PhotonBlast™ LED Grow Light Fixture for Horticultural Lighting Installation

It's not clear, but is this product sold as two fixtures in one or one grow light fixture? One photograph shows two light fixtures in the gallery of images (second and third from the left). In addition, the other fixture does not appear to have a chain linked to it.

We can confirm that the PhotonBlast™ LED Grow Light Fixture product is indeed sold as one lighting fixture unit, rather than two. Each shipment of this product will also include the hanging hooks.

Can you confirm if two of these fixtures will be necessary for a shelf 48 inches wide? I am wondering if one fixture is enough if I am choosing to grow orchids like Paphiopedilum and Phalaenopsis that do not need high light levels like other more sun loving genera.

The answer may depend on the ideal lumen output required for the orchids which you have mentioned. For reference, one unit of the PhotonBlast™ LED Grow Light Fixture will have a lumen output of 4200.

Generally, one of our PhotonBlast fixtures is equivalent to approximately two 4-ft T5HO lamps (54 watts).
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One key difference, however, is that the PhotonBlast product features a 95 CRI, which indicates that it provides a much more complete spectrum than a traditional fluorescent T5HO lamp, and this may provide you with far better growth, even at the same brightness level.

I am still weighing what would work since you sell 4000K and 6500K. The trouble is that I do want to raise vegetable and flower seedlings later next year so I need to weigh my options.

Low-light orchids - 1200-2000 fc (12,900-21,500 lumens)

Medium-light orchids - 2000-3000 fc (21,500-32,300 lumens)

High-light orchids - 3000 fc. (32,300 lumens)

Orchid growers use a mix of two 6,500 Kelvin and 3,000 Kelvin bulbs in a 4-tube fixture and 4,000K bulbs would provide roughly the same type of light. I'm guessing that I need only one 4000 K bulb?

In almost all cases, mixing lamp colors is not an optimal situation, and is only done when a mid-point color option is not otherwise available. As such, I would not foresee any issues whatsoever with selecting a single color temperature for your installation.

The midpoint between 3000K and 6500K is approximately 4750K, so our 4000K would be a closer match for what you are looking for. In my experience, 4000K works well for microgreen seedling growth so I would imagine this would work well for orchid seedlings as well.

It's a bit difficult to comment on the footcandle and lumen values, as the two metrics refer to different things (illuminance and light output, respectively) and will depend on a variety of factors such as fixture orientation and distance from the plants. As mentioned in a prior email, we believe that each of the PhotonBlast fixtures can be thought of as a replacement for two T5HO lamps.

Your instructions for hanging the light fixtures (Photon LED) using the S chain are poorly written and unclear.

I have not been able to determine from the PR photos for the product how they were hung - the S hook is different in one picture from the other picture showing it hung from the shelving.

I've reviewed the product literature and have confirmed that the hanging hook chain used in the grow light shelving photos is indeed the same hook chain, but installed in a modified manner.
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Specifically, the hook is inserted into the other end of the hanging chain in order to create a loop. This loop is then used to suspend the fixture from the wire shelf shown in the photo. Below is an annotated photo.

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Horticultural lighting (grow lights, vertical farms, indoor growing)T8 LED tube lights

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