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Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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Posted by mark_nova 7a (My Page) on Sun, Dec 14, 08 at 0:20
| I'm looking for recommendations for good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs. They're actually for me, not the plants! (I have MH for them.) Eye fatigue is a problem for me, and I notice that bright indirect light from windows helps out. So I'd like to experiment and replace my regular bulbs with bulbs replicating the sun's spectrum--I figure the best bulbs for this would be full-spectrum grow-light bulbs! Any recommendations? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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| i have day light cfl in my light fixtures at home. they are more of a daylight color than the normal amber colored lights. they also nock money of the electric bill. |
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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Since fluorescent office lighting really bothers my eyes, I'd prefer to just switch incandescent grow light bulbs for my regular incandescent bulbs. Here are the only two I've found so far:
AgroSun DayGro http://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=1526
Philips Agro Incandescent Grow lights http://www.lightbulbmarket.com/product/274867
Anyone have any knowledge on how these compare? |
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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| mark_nova, I too have complaints about much lighting. I have never bothered to diagnosis it. I recently discovered GE "kinky" (compact) fluorescents that screw into regular light fixtures. They are labeled 6500K and are quite white. Some are quite small and fit into almost any incandescent fixture. Moderately priced at WalMart, not the cheapest. I find them much more comfortable than several other lighting alternatives. |
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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Thanks for the feedback Albert! Whenever I re-check my glasses I ask about this unusual amount of fatigue I get from office fluorescent lighting when no windows are present, but I never get any good feedback--or even taken seriously. Frustrating. Seems like an area where there should be some research. So I'm not sure what aspect of the lighting is bothersome.
I ordered some LED lightbulbs in the 6,000-7,000 spectrum range from ledwholesalers.com. We'll see how bright they are--a bit expensive for ordering a lot of them, though, so I wanted to look at incandescents as well. |
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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| There is no such thing as a "good full spectrum incandescent". First there are no good incandescents and second there are no full spectrum incandescents. There are a couple types of incandescents that have a slightly improved spectrum, but this is achieved by filtering out some of the red/infra-red. Fluorescents have a spiky spectrum so even if they have good specs they are not as effective. You should get electronic ballasts if you use fluorescents. For human vision, I recommend the Philips 25 watt PAR bulb that is ceramic metal halide. |
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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| Thanks, lermer, is this the Philips 25 watt PAR bulb that you are referring to? Another question: do fluorescent fixtures typically come with other (not electric, perhaps magnetic) types of ballasts? |
Here is a link that might be useful: 25 Watt Philips MasterColor PAR38 Metal Halide Flood - Integrated Ballast
RE: Good full-spectrum incandescent bulbs
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| Hmm...that previous one didn't mention 'ceramic', but this link does. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Philips MasterColor Integrated 25 Watt 3000K PAR38 Ceramic Metal Halide Lamp, Medium Base, Wide Flood
PDF file
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| OK, that last link looks like it. For everyone's information, here is a PDF file from the Philips web site describing the lamps, and showing a 'Spectral Power Distribution' chart. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Philips MasterColorIntegrated 25W PAR38 Ceramic Metal Halide Lamps
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