Why buy fluorescent grow lights? 420 Guide for Cannabis Growers

The right kind of grow lights can make all the difference in how your plants perform. Using fluorescent garden lights to enhance plant growth allows you to grow a host of plants in an interior space. Standard indoor grow lights do little to influence photosynthesis, while using fluorescent lighting placed closely to the top of the plants can help drive this important plant process.

Fluorescent grow lights use long glass tube lights that you can use different spectrum bulbs in. These systems allow you to use a single light spectrum bulb in the fixture or mix and match different spectrum bulbs for marijuana grow lights.

The light spectrum produced by these bulbs is almost identical to natural sunlight. These grow lights work very well for seedlings and clones.

They supply the necessary lighting spectrum to the plants while maintaining a cool running temperature. Fluorescent lamps produce less lumen output than HID grow lights but can be placed closer to your plants for increased growth and better results.

Advantages of Fluorescent Grow Lights

• Very low heat emission, making them safe to place close to plants
• High energy efficiency
• Lower initial costs compared to other types of lighting systems
• Can be placed in different positions to ensure all parts of the plant have adequate lighting
• It is the best type of light for seedlings and clones, due to low radiated heat
• Can accelerate plant growth when used as under-lighting for outdoor plants or in greenhouses
• Fluorescent lights produce the right intensity of light for healthy stems and foliage
• They can produce sufficient energy for flowering (though this is not their strength)
• To reduce energy consumption, the fluorescent light can be used to supplement other types of grow lights

Fluorescent Growing Lights: CFL or T5 Tubes?

If you’ve got a very small garden, CFL bulbs (pictured at the beginning of the article) make the most sense.

If your garden is large enough to warrant a larger T5 tube fixture, go with that. And perhaps supplement the light with a few CFLs, especially for plants with high light requirements, like weed.

How much fluorescent light is enough?

When you’re installing fluorescent grow lights, you’ll need to measure coverage yourself using a light meter. There are hundreds of manufacturers of fluorescent lights and too many variables between the lights themselves and their installations to know what kind of coverage you’ll get until you line them up. Make sure your coverage is even and your plants are getting sufficient light.

A very general recommendation for light is 250+ PAR for mature crops. This can be measured with a PAR meter. 

Final Words

Thus, you may choose highly efficient T5 grow lights for lots of diverse purposes, including the growth of cannabis. You can use T5 setup not only for gardening but also for having lights at your office or home. Lots of people, who are trying to save energy, are choosing these lights. Whether you grow spices, veggies or fruits, T5 grow lights may be the right alternative. When you are installing the lights, you need to check the height or the point, where you need to mount the fixtures.