Grow Light Penetration is WRONG

As far as trimming the bottom branches of cannabis off, I dont, what I do is defolate all the Biggest leaves to Open up the canopy to allow more light to get toward the bottom branches. I have noticed this does increase my yeild somewhat, on autoflowering plants anyway, I have never grown photoperiord plants yet. So basically I do exactly what you dont suggest doing lol

I am commenting right after the poll, just to throw in my thought on what Grow Light Penetration means. To me, it means that the leaves get light as far down the plant as Possible, so 100% Penetration would mean that the leaves on the very bottom of the plant get as much light as the leaves on the very top of the plant, As you go up the plant from the bottom, the penetration % drops, if the very middle of the plant from the bottom gets the same light as the top, that is 50%. If only the very top layer of leaves get light, that would be 0%.

The ppl making those comments havent taken the time to learn the difference between led and hps and why they are used differently.

How effective is Mylar?

Plants are great light filters …that’s how they work

Wot about the electric sky 180v3? With its linner lenses is there any extra light getting down there with them ? They kinda say it's really good performance for this stuff. Just a thought 💭

You have beautiful stands with plants in the background! But why didn't you paint them white? Why grey?

What are those plants you're growing at the 11th minute mark where you doing the par test

Hey Shane, will you ever make a in-depth review of your own light 5x5?

The website is down now

What if you lined the sides with mirror’s to bounce the light to the lower level?

The only way to increase “penetration” is defoliation

Fatsia is a good choice :)

I wish I could afford one😢 I've watched all the videos I listen to all the lectures I want one so bad... I do pretty good with cheap equipments all my money goes to medical bills but I would like to spend some time working with one of your lights

I now understand the capabilities of led lighting and its more than comparable,infact its better than hps. First time in 20yrs ive said that. Thanks for showing the 12,24,36inch comparisons. I now understand why your lights have the approx 830-850par average and the safety buffer you aim for when targeting the general market,who doesnt use co2. Hat off to you mate. Time to start saving up 😂

Do you have an E-par sensor Shane? It would be interesting to see how much 730nm gets thru a thick canopy as well don't you think?✌️

Light penetration .. the point at which solid buds turn to fluffy buds.. .. the more the penetration the lower this point is ... real buds vs fluffy buds..
leds are weak at penetration .. hids are very good... 1000 watts... did you know the girls love deep penetration ?

"Penetration" .. one of those fake marketing terms

Surely the plant can send energy to the lower branches from the top leaves. If not, then someone needs to have a word with them. They need to share 😅

I might destroying science by this but phone led flash lights gives 1000 ppfd in a 0,5 cm distance, but only 500 ppfd, in a 1 cm distance.

Great information. Watched a couple now and rapped in the quality and ease of understanding.

He use a less power full samsung diode but more of them, this and the layout of the light makes IT perfect for tents with tight space, and will blow the living crap out of the tent at right height.

I trim the bud sites below the canopy but I keep the fan leaves. The plant will decide when it no longer needs them. It also provides dump sites for excess nutrients and other waste they accidentally consume.

I let my plants tell me what they do and do not like, if the light is too close the plant will tell me.

Almost everything I know about led light and par, umols and other lighting issues I learned from this guy ,and by buying cheap shitty blurple lights , they work but damn .

Imagine el sol iluminando desde el amanecer en diferentes ángulos, el sol va cambiando de ángulo de la luz. En fotografía sucede lo mismo, usted debe colocar flashes 1 o 2 a 45° para iluminar un objeto y compensar la sombra. Estoy imaginando colocar luces de cultivo a 45° en lugar de colocarlas sobre la planta. Espero poder ayudar

Light penetration isn't really an issue with a leaf managed crop. If larger leaves are shading flower sites below then those leaves ought to be removed. A good growers saying is that you are growing flower buds, not leaves. This management regime allows for maximum light penetration at all times.

Maybe true for some. I pay 1/2 the rate you mentioned. HID systems components can be replaced individually, while LED can not. At current prices I feel HID makes sense for people like me.
I don't see many talking about total cost over a longer time period which includes replacements assumed to be at current pricing.

