HPS lamp (high pressure sodium lamp) has been a confident leader in the hemp lighting system market for decades. Although other technologies exist, they are unlikely to change their position. In this article, we will carefully study the differences between different types of lamps and try to make comments on their expectations.

So what is HPS, led?

HPS lamps emit light by passing high-pressure pulsed energy through a sealed quartz tube filled with sodium vapor and some other elements, such as xenon and mercury. When heated, the gas begins to glow. Sodium gives off a strong orange and yellowish light. Xenon and mercury can be used to change the spectrum. Xenon and mercury emit in the blue range of the visible spectrum, making the light whiter.

Light emitting diode (LED) lamps are semiconductors that allow current to pass almost unimpeded in one direction but provide very strong resistance in the other direction (through the "PN junction"). On one side of the junction, the material is processed to receive additional electrons, and on the other side, on the contrary, the material without enough electrons is processed. By applying a voltage, we force electrons to move through the junction to fill the "gap" on the other side. This results in luminescence, the color of which depends on the material used. Gallium, aluminum, zinc and silicon phosphides and nitrides are most commonly used here.

Photoelectric efficiency

The efficiency of a lamp can be expressed by a simple formula: the total light energy of the lamp (lumen) divided by its total energy consumption (watt). The minimum power of DNAT is 90 LM / W, although for some brands, this figure reaches 150 LM / W or even higher. More and more growth lamps are also evaluated in par (photosynthetic active radiation), which is measured in µ mol / S (photons per second per 1m2 of plant block surface).

µ mol / S is an increasingly popular metric for growth lamps because it measures the amount of light reaching plants rather than what the human eye sees.

The most efficient HPS lamp to date produces about 150 lumens per square meter. Thus, for example, the GE Lucalox 600W lamp produces 90000 initial lumens ("initial lumens" indicates the radiation intensity in the first 100 hours), while the best 600W lumatek lamp produces 92000. Although it has not been done before, for new models, HPS starts to display and par indicator. For example, the output of lumatek 600W is 1030 µ mol / s.

For LED plant lamps, LM / W is considered to have less' voice 'than par. This is because the LM / W of red and blue lamps is usually much lower because they produce the most important frequency of photosynthesis and the production of "inefficient" light is minimized.

However, newer led plant lights use multiple frequencies to create richer, more efficient and more complete spectra, which are considered beneficial to plant growth, and usually include discrete white LEDs as well as red and purple. These newer panels sometimes express efficiency in LM / W. Well known manufacturers shall indicate par as a minimum. For example, the 410W full spectrum panel (budmaster II 675 God) of budmaster, a British company, indicates par values at different distances from the lamp (the longer the distance, the lower the par, because fewer photons will irradiate the plant surface). At 31cm, the par of the lamp just exceeds 2000 µ mol / s.

spectrum

Although progress has not prevented the development of HPS technology, it is believed that these lamps only show a faint natural sunlight appearance compared with more modern lighting systems. If xenon and mercury are not added, the sodium itself will glow red and yellow. However, a new "full spectrum" lamp has emerged, which actually has two arcs, that is, they are a mixture of DNAT and dri. Therefore, for example, hortilux super blue HPS / MH combines 600W HPS and 400W DRI to provide 110000 initial lumens and simulate the spectrum as close to nature as possible.

At present, led plant lamps may be the best in terms of spectrum, because the most advanced models can provide up to 11 frequencies, which is crucial for the development of the factory. For example, pantotec glmx720 720W led plant lamp is equivalent to 1000W HPS and provides 11 frequencies - from ultraviolet to infrared.