I am trying to decide if a T5 HO lighting scheme would work for a new greenhouse facility being built. In the past we have used a combo of MH and HPS but the energy efficiency and reduced bulb replacement cost of the T5 HO make it tempting. So, my question is:
What is the maximum distance an 8 lamp Tek T5 HO with mixed 3000 K and 6500 K lamps can be placed from the plants and still obtain a LUX of 22000?
Thanks for your help.
I have been trying to find this kind of info. for over a year now and even the manufacturer can't seem to come up with this info so for my own personal satisfaction I'm going to buy a meter for this purpose. This is the cheapest I could find with the correct type of measurement and not a bad investment(If it works correctly)if you want to keep your lighting at it's maximum output.
I have a TEK T5HO 4 lamp. Also have a meter to measure light but can only give you foot candles. With 2 lamps on and about 12 inches away from bulbs it's 700fc. Turn on additional two lights (total 4) and the output doubles to 1400fc. So I assume you get about 700fc for every two bulbs you add. Hope this helps.
It looks like you are going to get 5,000 lumens per bulb which translates into 5,000 lux if placed a foot away. Eight bulbs would give you 40,000 lux at that distance, if you move it two feet away you would have ~20,000 lux.
According to this site(below) 700fc converts to 7534.7 lux so you would be getting 3767 lux per bulb at 12". Eight bulbs would give you 30,138 lux at 12".
