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Lighting technology hascome a long way since the times of the incandescent lamp and withseveral different types of lamps now available choosing the right lampto suit your indoor gardening needs can, at times be confusing.

Thereare other accessories to consider too like starters, timers, wiring etc. which can further confound the uninitiated. But while considering allthe paraphernalia, growers sometimes tend to neglect one extremelyimportant aspect of the lighting systems? ? ? reflectors.

Importance of ReflectorsTo get the best from their lighting system growers would do well to understand how reflectors work and howreflector design has evolved over the years with advances in lightingtechnology. Reflectors perform the very important function of gatheringthe light emitted by the lamp and then directing it as required.

Therefore, even though you may use the best lamps in the market, if youdon't use the right reflector most of the light produced by the lampmight be wasted. However, “tall crop” growers need not be concerned astheir crops can soak up all the light they need from just bare lampshanging down among the plants. “Short crop” (plants under one metertall) growers, need to carefully consider available reflector designs tochoose the one best suited to their needs. Reflectors come in different designs and not all designs havecomparable efficiencies. Some reflectors are many times as efficient asothers thanks to the technical improvements in reflector design andmanufacturing. One of the problems in the past was rooted in themisunderstanding of how H.

I. D. (High Intensity Discharge) lamps produce light. HID lamps give their strongest light from the sides ofthe lamps, quite unlike the typical incandescent bulb. Vertical mountreflectors, which were the first reflectors developed for HID lampsproved highly inefficient with only about 9% of the light reflected tothe plants.

The rest of the light output was completely wasted inilluminating the grow room walls. Developments in Reflector DesignLighting efficiency increased dramatically with the introduction ofthe horizontal reflector.

The sideways orientation of the lamp alsoincreased the direct light to the crop as also the horizontal reflectorwhich bounced more light to the crop. This arrangement seemed fine forsome time until the lamps startedburning out after only a few months.

Also there was always thepossibility of electrical shorts in the socket wiring associated withthis design.

The reflector design then underwent major modificationswith more open designs, incorporating vents, ducting even small exhaustfans. With the basic design features incorporated the attention turnedtoward the finding the material that would reflect light mostefficiently.

The specifications called for a surface that would reflectthe light and also distribute it evenly onto the crop without localizedheating and shadowing. Several years of research led to the developmentof a flat white surface that? ? ? coated with Titanium Oxide? ? ? fittedthe bill to a T.

It reflected 20% more light than the best glossy whitefinish.

It also did not produce the uneven glare that the mostreflective of glossy surfaces produce. With a unique method of applyingTitanium coating the surface reflectivity touched 95%, i. e. the surfacewas able to reflect 95% of the light incident on it to the crops. Thisreflected light in addition to the direct light from the lamp , boosted the overall lighting efficiency in the garden to near perfect levels. Benefits of Improved DesignGrowers were quick to realize that these new reflectors offered animportant benefit? ? ? they were no longer constrained to locate theirgrowing systems in inaccessible locations. With the old style reflectorsthat allowed most of the light to fall on the walls growers tried toredirect some of this wasted light by covering the walls with Mylar orother reflective materials. But this resulted in gardens being movedinto corners to take advantage of the reflective wall coverings creatingproblems with poor air movement, heat build up and inaccessible plants. All that changed with the new reflectors- light was now directed ontothe garden, no light wastage on the walls meant no need for reflectivewalls and no need to locate the grow area in cramped spaces. Accessible locations for the gardens improved air movement eliminatedthe problem of heat build-ups and promoted more growth friendlyconditions in the garden. A free-standing garden with easy, unhinderedcould now allow easy access for inspection and carrying out other choresthat help plant growth.

It also discourages unwanted intruders likepests and bugs.

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