Doctor Myers,
Can a 1000 watt light on a mover be as good as 2 1000 watt stationary lights in a 5 ft by 10 ft area
No.
You will have twice the illumination (and twice the cost to buy, use twice the electricity and have twice the heat output) with two lights. The idea behind a light mover is to get a little more grow area from a single light source, and the area you have might benefit from a light mover that moves the light along a track the 10 foot length. Without seeing your grow area I would guess that two lights might be too much for that area, depending on how you can handle the heat.
A light mover will increase the grow area, but the maximum rate of photosynthesis will only occur when the light is directly over the plants. The idea is that like a plant growing outdoors, some days are cloudy so plants won't die if they don't get the maximum amount of light. However, the real benefit to indoor growing is that EVERY day is full sun, and the grow medium is always moist, which would give you maximum growth and yield. Light movers can increase the grow area but you eventually get to a point where as the grow area increases, the yield per area, will decrease because the plants are not getting enough light to perform photosynthesis at the maximum rate....
If you are looking for maximum yield, and can deal with the heat and electricity usage, you will do better with two lights.
Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers
1 comment:
for what it's worth (coming from an indoor gardener with less than 2 years experience) - i fear the amount of heat a single 1000w bulb makes. my space is narrow in one dimension - 5 feet across - so i use 3 400w hps lights across the bigger dimension - 14 feet long - to spread more PAR watts where they count. these 3 lights create more heat than i ever thought would be possible. i now use a 12" high velocity vent fan because my old 8" high velocity vent fan did NOT do an adequate job of cooling. i fear the 1000w light heat
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