A 400-Watt metal halide grow light should be mounted at least 7 to 18 inches away from the tops of your plants and can light an area measuring 16 square feet. Compare; Find My Store. Also notice there is even a slight but significant absorption at the Infrared and UV levels. Metal Halides also produce more pure white light than the HPS lamps, closer to daylight frequencies making it especially useful for growing plants. Metal Halide Lamps - 250, 400, 600 & 1000 Watt Metal Halide Grow Lamps. Because of the nature of the processes that produce light within these lamps, they output significant heat into their immediate area. CMH grow lights also go by the name Ceramic Discharge Metal Halide (CDM), the lights use ceramic technology and they have the qualities of metal halide and HPS grow lights. HIGHER LUMEN OUTPUT = MORE PLANT GROWTH & HIGHER TOTAL YIELDS. Model #93101230. Usually they’re rated with a high lumen output of around 100 lm per watt, a lamp life of up to 20,000 hours and pretty decent degradation rates. Blue light is easily absorbed by chloroplasts in the cells and helps the plants generate more chlorophyll as well. Great for flowering and fruiting, but not so good for vegetative growth. This exclusive EYE HORTILUX Spectrum gives HORTILUX Metal Halide lamps a distinct edge over our competition, providing 30% better spectral maintenance than our competitors. I personally use 250w Hortilux Blue and 400w Hortilux Blue halide lights in my grow room. iPower 315 Watt CMH Grow Light Bulb (2017 Version) Ceramics Metal $54.99 New "EyeHortilux 901796 Daylight Metal Halide Lamps, 1000-watt, Blue" (5) HPS growers usually add MH lights into their gardens to supplement light in the blue spectrum and keep their flowering crops from stretching in the different plant growth stages. With the proper hanging height these reflectors can effectively cover a 2’x4’ all the way through a 4’x4’ grow area. Metal halides are a type of HID lamp widely regarded as one of the best grow light alternatives for growing greens. It is a type of high-intensity discharge (HID) gas discharge lamp. As a general rule of thumb, HID grow lights like Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS) are most suitable for relatively larger grows where there is at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) of height in the grow space, though it’s recommended to use a taller space for the best results.This is because MH/HPS lights have to be kept fairly far from the plants. Metal Halide Grow Lights: These lights are great for early-stage plants as they emit a cool blue shade of the visible spectrum which helps the plants grow in size and generate more leaves and develop more foliage in general. This means they’re great for making your plant produce dense and lush canopies with very little internodal spaces. They don’t have it all, though. Home » Metal Halide Grow Lights Explained and Reviewed. ★★ Top 5 Best-Selling CMH Grow Lights on Amazon, Hydro Crunch CMH o2-315 Rope Ceramic Metal Halide. FREE Shipping by Amazon. Eye Hortilux CMH 315 Grow Light System Ceramic Metal Halide LEC 120/240V 315 Watts. The most noticeable point is degradation time. They’re both great for what they do. Now we can understand why they’re so often seen in gardens, because their balanced spectrum is something plants love growing under. Metal halides have very low output in the red part of the spectrum, which is one of the dominant requirements of fruiting and flowering crops. Venture Lighting is the leader in metal halide technology, because they developed more than 80% of the metal halide lamp types in use today. Metal Halide lights are well-suited to the vegetative stage and tend to encourage plants to grow short and squat though they are less electrically efficient than HPS. This can already be seen in the plethora of LED grow light products in the market boasting their comparatively passive operation, which is usually not possible when running a metal halide-bulb. But in the real world, that perfect and affordable LED solution is still on the works. So if you’re interested in dimming for your metal-halide bulb, it’s simple: invest in the best electronic ballast you can find in order to keep your bulbs running healthy. In fact, touching a bulb that has been running for a long time can result in serious burns. A big advantage of LEDs over metal-halide grow lights