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- Although we measure the PPFD in umol/m2/sec (micro moles of photons per square meter per second), we do not actually measure all the light in a square meter. It is equivalence to a square meter measurement. Same with a lumen/lux measurement- we are not necessarily making a true measurement in a square meter area but an equivalent measurement (one lumen is one lux per square meter). Any measurement made is only valid for that particular space being measured. - Source: Internet
- As you would probably guess, a lux meter measures “lux” (a measurement of “luminous flux” in an area). Roughly speaking, lux measures the amount of light visible to the human eye. However, some grow lights produce light in a part of the spectrum (infrared and ultraviolet) that can’t be seen by human eyes. A lux meter doesn’t count that non-visible light and would give a reading that is lower than the actual amount of light being produced that the plant can use. - Source: Internet
- The grow shown below was the first time I ever used a lux meter. For this grow I was using a 250W HPS light for the first time. I wasn’t familiar with how far to keep the light away from my plants. Luckily, I had a lux meter to give me definitive answers. I started testing light levels and how they vary with the position of the light distance and the plants. - Source: Internet
- To put it another way, with a lux meter a 460 nm LED can read about 50% higher than a 450 nm LED although they may put out the same light when measured by a quantum light meter. A 630 nm LED may read three times higher than a 660 nm LED with a lux meter but the same with a more appropriate quantum light meter. What do you actually have in your “blurple” red/blue dominate grow light? This is why a lux meter should never be used to try to get a lighting measurement from other than a white light source. - Source: Internet
- Well, there’s a solution – a lux meter! Lux meters measure brightness. “Lux” is the measure of how many lumens per square meter are being received at a point in space. Lumens is a measure of light. So, in other words, a lux meter can tell you the amount of light received at any specific point in your grow area. - Source: Internet
- If you’ve looked at our guide on lux levels, you already know a bit about how to measure illumination. When it comes to grow lights, HID and fluorescent lights are more ‘classic’ lighting technology, so they’re easier to measure. This guide shows you how to measure LED grow lights, so you can pick the best one for the best yields. - Source: Internet
- Here’s a few examples of light as measured in power by spectrum and how our eyes and a lux meter would perceive it. Here’s a 2700K CFL as a true spectrum and how a lux meter reads it. Notice how much the red/green (the middle and right spike) ratio changes. This is because our eyes and lux meters are much more green sensitive. This is a solar spectrum on a cloudy day and how our eyes/lux meter perceives it. - Source: Internet
- When using a light meter, it is typically best to use it with the sensor/meter pointing straight up rather than directly at the light source. That little white semi-sphere or flat piece of plastic you see with the light meter compensates for this (the cosine correction mentioned above). You can get very inaccurate off axis readings if your light meter is pointed at the light source. Let the little piece of white plastic do its job at cosine correction. - Source: Internet
- I do not really recommend handheld spectrometers for advanced horticulture light work since they are not very versatile (relatively speaking compared to a spectrometer with a fiber optic input) and most of the cheaper ones have a reduced resolution of only 15 nm or so. That’s not going to work for many botanical measurements particularly for red edge and chlorophyll fluorescence work. You also want a spectrometer with an integration time of at least a few minutes. - Source: Internet
- Quantum light meters and lux meters are basically worthless for far red lights and far red LEDs. For those you need a spectrometer, a far red sensitive spectral sensor, or something like an Apogee SQ-620 which is PAR and far red sensitive. Red/far red spectral sensors for microcontrollers start at about $25. - Source: Internet
- A lux meter must have cosine correction to make accurate measurements in most IRL measurements. Your phone likely does not have cosine correction and the white plastic over the sensor with a proper lux meter is the cosine correction. A phone app can not reliably correct for this error. Is your phone model reading going to read the same as another person’s model? - Source: Internet
- PAR meters cost more but present a more accurate reading of total Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) at the plants’ canopy. This includes light in the 400- to 700-nanometer range, more or less in the range of visible light, including blue and red. Plants typically use blue wavelengths for vegetative growth and red during flowering and fruit production. Whatever type of light you use—fluorescent, MH, CMH, or the newer adjustable, more efficient LED lights—having a more precise reading leads to more precise lighting, including supplemental illumination. - Source: Internet
