• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Fifth Season Gardening

Curbside Pick Up, Nursery, Garden Center

  • Stores
  • About Us
  • Tips
  • Blog
  • Hemp
  • Wholesale
  • Hydroponics
  • Homebrew
  • Organic Gardening
  • Home & Garden
  • Shop

Indoor Grow Lights: Bringing Couches and Tomatoes Together Part Dos

November 12, 2010 by fifthseason 1 Comment

The T-5 Bulb: Friend of Plants and Wallets Everywhere

The first glance at a T5 fluorescent bulb will elicit snickers from the unaware. Eyes used to the bulkiness of a T8 or T12 fluorescent grow bulb will look at the slender T5 and ponder if the lighting industry has a cog loose.

You talking to me punk?

Ecologically speaking, Al Gore would pin a medal on the lithe grow light. It’s constructed with 40% less glass than the T8 as well as 30 % less phosphor. The T5 contains only 3 mg of mercury, which is 70% less than the T8. Landfills around the world will rejoice since this little fellow also gets more lamp life than the T8.

Small size defies with the T5. First off, its color spectrum works optimally for plant growth. Photosynthesis peak rates (435 nm and 680 nm) are virtually even with the spectral rates of the T5 (the blue spectrum bulb peaks at 435 nm and 615 nm). Seeds can begin their lives under the T5 sun and even graduate to full term growth without being subjected to other forms of light.

Heavier feeders like tomatoes may be slow going under the T5, although we have had success at our Asheville store with fruit developers like the jalapeno pepper plant.

Efficiently speaking, T5’s register an amazing amount of lumen output. Lumens are a form of light measurement. One lumen is equal to the light intensity emitted by one candle that sheds  on one square foot away from the candle. A 24 watt two foot T5 will emit 2,000 lumens, while a 54 watt four foot T5 will give out 5,000 lumens!

Pitcher Plant retains it carnivorous ways under the T5.

Gardeners need not worry about plant burn. Since the T5’s have little to no heat, a plant can virtually grow within several inches of the bulb without being fried. Light bills will remain under control and the initial costs of the bulbs (Individual Spectralux bulb range from $8.95 to $12.95) will keep the wallet’s belly from being emptied. Ballasts specific for holding  T5 bulbs (numbers range from holding two to twelve or more) can drive up the costs, but it’s still minimal compared to some of the bigger lighting systems.

Filed Under: Hydroponics Tagged With: Lumens, T5 Lighting

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. 4tube says

    November 24, 2019 at 10:46 am

    The grow pod itself looks pretty hi-tech and the packaging is modern and 100 per cent recycled. We liked the adjustable LED light, which can be switched on and off and features an inbuilt timer, the smart controller, which beeps when it needs watering, and the seed spacer covers, which clip on the top of the grow pods and space out the plants as they grow.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Latest Posts

  • Intro to Hydroponics Part IV: Maintaining Your System
  • How to build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor
  • 2020 in Plant Care Tips & Mistakes
  • Aging Beers
  • Fermenting for the Holidays: Basic Tools of the Trade & Easy DIY Holiday Gift Ideas

Archives

Search

Categories

  • Homebrew
  • Hydroponics
  • News
  • Organic Gardening
  • Uncategorized
  • Urban D.I.Y.

Footer

Quicklinks

  • Home
  • Buy A Gift Card
  • Brew-On-Premises
  • Wholesale
  • Employment

© Fifth Season Gardening, 2021
Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Site by The Splinter Group

Find a Store

  • Asheville
  • Carrboro
  • Charlottesville
  • Greensboro
  • Raleigh