How does artificial light affect the growth of plants?
Plants rely on photosynthesis; UV light from the sun. It’s obvious natural sunlight is much better, but artificial lighting can contribute some things. The three most commonly available lights for the indoor gardener are incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen. The advantages and disadvantages of each of these are discussed below. Incandescent: These are the light bulbs we use in lamps and other lighting fixtures. Benefits: Low cost. Disadvantages: High heat output, poor light quality (for growth purposes), low efficiency in using electricity, and short life span. Fluorescent lights: Available as cool white or warm white bulbs. Benefits: Low cost, cool running, better balance of light, and longer life span. Disadvantages: Light intensity decreases from the middle of bulb to ends of bulb, may need to balance the available light spectrum by combining cool and warm light bulbs for flowering plants, and low efficiency in use of electricity. NOTE: Many fluorescent lights are now 25 or 34 wat