- You want a lux meter with a remote sensor head so you can make proper measurements with the lux sensor itself facing straight up rather than necessarily at the light source to get a true cosine correct lighting level measurement. You need to be able to scan around accurately no matter the sensor orientation. These are also important reasons why we do not rely on a phone as a light meter for what we do in any horticulture lighting. - Source: Internet
- Good to know that UNI-T performs superior to the most built-in sensors we have tested. We are not partners with UNI-T. It’s just one of the best LUX meters with Bluetooth LE connection having a price tag lower than 20 bucks. Hard to beat that for a low-cost solution. - Source: Internet
- If you are going to drop a bunch of money then get a USB spectrometer with a fiber optic probe for about twice the price as handheld including NIST traceable calibration and a few probe heads (cosine and a narrow 2-3 degree lens). You should PM me before buying a spectrometer if thinking on going cheap so that I can further articulate why you should spend more money than you realize on this level of lab gear. Two popular spectrometer makers are Stellarnet and Ocean Optics - Source: Internet
- We offer the very best LED grow lights that the indoor horticulture industry has to offer. Only after extensive review and testing do we onboard new LED products into our stable. You’ll find only name brand LED grow lights when searching through our extensive list of LEDs. - Source: Internet
- A new type of meters/sensors out are the Apogee 340-1040 nm Extended Photon Flux Density (ePFD) and 380-750 nm Extended Photosynthetically Active Radiation (ePAR) series of meters/sensors that still reads flat across PAR. A significant advantage with these newer types of meters is the potential to use fairly cheap filters with them and turn the in to red/far red light meters or to maybe measure chlorophyll fluorescence and give us an idea of photosynthesis efficiency. The ePFD 340-1040 nm has the potential to be used with a with variety of filters (some types can get quite expensive) that could perhaps be used to measure in vivo leaf moisture content, for example. - Source: Internet
- Test Your Bulbs – You can use a lux meter to find out when you need to get new bulbs. Most grow lights with replaceable bulbs get weaker over time and need to be replaced every few grows (some more than others, for example LEDs can last for years). A lux meter can help you know exactly when it’s time to replace your bulbs. - Source: Internet
- One of the lower end meters I have, the cheaper Hydrofarm quantum light meter has a multi-channel spectral sensors. It’s 4 channel, 100 KHz I2C data protocol that transmits 3 times per second so readings bounce around. This meter also shuts off every two minutes, was made of really cheap plastic, the battery life was low, and the battery had to be replaced with USB power supply/volt regulator because it was about to rupture. Mine will read green 525 nm LEDs 50% too low. Do not buy this meter. - Source: Internet
- The range of light used by plants and the light spectrum visible to humans is surprisingly similar. You can buy expensive equipment to accurately measure light levels in the PAR range, but a lux meter is often enough for a hobbyist grower to get a good idea of how much light plants are getting. Just remember your measurements are an estimate and leave a little wiggle room for error. - Source: Internet
- Photone is by far the most accurate light meter app for plants and achieves industrial grade accuracy that easily compares to dedicated and very expensive quantum PAR sensors. You can learn more on how we achieve ±5% accuracy compared to research grade laboratory equipment and how to achieve maximum accuracy by yourself in our white paper: https://growlightmeter.com/whitepaper/ - Source: Internet
- Manufacturers always include wattage in their grow lights, but the other measurements vary. Some may include lux, lumens, PAR, PPFD, or any combination of them. Ideally, you’ll be able to see a couple different measurements to compare the light’s illumination. - Source: Internet
- Wattage does make a difference with either fluorescent or HID grow lights. However, it’s a little different than with LED lights. Watts still tell you how much power the light needs to work, and can also give you an indication of the heat they may give off. With that said, it’s still better to choose your lights by another measurement, like PAR, lux, lumens, or PPFD. - Source: Internet
- Note: There are expensive light meters which are more accurate for comparing light levels between different types of grow lights, but the lux meter we recommend on this page is a good starting point. Honestly, we haven’t had the need to get a more advanced model. Just remember that if your grow light produces a lot of Infrared or especially UV light (like LEC grow lights and some LEDs), your plants will receive more light than what is being measured on a lux meter. - Source: Internet