is their significantly lower heat output. Traditionally gardeners would use the Metal Halide fixtures for vegetative growth and the High Pressure Sodium (HPS) fixtures for flowering. This means they’re great for making your plant produce dense and lush canopies with very little internodal spaces. Ceramic Metal Halide grow lights are basically a variation of MH grow lights with a little of HPS added into the mixture. High quality electronic ballasts can usually detect what kind of bulb they’re running and adjust accordingly. That’s theoretically. Here is the spectrum of an HPS grow light for comparison: Notice how most of the light from an HPS comes out as red, orange, yellow and green, with very little light in the blue part of the spectrum. We're always looking to improve our articles to help you become an even better gardener. I’ve put up this guide in order to help you learn about Metal Halide grow lights, how they work, their advantages, and their downsides. It provides bright white light, resulting in LUSH, COMPACT VEGETATIVE PLANT GROWTH! This grow lamp produces plants with extremely tight internodal spacing for nice compact, bushy plants. MH lights produce a blue spectrum, which promotes vegetative growth when the leaves, roots and stems are still developing. This is a summary of the most important information you’ll need when choosing a ballast for your metal-halide light. If a metal-halide bulb is underpowered, its light output will be bluish because of the evaporation of mercury alone. So that’s can be said that CMH is a mix between MH and HPS. HPS bulbs also tend to have slower degradation rates. Just like HPS and CMH bulbs, MH bulbs need a ballast to run. Sun System is a champion … Ages 21 And Older Only. Compare; Find My Store. Model# D940000901-KIT $ 392 85. The Metal Halide bulb is an excellent choice for plants growing VEGETATIVELY. HORTILUX Metal Halide out performs most grow lamps because of high initial light intensity and consistent output of the exclusive EYE HORTILUX spectrum. This is one of the advantages of Metal Halide HID versus other light sources, they actually output a broad spectrum of light that plants can use to grow healthy.​. MH grow lights are a very affordable addition to your garden. A metal halide lamp is an electrical lamp that produces light by an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides. Nowadays most high quality metal-halide bulbs are rated for universal positioning. Prism Lighting Science Ceramic Metal Halide : The Best and Most Versatile CMH Kits. Hi, I'm Kevin. Keep track of … Blue Spectrum Grow Lamps for Vegetative Growth. Luxx Lighting CMH 315w 120-270v Grow Light Fixture - Full Spectrum Bulb Included iPower GLBULBM1000X10 10-Pack 1,000 Watt Vegetative Metal Halide MH Conversion Grow Light Bulb Lamp High PAR Enhanced Blue and Violet Spectrums CCT 6,000K, 1000W, White. Here is more about our approach. Metal halides are usually screwed into a reflector or hood to create even more light for the plants. Limited time deal. Metal Halide grow lights have been in the market long enough to prove themselves as one of the favorite go to grow lights for growing plentiful, beautiful and nutritious green canopies. When Should You Use a Metal Halide Grow Light? Metal halides have come a long way, a few years ago they were not usually rated for universal positioning, you needed to carefully follow the manufacturer’s advice to decide how to hang your reflector and bulb. With that said, we’ve made it clear that CMH has a much better overall spectrum than MH, with higher red and white light overall outputs. I created Epic Gardening to help teach 10,000,000 people how to grow anything, no matter where they live in the world. Hydro Crunch 630-Watt CMH Ceramic Metal Halide Grow Light Fixture with Built-In Ballast System and 3100K Lamp. An important thing to take into account when choosing a ballast for your MH bulb, is that their color temperature will be affected by the characteristics of the electrical system powering the bulb and manufacturing variances in the bulb itself. $197.00$197.00 $218.99$218.99. for pricing and availability. MH bulbs are also very good at stopping stretching. This will prolong the bulb’s lifetime and color rendition. High pressure sodium grow lights produce up to 40% more lumens per watt than metal halide lights, and this then leads to much higher