Use a fan that moves the branches and foliage around so light hits everything - use mirrors on all sides of the plant - and one on the floor under it - and bobs your auntie - right?

I still think a combo of cmh and hps yields way better. And quality is just as good. Idk I'm running top line led after running hid for years. I got no prob saying hid def has it in yield department. For me anyway

I hang my light as low as possible. People who do NOT have good coverage will hang the lights HIGH…possibly sign of cheap design (cheap narrow light beam). I need wide area coverage.

800 at leaf level but under the leaf it was in the 400's not 40 ? Anyhoo very informative as always.. 👍

I have a random question.
Once I've remove, the plastic cap, from light bulb can I change the spectrum by colouring in the LEDs with a red/blue sharpy 🙂

Are you sure about side lighting? as this is something I've always wanted to try as I would think there's always branches and buds that are underdeveloped because they don't have access to light, and if you open things up or bend them into the light suddenly they take off. I would think having sidelights would develop the layers under the top canopy more.

This was very educational, thank you Shane.

So much to learn. This should know every led gardener ."the stadium effect" I allways try to dispose my light like that. Placing on corners the spots and a square panel on the middle (with the panels I have)

Droppin a comment showin luv.

Thanks , these information is very helpful

Its intensity. The higher the intensity the better the penetration. Ive got a lower quality cheap bat wing style Chinese set up running old Sonny T's.. and old Power Plant Digis.. the silver ones.. and I get better penetration and intensity then if I run the best there is aka Gavite/Hi-Par.. woth the bumpy silver euro shades and "Japanese" Ballasts.. etc.

Would corner vertical lighting benefit or would it be a waste?

Thanks everyone I’m a new grower with a lot of questions you all help alot thank you all

Thank you for taking about your lights

yeah just try reading ppfd below the canopy, I think HPS penetrates deeper than led(more than one leaf), thats my understanding though maybe after giving the led's I think different....or have to splash out on side light(why else would people be selling them. Even though light falls off with the inverse sqr law, adding leaves into the mix is another story...but you say penetration doesnt happen, and that is the problem with led's

maybe one day scientists will answer why when growing under the sun the par is the same at the top of the plant as the bottom in an open canopy

Thanks for the video always will like watching yours as opposed to many other channels on lights Bruce bugby is a really cool one though. But I would love to get your opinion and maybe a full video on photo periodic control. Utilizing much less light duration while getting comparable and better results. I use 6 hours on and 18 hours off for my flower room and so far I'm really impressed with the yield for 6 hours. For vegetation I use 12 on 5 1/2 off one on five and a half off and same thing I get really good growth plans are always praying no matter what and I'm just curious why people don't push this light cycle further. I know longer light cycle means more use of water and nutrients and electricity and your time but is it necessary? And in my opinion I don't think so at all. Anyways thanks again and would love to hear back

Remember the phototron? I would like to know what you seriously think of the phototron or maybe an updated version of it with LEDs that has light all the way up and down

Shane you are spot on. To contribute... I think there were a lot of older growers in this industry that were saying LEDs did not have the same penetration as HID lighting. With older LEDs this may have been true in a way, but certainly not as we have seen here by your poll. Early LEDs did not have the green spectrum intact. With that, there was a diminished activity in the leaf structures due to only shallow tissue "penetration" occurring when the light hit the leaves. You illustrated this perfectly with one of your slides. Once the light package went to full spectrum, and then later with the addition of Far Red wavelengths, LEDs came into their own as a viable option vs. HID. As far as mechanical penetration goes shade is what it is. FACT - If an area is shaded from a light source the light intensity will be reduced in the shaded area regardless of what lighting type is used. Again... Having your multiple source light fixture (bar type lights vs. single quantum boards) means that light is available from multiple angles which minimizes shade areas. It is truly the best possible solution. Now what I would like to consider is it better to remove the blocked leaves off the bottom of the plant OR is it better to take off large leaves to let unblocked light down into the canopy..... Great Video!!

So could you use a 240 watt 3x3 19inch x19inch in a 2x2 tent and be ok or is it overkill?