- You only use a lux meter with white light sources, not blurple lights, for absolute measurements. Use 70 lux = 1 uMol/m2/sec to get within 10% for most white LED grow lights, use 55 lux = 1 uMol/m2/sec for direct sunlight. A proper lux meter can be used with any visible light source for relative readings including blurple lights. - Source: Internet
- There are too many variables in asking how far away should my light be from a plant such as power output, light fixture geometry (e.g. COB vs quantum light board, how the COBs are laid out in the light fixture), light/LED beam angle, plant type, and how many hours per day the light is on, etc. Spend $20 and use a light meter instead of guessing. - Source: Internet
- These general numbers will get you within 10% of a true white lighting level reading for most white light sources. Many, many dozens of different LEDs were tested starting from 2011. These numbers are not valid for white lights with a CCT (correlated color temperature) of below 2700K or above 6500K (the K stands for degrees Kelvin, not the number one thousand). - Source: Internet
- The high end quantum light meters uses a silicon diode with a very expensive spectral response flattening curve made for silicon diodes and an expensive thin film optical band pass filter to only read 400-700 nm light evenly. That’s why there is a big price jump in meters prices like in the Apogee Sq-520. These meters also use a digital smoothing filter so the readings aren’t bouncing all over the place. If you’re serious about lighting you’ll get a full spectrum quantum light meter. - Source: Internet
- That’s a personal choice, but if you want to really optimize your yields, it’s a small investment for a big advantage. If you know all the specs about your lights, you may be able to get away with not using one. Either way, you can’t really measure LED grow lights without one. - Source: Internet
- Bigger Yields – Plants which get the right amount of light grow faster and produce bigger yields. A lux meter helps you find the “sweet spot” for your grow light where your plants get the highest amount of light without getting burned. It also helps you space out your plants and try different configurations with your light to maximize the amount of plant matter in the sweet spot. - Source: Internet
- Like any other monitoring tool you use for your hydroponic system, there are plenty of different choices. When it comes to measuring illumination, Lux and PAR meters are the most common. The good news is that either is fairly affordable, and does the job, depending on the measurements you’re interested in. You may even find a dual meter, although you can always convert your readings if you have a single measurement meter. - Source: Internet
- Lumen meters are inexpensive and great for determining the brightness of visible light reaching your plants. They don’t, however, take into account all the available light energy that may promote photosynthesis. That’s because they give more weight to yellow light over other wavelengths, and all wavelengths contribute to your plants in different ways. - Source: Internet
- The Photone app also contains useful guiding articles to help you get the most out of your plant lighting. In addition, you can find more informative and educational content on our blog: https://growlightmeter.com/blog/ - Source: Internet
- Your phone is an unreliable general purpose lux meter because it may or more likely may not have cosine correction (what the round white piece of plastic does in actual lux meters). It does not matter what app is used because this is a hardware limitation. I automatically discount claims based on a phone’s light intensity readings for this reason alone. It is very, very important that any phone, sensor, or meter used for a general purpose light readings has cosine correction (more on this below but it gets in to measurement angles and the angular response between the light meter and the light source). - Source: Internet
- I test four cheap Lux meters from Amazon to see if they can be used to measure PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) so you can use them to optimise your grow light setup. The measurements are compared to the benchmark quantum sensor for measuring PAR from Apogee which costs about $500. The results are surprisingly accurate. - Source: Internet
- As a strong warning on light meters, I have seen a person selling a homemade quantum light meter that has an amateurish 3D printed case (just no). For $650 I consider this a complete rip off in my opinion and the $550 professional Apogee MQ-500 is a better deal. I have some of the LCD displays used in the NukeHeads meter (I believe the cheap SSD1306 0.96 inch version) and they are not good for reading in full sunlight in my experience. - Source: Internet
- This is a quick overview. As mentioned above, a lux meter only gives you a rough estimate. Here is our complete tutorial on how far away to keep grow lights from plants. - Source: Internet
- As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. If a light that puts out 35,000 lux comes at a dirt cheap price, you might want to dig into some details. That isn’t to say you can’t get great grow lights at a fair price. Just be aware of imitation products from unscrupulous companies. - Source: Internet
