Greenhouse lights

I'm going to install a high powered grow light in my green house.Can anyone advise?
Metal Halide v L E D I have a few months to make a decision but all advice greatly received to help me make up my mind.

 

I find two X four foot Growlux strip lights do as good a job as any.

Cheers, Tony.

 

Electricity to a greenhouse requires either to be installed by a qualified or have Building Regs approval, unless it's a temporary connection by using a plugged lead.

I've got a Mylar lined growbox with two T5 growlights in and it's covered externally in waterproof material so driving rain doesn't come through roof vents and wet them, plus all the plugs for the lights are contained within a proper waterproof splash proof box (together with the plugs for my electric propagators).

 

Have a brother who works for SWEB or that what they were called,so that's not a problem.
It's infomation I'm after regarding lights Metal Halide or LED.thanks again.

 

Thank you for your reply,I have been looking at those units on line and I'm edging tonight towards Metal halide lights either 400w or 600w.reason I'm think this was is because of the heat they give off,
I'm going to try and extend the growing season in the greenhouse and these lights should warm the GH,what do you think?

 

If you want to use grow lights to grow stuff in winter put it in the house, not the greenhouse. No problem with heating then, and any "waste heat" from the lighting contributes to the house (i.e. reduces, somewhat, the central heating fuel used).

I use a 600W Metal Halide to overwinter plants in my home office. LED and Tubes won't give you the canopy penetration, but they are very good for seedlings - you need to get the seedlings within an inch or two of the light, and the fact that they are cool means that this is possible. With Metal Halide the plants need to be a couple of feet away or they will burn!

I run mine overnight on Economy-7, and in the spring I move them into a grow-tunnel inside my conservatory. I still run them over night, and the light keeps the temperature comfortable above 10C even if the conservatory approaches 0C, but 10 minutes after the light goes off the temperature is the same as the conservatory. The plants then have the added benefit of natural light during the day.

This was my original thread about Metal Halide lights in Oct 2010. I was germinating some Canna seeds - they flowered that December and set seeds in January!
http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/grow-lights.1288/

This was what the Cannas looked like 8 weeks after sowing!

 

Just purchased a 600 w light for my greenhouse,should get my plants off to a good start.

 

Chilli and peppers.Sparks are coming around to sort my electric out,Brother said what I've done is not good enough( he's a sparky)
I'm going to start everything as early as possible.

 

For my greenhouse I installed three waterproof LED flood grow lights with the spectrum tuned for photosynthesis. They can be activated remotely from the house when needed, so I add a few hours on each end of the day to the photoperiod. As they swivel 180 degrees they can also be directed where they are needed the most. Total wattage is only 42 watts. I have 400 watt MH and HPS lights, but prefer to keep the power usage at a minimum. On days when it is overcast or raining I leave them on pretty much all day.

 

I'm not to concerned about the power use,can you tell me if I extend the day light hours a couple in the morning and a couple in the evening,will I be able to grow ok in the winter months as normal?thanks.
Forgot to add with a 600 hps

 

I doubt it. To grow "as normal" will probably need 12 - 16 hours of artificial light and temperatures of 10-20C - depends what you are growing of course Plants won't grow well if they have Heat without Light, or Light without Heat. They only need the amount of heat that they normally have to grow - but if it is Tomatoes, say, they will tick along at 10C, to grow and fruit they need a lot more. Lambs Lettuce will be fine at low temperatures, and fairly low light too.

A 600W device running 24/7 is 5256 kilowatt hours @ 15p per kwh that's about £788 p.a.

Assuming 16 hours per day Oct-Mar = 1752 kwh @ 15p =£262

Its not insignificant! (Well ... it probably is if you were to be growing a "high value crop" )

 

I can't even get to my greenhouse in the winter so I move the lights indoors and grow in the basement.