Well, you're not going to like this answer, but: I decide whether or not I've got bright/moderate/low light according to whether or not I can successfully grow bright/moderate/low light plants there.

If you tell us how big the window is and which direction it faces, we could probably make some educated guesses.

I have a link I think would be useful to you I tried, but iVillage won't let me post it & your user page has no e-mail addy for you. Contact me off forum if interested.

Al

The window is 240 degrees south-south east and 4 feet wide by 2.6 feet high located in the middle of the room. There is also a door on the same wall with a window 2.75 inches tall by 2 feet wide. The room gets a decent amount of light but I'd like to know precisely how much. I will update my profile to include a link. Thanks guys.

M

Sorry. I was kind of waiting for someone else. Um. this was kind of all I could find that even sort of addresses the question, and it's for regular cameras, not digitals. As a best guess, I would say that the area dead-center in front of the window probably gets 300-500 fc when the sun is brightest, and that should remain fairly steady until you get to about 6 inches from the end of the window, where it probably starts to drop off pretty rapidly. Light intensity drops off more slowly as you back away from the window. The plant stand probably has about 50-100 fc, if I'm visualizing the set-up right, which I doubt I am. This is assuming a pretty unobstructed view, white walls, no overhang, etc.

You might be able to find a camera second-hand that isn't, say, capable of taking pictures, but would still work as a light meter. Garden centers and camera stores are obvious places to look, too, if you really want exact numbers, but actual light meters will probably cost you. I think we sell one where I work, but I don't know how good it is, or how much it is, or even what it looks like (not something I've stopped to examine closely).

I was wondering how many fc a dining room chandelier could be? It can't be that much but on days like today, zero sun, it's all my plants will get. Beneficial to any degree?
M~ Let us know if you try that thing with the camera. It's interesting.

It depends on how bright the bulbs are. ;o) It won't be much help though. Light diminishes by the cube of the distance from the source. This means that light intensity 10 feet from a bulb is 1/1000 of what it is at the source.

Al

I agree. Again and again I've heard that the brightest light indoors is comparable to full shade outdoors, or nearly that. I wouldn't count on a chandelier to contribute much light at all. Consider that the bulbs in a chandelier are usually pointed upwards as well.

M