Red Lighting

Have any CFL growers experimented with the res colored CFL's? It's just a question that popped into my mind as I was browsing the lighting forum. I know that plants "sees" light in terms of kelvin and I don't know what the kelvin rating is on those colored bulbs. I'm gonna leave it at that for now and go do some research. Any and all input would be appreciated! Thank You!:jointsmile:

those kinds of lights dont put out the correct wavelengths. Much research has been done on proper wavelengths. In general, 6500k and 3000k are what we are after. The first is veg, the second for flowering. To fine tune the spectrum's, easily done with LED's now, people will install different bulbs with different wave lengths in an effort to best give the plant what it needs. The bulbs you are referring too are simply painted red. All that would accomplish is filter out certain wavelengths and not adding in ones that we are interested in.

Your on the right line of thinking here in that what you think you are seeing is not necessarily what is really there nor does it necessarily have anything to do with what a plant wants. Although you haven't actually done the research yet, in the end you will learn that you want to stick with the spectrum and the lumen output as your benchmarks. Heat is also a factor but this isn't rated so you will just have to get that info from other people who have used that particular bulb. Once you learn what to properly look for in a bulb you will easily be able to decipher all the technical jargon on the box as well as not be fooled by dubious claims about lumen output. Learning to look past all those marketing gimmicks about equivalent output, energy savings, and spectrum isn't easy but very rewarding when you get the right equipment and the plants love you for it.