The benefits of light movers are definitely something to consider. That’s because indoor grow lights can be brutal when it comes to the extra heat they produce. It’s a major grow equipment problem. And, that’s for most indoor growing systems. So, let’s look at the benefits of grow light movers. Especially let’s look at how our grow light movers make a difference with that grow lamp heat factor.

The benefits of light movers as that pertains to the heat in our indoor grow setup really happens in two distinct ways. First, let’s look at the indoor growing equipment heat that is more direct on the plant surfaces. That’s the type of heat we get from stationary indoor grow lights. And, it’s intense and never changing. Plus, it’s a damaging grow lamp heat that keeps yields low. Even cooler LED grow lights have intense focal zoned light overkill areas that are too much for plants when they are used as stationary LED grow lights. So, no matter the grow light, people have a tendency to overcompensate by lifting their grow lights.

At five feet above the canopy, we are at 50% PAR and Ppfd

BotunyUnlimited-GrowLightsystem_with_lightRail

The benefits of light movers can be seen in this photo from Botany Unlimited that shows each grow lamp fired in close to the canopy. We can see in their scalable, hydro grow kits, each grow lamp is moved on a LightRail light mover. It’s closer, more effective grow lamp coverage without the hot spots.

So, this is how that works. If grow lamps remain stationary, then the only way around this kind of grow room heat that damages the leaves is this. We are forced to position the indoor grow lights higher. But, when our grow light systems are positioned up high, our PAR numbers drop in a big way. The quality of the indoor grow lights is now fractional. At five feet above the canopy, we are at 50% of indoor plant light quality for our grow light systems. That’s Inverse Square Law  and it is a never changing constant.

When it comes to the power and strength of indoor plant light, Inverse Square Law states the grow lamp intensity diminishes the farther away it is. And sadly, that diminished grow lamp intensity is geometric for our grow light setup. That means it doesn’t just diminish at a steady rate, but diminishes geometrically. That’s why five feet above the canopy is a pathetic and lonely place for any indoor grow light to be positioned. Even at three feet above the canopy, grow light systems are much weaker in performance.

Let’s do this smarter

We have all seen ad copy from some grow light company or greenhouse website with those grow lamps high and to the ceiling. It’s a photography maneuver, maybe, to get those pesky grow lamps out of the way in the photo? We are thinking this because it has nothing to do with reality or with what works.  So, let’s do this smarter. Let’s just say no to the low expectations of multiple, high positioned, end to end and almost touching grow lamp setups.  That’s just in case anyone actually tries it that way. Instead, there’s a better way to keep the heat off the plant surfaces and still get the indoor plant light closer and performing.

Benefits of light movers include a much closer, more powerful light to more leaf area

This touches on the most well-known benefits of light movers. The significant benefits of light movers include having a much closer, more powerful indoor plant light. And, that indoor plant light gets right to the canopy for maximum PAR and Ppfd. That grow light system change keeps the heat off the plant surfaces. And, that’s simply because the indoor grow setup now has the grow lights moving. So, instead of the never-ending hot spots that we have with the stationary grow light setup, we now have this. The grow light system is now moving along the light mover rail. So, with the grow light mover, that powerful and useful grow light system is now closer. And, this is the case whether we use LightRail 3.5 Kits, LightRail 4.0 Kits or LightRail 4.20 Kits.

We are now duplicating the sun

This moving grow light setup is also now making contact with more of the leaves and at just the right amount of time. Hey, we have to mention it because this is important, too. This is called Leaf Area Index (LAI)  and the non-scientific explanation is that we are now duplicating the sun. By the way, plants love that. Instead of the heat from the grow lamps pounding down in a never changing, stationary way, it now moves along the light mover rail. So, all the leaves get equal light time.

The direct heat factor on each leaf area is now eliminated

Light Heat Map for growing plantsSo, yes, the benefits of light movers are more than simply allowing the grow lamps to get closer without the hot spots. Those benefits also include reduced shadows. And, that’s with more of the plant surfaces now working for the plant. Again, this grow equipment detail is just like nature and how the sun works. So, the direct heat factor on each leaf area is eliminated and that is one of the benefits of light movers. That, while getting maximum PAR which results in all those yield numbers we like. But, there is more general heat in the grow room to think about. And, that kind of heat can also adversely affect our outcome. So, the benefits of light movers address that kind of heat, as well.

Even a single 1,000 watt indoor grow light, MH or HPS or a double ended grow light, heats up a room

Grow lamps cause heat. And, with the exception of LEDs, that heat can cause grow room temperatures to soar. Note: Even though LED grow lights don’t throw off much heat, they are seriously powerful as they focus down. So, they absolutely need to move on grow light movers. That keeps the plants from getting zoned light overkill, which can absolutely happen with LEDs. But, LED grow lights won’t heat up the grow room and that’s an advantage. Even a single 1,000 watt indoor grow light, MH or HPS or double ended grow light will heat up a room.

A 4’x4′ space turns into a 4’x6′ space, as one example

So, our dilemma is this. We need our grow lamps to do what they do. But, we can do without the heat from our grow light systems. And, we can do without the high electrical usage of our grow lamps. That includes any a/c usage to try to undo some of this heat. So, here is another way light movers play in with our indoor grow setup, as a serious efficiency factor. LightRail light movers let us cover up to 50% more area. So, if our stationary indoor grow light footprint was a 4’x4’ area, as an example, that grow light system square turns into a 4’x6’ rectangle:  See Sample indoor grow setups. The grow light mover makes that possible. Indoor growing systems that use LightRail light movers simply cover more area per grow light.

Covering up to 50% more area for each grow light system will help keep the heat down

Actually, up to 50% more grow light system area for coverage is significant. So, up to 50% is a real savings and it makes LightRail light movers the single best grow light efficiency product on the market. Yes, light movers are more about getting the most out of our grow equipment. And, specifically more out of our grow lamps. But, we should know that we can also cover more area. Now is a good time to mention that, no, we cannot turn two grow lamps into one indoor grow light on a light mover rail. But, covering up to 50% more area for each grow light system will help keep the heat down. It’s the opposite of the grow light ad copy. The one with end to end, indoor growing systems that look like a sea of grow lamps. Real indoor growing systems that are efficient don’t look like that.

Hot spots are gone and overall heat is reduced

So, listing the benefits of light movers, those include a closer, better quality of indoor grow light. And, that indoor plant light reaches more of the leaves. And, this better quality of indoor grow light is keeping the heat off the plants by interacting with all those leaves. Plus, that grow light system interaction is at just the perfect amount of time for each leaf surface. There are no hot spots for our indoor grow setup. These grow equipment specifics make for faster growth along with yield numbers that are increased significantly. And to the overall heat, LightRail light movers make a difference there, as well.

Indoor grow lights produce heat and there is the reality. But, we can keep the heat off the plants directly. We can also keep the heat down along with the electrical usage. And, we can very specifically accomplish all of this by simply moving our grow light setup with LightRail light movers. Whether in a greenhouse or grow room, and whether for indoor farming or cannabis cultivation, LightRail light movers are the perfect solution. Even vertical farming benefits from moving quality grow light bars. And that’s with fewer LED light bars needed. In other words, in all grow room settings the best grow lights move and the best LEDs move.