315W CMH L.E.C Digital Light

Feature

Specification

Digital Ballast : 315W

Lamp: 315W CMH lamp

240V Australian Plug

Description

The Benefits of CMH Lights

The money you save on your power bill is the No. 1 perk of switching to CMH grow lights. Although the initial cost of the system is more expensive than other HID systems on the market, CMH systems will save you money in the long run. Some jurisdictions even recognize them as energy-efficient lighting systems and offer incentives to offset the initial cost.

Some suppliers claim one 315W CMH is equivalent to one 1,000W HPS lamp in terms of yields. Others have reported that you need two 315W CMH lamps to produce the same yields as a 1,000W HPS. The varying reports probably have to do with other elements in the garden and the gardener’s skill level, and the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. In any case, the general consensus is that your yield per watt is greater with ceramic metal halides, and you will be spending much less on electricity to power your lights.

These lights also have a low heat output because of their low wattage. One watt from a grow light creates about 4 British Thermal Units (BTUs) of heat that need to be cooled. Let’s say you have a small room with four 1,000W HPS grow lights. Your four lights alone create 16,000 BTUs of heat that need cooling. If you trade those lights in for four 630W fixtures, which will match, if not exceed, your current yields, you will only create 10,000 BTUs of heat. Your air conditioner won’t have to run as often, and you’ll see savings on your power bill. The low heat output of CMHs make them an ideal choice for small grow spaces, such as closets and grow tents.

Another benefit is that with the ballasts required to run them, you won’t have to deal with the electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues many growers experience with digital ballasts. High levels of EMI from digital ballasts are known to interfere with cellphone service, radio, Wi-Fi and cable television, and the Federal Communications Commission hands out citations to people who violate EMI emission standards.

One final advantage ceramic metal halides bring to the table is their superior light quality compared to other HID lamps, which is due to a few factors. First, they have a wider spectrum than other HID lamps—a result of the near-perfect, unique combination of salts, halides and gases used in the arc tube.

This mixture creates a spectrum close to that of the sun and emits a stunning, crisp, white light. In fact, the color rendering index (CRI) for ceramic lamps ranges from 90-92. To give you some perspective, the sun’s CRI is 100. HPS lamps range from 20-30, and metal halides range from 60-65. The closer the CRI is to 100, the closer the spectrum is to that of the sun.

In terms of light quality, ceramics include ultraviolet and infrared rays in their spectrum, which plants love. The higher amounts of UV rays create stronger, woodier stalks. This means the growth and vigor of your plants will be unmatched, especially in the vegetative stage. Due to the incredible growth CMHs produce, growers have reported great success when using silica supplements with these lights.

Silica helps with cell division and creates stronger cell walls, which makes the leaves, stalks and branches significantly stronger and better able to withstand the weight of the fruits. As an added bonus, pests don’t like woody stalks because they are too hard to chew on. Compare it to eating a tender, juicy steak as opposed to eating an overcooked, dry steak. Which do you prefer?

Finally, CMH ballasts use square-wave technology. When you look at the graph on the back of the box your bulb is packaged in, notice the high peaks and low dips. The peaks are an indicator of energy pushing out of the bulb. The low dips indicate light trying to travel to the next peak. You can see this with your own eyes when you take photos and videos of your growroom. With most HID lights, you’ll see bands of light on your photos.

The bands of light are the peaks in the graph, and the spaces between them indicate the dips. With square-wave technology, there are fewer dips. A steadier beam of light is produced, which means your plants receive more light over their lives.