectionist so I like all my equipment ( ballasts, controllers & ect ) in a single spot on a wall but that's becoming harder to do. So it will be reaching a point when it just won't work. So the Question is,

When you guys have long runs of wire or lights far away, the last row/corner pocket. how do you manage the distance?

Do you cut and wirenut the extra length with 12/2 I'm assuming? If so, it should be done before the ballast?

I think moving the light controllers around and mounting on cieling is another option but I like to be able to dim easily.

What to do what to do....

Thanks guys

Jay
 

ANC

Well-Known Member
Think about this a little, For photosynthesis to happen you mainly need light + CO2. CO2 is a nutrient and the light is like the gas pedal.
The more light you supply, the more CO2 is required to keep up. (Planted aquariums is one of my hobbies, and there we have an even greater CO2 deficit).
The answer for both hobbies is, that once you introduce a certain amount of light, you need to artificially add more CO2 to the atmosphere unless you can cycle a crapload of fresh air.
I have seen many people say CO2 is no longer just optional when you start using 1kW lights.
 
Top