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    Choosing Lights for Your Grow Tent - Lamps Part 2

    In the previous article we looked at which lamp wattage is suitable for tents of different sizes. But which type of lamp should you choose? 

    The basic types of lamps include MH (metal halide) and HPS (High Pressure Sodium). The basic difference between these two lamps is the composition of the light spectrum they emit. 
    HQI-T250600HPS
    MH lamp on the left and HPS lamp on the right

    MH (Growth) - For growth, a light source with a higher proportion of blue light is suitable, which plants in the growth stage can use better - in this way the lamp imitates the light emitted in spring, when the plant is growing and there is still plenty of time before "winter". This light is best imitated by an MH lamp and is therefore always labelled as a growth lamp. Although it cannot emit the same amount of visible light as an HPS lamp (the figure given in lumens), it can still produce more suitable light for growth at the same power consumption than an HPS lamp with a higher proportion of visible spectrum and thus a higher lumen value. MH lamps are also characterised by a higher colour temperature, ranging between 4000K and 6000K, with values close to the 4000K limit being used more often for cultivation. 

    HPS (Flowering) - The plant can make much better use of the yellow-red part of the spectrum, which imitates summer weather and, together with the shortening of daylight, causes the plant to flower in order to ensure the survival of its species into the next growing season. HPS lamps best imitate this period and have a light spectrum composition adapted to it. An HPS lamp usually has a colour temperature (chromaticity) between 2000K and 3000K. 

    For comparison, an illustrative graph of the light spectrum of MH and HPS lamps 

    Comparing_metal_HPS_and_metal_halide_spectral_power

    In the previous article, I also promised you a tip on how to use the energy from the lamp to the maximum. The principle is very simple. If you use the most common 600W lamp, buy a 600W HPS lamp and a 400W MH lamp. Your plants are still small during growth and do not need as much light as they do during flowering. Save money and buy a weaker lamp, and save further on energy. 
    If you use a setup with a 400W HPS lamp, you can use a 250W MH lamp for growth, or conversely, with a 1000W HPS lamp you can use a 600MH lamp for growth.

    DO NOT FORGET that you will need a switchable ballast, which will allow you to use 2 different lamps so that you do not burn out the weaker lamp before you even start. More about ballasts can be found in our article what do I need a ballast for?

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