Is a Plasma Growlight Ok in a Greenhouse?
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 1:06 am
I am going to start a green house soon I am going tp plant lots of plants in it and I also want to put a plasma growlight in. Is a plasma growlight good?
I have never used or even seen a plasma light, but what I read is that they are the newest, best thing, more energy efficient than even LED and the most full spectrum complete light. However, being new, they are also hideously expensive. If money is no object, sure go ahead. But you don't need them and plants will grow just fine (perhaps not as big and fast) under regular lighting for a much more reasonable price.
Tell us where you are and what you want to grow, it makes a big difference.
Personally, I've been gardening for many years without a greenhouse and think that for most non -commercial operations, they are an expensive toy, really only useful a few weeks in spring and a few weeks in fall. In winter in cold winter climates, it is prohibitively expensive / energy wasteful to try to heat a greenhouse, which is by definition not very well insulated. It can be done, with good planning, use of insulation where you can, and lots of thermal mass (things like 50 gallon drums of water painted black, that collect heat in the day and give it back at night). In cold climates that way will just (hopefully) keep it above freezing. To grow things like your venus fly trap, you would still need added heat. In summer, greenhouses aren't needed and are difficult to manage so that they don't cook your plants.
But plenty of people have greenhouses and swear by them, so that's just one old-school opinion.
Welcome to the Forum!