yields when marijuana is flowering. They’ve been around since the early 60’s and have been further developed for several applications like car headlamps, street lighting and our favorite: Growing lush greens! Protopia’s 1000W metal halide light is among one of the most preferred names when it comes to growers who want to grow commercial-grade weed. We’ve seen how metal-halide grow lights fit neatly into a spot in the market they greatly deserve. It’s worth noting is that these HID lights are usually very similarly priced. Like almost every HID bulb, Metal Halide bulbs come in many sizes. GE CMH20/TC/U/830/G8.5 Constant Color Metal Halide Replacement lamps T4.5 controlled by M156 Ballast Brand: General Electric Lamp type: High Intensity Discharge - Ceramic Metal Halide High Pressure Sodium bulbs on the other side are great when it comes to increasing your flower output and fruit growth. Remember…efficiency starts at your ballast, so make sure you choose the best you can get. We’ll compare them to other grow light alternatives such as HPS, Ceramic MH and LEDs to help you decide whether they’re a good addition to your garden as your main or supplemental light source. When I first started growing, I made the mistake of … The most commonly used sizes for indoor and supplemental lighting are 400, 600, 1000 watts. A CMH uses a ceramic arc tube similar to those used in HPS grow lights instead of the quartz used in traditional metal halide grow lights. If you want to learn more, you can check out our more detailed ballast guide by clicking here. Epic Gardening occasionally links to goods or services offered by vendors to help you find the best products to care for plants. Grow Co. 630w Ceramic Metal Halide is one of the most popular CMH lights in the market. Buy it Now But not anymore. A little more about me. Grower’s Choice 630NS Lighting Fixture. While you're here, why not follow us on Facebook and YouTube? Just like the HPS lights Metal Halide lights have the typical 150, 250, 400, 600 and 1000 Watt lamps but their lumen output is considerably lower than the HPS grow light bulbs. For example; many manufacturers offer a basic wing style reflector suitable for use with anything from a 250 watt Metal Halide to a 1000 watt HPS. For ease of use, It is recommended getting a ballast that is digital, dimmable, and supports both HPS and MH bulbs. Which is less than the 24,000 Hours that CMH are rated for. 80-in 2-Light Multiple Colors/Finishes 480-Watt LED LED Grow Light. CMH grow lights also run cooler, and produce a lot more PAR light when compared watt per watt. They are both good at what they’re used for. Metal Halide grow lights are best used for vegetative growth. Before we see and compare the spectrum of a Metal Halide HID, please look at the following chart: This is the average plant response spectrum chart by McCree. HPS lights are about twice as efficient in terms of power use as metal halide lights, so in other words, they run cooler and they cost you much less money to run as well. Simply make sure that they’re rated for universal positioning and then feel free to play with it until you find the best position to hang in your MH grow light. Hydro Crunch 315-Watt Ceramic Metal Halide CMH Enclosed Style Grow Light System (10) Model# CMH02-315-ROPE $ 146 82. Standard MH bulbs have a total lifetime of around 20,000 hours, but a quick degradation rate. LEDs also have a longer operation time without needing replacement. The inverse is true for an overpowered bulb, but this condition can be hazardous, leading possibly to an explosion because of overheating and overpressure. For example, a 400w MH bulb may output around 85 lumen per watt consumed, while 600w bulbs output around 100 lumen per watt. A metal-halide lamp is an electrical lamp that produces light by an electric arc through a gaseous mixture of vaporized mercury and metal halides (compounds of metals with bromine or iodine). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. More PAR on its bulbs than many other HPS grow lights, Great UV light for production of more resin and metabolic activity, The bulb deteriorates faster than other models in the market, The trade name is a trusted name in the industry, Comes with a long warranty of three years, Suitable for both vegetative and flowering stages, Compared to other lights, it is less durable. Plants need a light source that integrates the whole spectrum, not a mixture of red and blue as commonly thought of. Metal Halide (MH) MH lighting is one of the most popular choices for vegetative growth among indoor gardeners. They’re perfect for growing all kinds of greens like lettuce, spinach, peppers, tomatoes, flowering crops in the vegetative stage and many others. Listen to this post on the Epic Gardening Podcast, Subscribe to the Epic Gardening Podcast on iTunes or Spotify. Metal-halide bulbs are great for making your plant grow in the vegetative stages, with tight internodal spaces, and tick healthy leaves. - sezer66 / Shutterstock. Stretching happens for many different reasons, mainly because the plants are not receiving enough light or because they’re not receiving enough blue light. The HID lighting category includes metal halide (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS) lights. This allows the plant to produce large colorful fruits and flowers. First of all, remember that although similar, CMH and MH are not the same. TopoGrow 315W CMH CDM Grow Light Kit W/3100K Bulb& Horizontal Ballast 120V-240V&Enclosed Reflector... 315w CMH Grow Light Kit- LEC Ceramic Metal Halide High Performance Package - HID Wing Reflector,... Grow Co. 630W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH Fixture w/... VIVOSUN 315W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH/CDM Grow... VIVOSUN 315W Ceramic Metal Halide CMH Grow Light... TopoGrow 315W CMH CDM Grow Light Kit W/3100K Bulb&... Hydro Crunch CMH02-315-ROPE 315-Watt Ceramic Metal... Sun System LEC 315 120v Light Emitting Ceramic... 315w CMH Grow Light Kit- LEC Ceramic Metal Halide... Philips HGC901575 Master GreenPower Elite Agro... Best CFL Grow Lights for Growing Cannabis, Yueme 1500 Watt COB LED Grow Lights Reviews, Best Par Light Meter For Indoor Gardens Reviews, Dimgogo 3000w Full Spectrum LED Grow Light Review, 101 of Best HPS Grow Lights (High Pressure Sodium) Reviews, MARS HYDRO TS 3000W LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants 4x4 5x5 ft Commercial Grow Lighting Daisy Chain and Dimmable Full Spectrum Plant Growing Light IR Sunlike Led Grow Lamp for Greenhouse 1016pcs LEDs, SPIDER FARMER SF-2000 LED Grow Light 2x4 ft Coverage Compatible with Samsung LM301B Diodes & MeanWell Driver Dimmable Grow Lights Full Spectrum for Indoor Hydroponic Plants Veg Bloom 606pcs LEDs, King Plus 3000W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum for Greenhouse and Indoor Plant Veg and Flower (Dual-Chip 10w LEDs), King Plus UL Series 4000W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Plants Lights for Indoor Veg and Flower Growing Lamp(1240 Samsung LED Chips), HLG 550 V2 Rspec 500w 120 Volt- Horticulture Lighting Group Quantum Board LED Grow Light | ETL/UL Certified, Samsung LM301H, Inventronics Driver, 10 Best Soil for Growing Marijuana Indoor Reviews, How To Grow Weed Hydroponically For Beginners: A Step-By-Step Guide, Has better cri than many other products in the market, Reflector applications that allow the crops to get optimal light coverage, Its low frequency ballast is specifically designed for CMH bulb technology, The grow light is very bright and you require protection glasses because of the UV light, For those opting to use 120 volts, the light does not come with a 120v power cord, It has a slow restart, which is not a major problem for majority of the users, Reputable company, which many growers trust for quality and reliability, Ideal for vegetative and flowering stages, It is a modern version of the older VIVOSUN 315W CMH grow light, High quality Italian Vega aluminium material for more yields, Has low power consumption making it an energy efficiency lighting system, Good for both vegetative and flowering stages, Has a shorter lifespan compared to other lights in the market, Comes with an all in one construction making it more com-act than many other CMH lamps, Bulb hangs vertically which gives it a more light spread compared to horizontal bulbs, Has a 315W Phillips bulb that comes with 33,000 lumen, Comes with reflective material that allows the crops to get optimal output and an even light distribution, It is more expensive than other competing CMH bulbs, The bulb is from a reputable firm thus you can trust its quality and efficiency, Great for the flowering and vegetative stages. 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