What Does Mercury Vapor Grow Lights Mean?
A mercury vapor lamp uses an electric arc that flows through vaporized mercury to create light. The mercury vapor lamp is considered to be highly energy efficient. It features luminous efficiencies of between 35 to 65 lumens/watts.
One of the most favored aspects of a mercury vapor lamp is its long lifespan. The light generally lasts 24,000 hours. It creates a clear, white light. Mercury vapor lamps are a favorite for use in large warehouses, grow rooms, or greenhouse settings.
Maximum Yield Explains Mercury Vapor Grow Lights
Despite their long life, mercury vapor lamps are not considered the best artificial lighting choice for growing certain crops because they are not as effective as other grow lights.
A mercury vapor lamp only produces a bluish-white light, whereas plants require a much broader spectrum. They also cannot be placed as close to plants as other lights such as fluorescent lighting. Because the lights cannot be placed in close proximity to the plants, the plants are unable to utilize the light as effectively as they can other grow light options such as plasma, induction, metal halides, high pressure sodiums, or LEDs.
Despite better grow light choices, mercury vapor lights still remain widely used in greenhouses and grow rooms because they are cheap to run compared to other artificial light sources. Depending on the needs of what they are growing, a grower can get away with running a majority of mercury vapor lamps.