- To receive an accurate PAR and thus DLI measurement, you need to select the correct light source that you are measuring. Some common light sources are already available for free while others may need to be purchased additionally. In this way, we are able to fund our development efforts and offer the most accurate light meter app out there without annoying ads. - Source: Internet
- Better Than Your Eyes – It can be difficult to just look at a space and know exactly which parts are getting the most light. We try our best, but a lux meter can show you small adjustments that make a big difference. Sometimes moving a plant or adjusting a grow light by a few inches can make a surprisingly big difference. - Source: Internet
- Do not use a cheap analog lux meter. I’ve tested one type and it was way off (the analog ones had impedance matching problems with the analog scale so were giving bad readings in brighter light). These cheap 3 in 1 light meters, pH meters, and moisture meters are worthless. - Source: Internet
- According to Bruce Bugbee, founder of Apogee Instruments and the Director of the Crop Physiology Laboratory at Utah State University, your light meter should never have more than a 5% error over 400-700 nm for academic purposes. A lux meter should keep you within 10% error for most white light sources as per my testing as long as a rough conversion value is known. $20 well spent and you’ll learn a lot about lighting. - Source: Internet
- Another meter I have, one of the Light Scouts, uses a special type of photodiode that coincidentally has a natural response curve that pretty close to the flat PAR curve we want. This means that the expensive filters do not have to be used and why you find quantum light meters that are under $500. But they do not work with 660 nm LEDs reliably (they have a sharp 650 nm cutoff) so they should never be used for pro/academic purposes. I used it for HPS and it was within 1% true. - Source: Internet
- Lux meters try to get this spectral response curve (the black curve) and typically use an inexpensive silicon photodiode with a particular filter that rolls off the red end. The photodiode naturally has a blue roll off and this, with economy of scale, allows pretty accurate meters to be made cheaply compared to quantum light meters. That filter is just a cheap greenish piece of plastic with this spectral response. - Source: Internet
- Only use a lux meter with white light sources, not “bluple” red/blue dominate grow lights unless you know the lux to PPFD in umol/m2/sec conversion factor. I absolutely do not recommend using lux meters for professional or academic use as a PAR (photosynthetic active radiation) meter unless verified with a calibrated full spectrum quantum light meter. A hobbyist who does not want to spend >$500 on a full spectrum quantum light meter should be using lux meters. Lumens and lux are not the same thing; lumens should be thought of as total light output (for example, a 100 watt incandescent light bulb puts out about 1600 lumens of light), and lux the light intensity at a point in space. - Source: Internet
- So, different people might have different definitions of what’s white. But the lower the CRI, the higher the y chromaticity coordinate which means more green light, and lux meters are more sensitive to green light, and that’s why CRI plays an important role in a lux to PPFD conversion value more so than color temperature which is more of a red to blue light ratio. This is top of the deeper reds at higher CRI that lux meters are not as sensitive to. - Source: Internet
- The conversion factor for blurple grow lights can be all over the place. For example, as measured with my own spectrometer, instead of 70 lux = 1 umol/m2/sec, a red 647nm LED was at a 10.3 conversion factor, and a red 620nm LED at 44. A blue 462nm LED measured in at 12.8. - Source: Internet
- It’s not only illumination measurements you should look at. You need to check for spacing charts too. Not all grow lights show these, but it’s very helpful when they do. Look for the intended grow area size, and recommended distance from plants. - Source: Internet
- Unlike the NukeHeads meter above, the MQ-500 can also be factory recalibrated, has a data logging feature, and a four year warranty. The Apogee SQ-520 is about $350 (that can also be used as a programmed stand alone data logger) and is the same sensor as the MQ-500 and the NukeHeads meter. Don’t pay more for less and never buy Ardruino based homemade lab gear. I will DIY my own lab gear but never buy other’s complete DIY lab gear. - Source: Internet
- For red/blue “blurple” lighting and for professional or academic use for all lighting, I recommend either the Apogee MQ-500 full spectrum quantum light meter or the Apogee SQ-520 full spectrum quantum light sensor. I use the SQ-520 since I may spend a lot of time with a light meter/sensor and don’t want to look at a tiny display. The only other light meter I can recommend that I also have some (but not much) hands on experience with are the LiCor light meters but they are very expensive. There are also - Source: Internet
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