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Light table
Orchid plants have nicely shaped and colored flowers. Orchid growing as a hobby is becoming increasingly popular. Orchids are not difficult to grow, provided one takes some basic guide lines into account.
IN ADDITION, an extensive chapter on this web site about fertilizer mixtures comprising a number of assisting ingredients and agents, can be reached by clicking: Fertilizer
| BASIC ORCHID CARE discussed in 20 interactive chapters, a photo gallery with more than 7,000 interactive full screen orchid photos, and orchid classification system on: MöhltiMedia's Orchid cd rom. |
The column 'Eff. (%)' denotes the fraction of consumed electrical power that is converted into light output. The rest (100% - Eff(%)) of the consumed electrical power is converted into heat. So, even the 'best' lamps convert more than 70% of their electrical input power into heat!
The column 'Equiv. Power (Watts)' denotes the number of electrical lamp Watts (concentrated in one point) required to simulate a light output intensity of 2,000 foot-candles (=20,000 lumens/m2) at a position 3 feet (=1 meter) from that lamp; it is assumed that the lamps are equipped with a reflector, bundling the light output into a quarter surface area of a sphere (=6'x6', or 1.7 meter x 1.7 meter at a distance of 3', or 1 meter, from the bundled light source). The amount of 2,000 foot-candles is an average intensity needed for orchid growth.
The 'Equiv. Powers' of the Hg HID and Na HID lamps have been reduced by a factor 4-5 since most of their spectral output is in bluish or reddish colors instead of being spread out over all colors as is the case with sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent and MH HID lamps.
So, Hg HID and Na HID lamps are not only more efficient in terms of electrical to light conversion, but also much more efficient with respect to spectral output in relation to the colors orchids can absorp!
The column 'Oper. Costs' denotes the electrical operating costs to achieve the 2,000 foot-candles intensity at a distance of 1 meter from the light source, assuming a kiloWattHour price of $ 0.1 (=10 cents).
The last column 'Equiv. Time' denotes the number of operating hours after which it becomes cheaper to change incandescent lamps for that particular lamp, taking both the higher purchase price and reduced operating costs into account.
| LAMP TYPE | COLOR | POWER (Watts) | EFF. (Lum./ Watt) | EFF. (%) | PRICE ($'s) | Equiv. Power (Watts) | Oper Costs $'s/Hr. | Lamp Life (Hrs.) | Equiv. Time (Hrs) |
| Incand. | Yel./Red | 10-300 | 5-15 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 6,000 | 0.60 | 1,000 | n.a. |
| Halogen | Yel./Red | 10-500 | 5-15 | 1-3 | 3-10 | 5,000 | 0.50 | 1,000 | n.a. |
| Fluor. 'cool' | Blue | 10-60 | 50-80 | 10-15 | 1-3 | 1000 | 0.10 | 10,000 | 10's |
| Fluor. 'warm' | Blue/Red | 10-60 | 50-80 | 10-15 | 2-5 | 1000 | 0.10 | 10,000 | 10's |
| Hg HID | Blue | 250-600 | 50-70 | 10-15 | ~100 | 250* | 0.025 | 10,000 | 100's |
| MH HID | Blue/Red | 250-1,000 | 70-90 | 15-20 | ~100 | 750 | 0.075 | 10,000 | 100's |
| Na HID | Red | 250-1,000 | 120-180 | 24-36 | ~100 | 100* | 0.01 | 10,000 | 100's |
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End of orchid information
End of orchid information
