Lighting for AV room

11 years ago

I have a spare bathroom I would love to make into a 'plant room'. My recent obsession with AVs has lead me to do a lot of research on them but with this lighting thing I am still confused.

The bathroom doesn't have any natural light but it is very bright with the bulbs it has now. It has a 4 light 'vanity' light (basically a panel with 4 CFL bulbs coming down) over the mirror. Right now it has 3 CFL bulbs in it, one 32w 2700k 1600 lumens, and another 28w 2700k, and another 13w. My plan would be to get two 23w 5000k daylight bulbs and replace the 13w, because from what I understand they need both low kelvin and high kelvin lights to grow and bloom. (Please correct me if I'm wrong)

My question basically comes down to this: would this be sufficient light to have a plant ROOM? I am still learning about lighting, spectrums, intensity, lumens, kelvin, etc. The plants would sit at the most 2 to 2 1/2 feet away from the lights.

Is this plan feasible? Or should I just scrap this idea all together? The bathroom isn't used at all and I just thought this would be a fun project.

Any advice/help/suggestions would be most appreciated.

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Comments (5)

fortyseven_gw
11 years ago
Hi, Others will advise you on the light. The plants love the warmth and humidity and thrive on that aspect of being in a bathroom if it is used for showering and bathing. I had a spare bathroom with similar type of vanity lighting that I did not replace. They were not strong enough to promote blooms. But sounds like you will make the necessary adjustments. J
loveofbostons
11 years ago
ZeroXstaticlife- I grow mine under daylight CFL. My lamps are about 12-14" inches away from the tops of leaves except for the mini that one is about 6-7" away. I use gooseneck desk lamps and leave them on anywhere from 12-14 hours a day. All of them are in bloom and the ones that aren't are sending up buds. I don't know if it would be enough for the whole room but you could try sections at a time. I've seen some people use multi head lamps so they can position them differently.
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aegis1000
11 years ago
I have a partial plant-room that I light with CFL's. Most of my plants are within 1-2 foot distance from the lights. They work great for me.

I'd say ... try out your current plan. Then, adjust as needed ...
Karin
11 years ago
Light decays at an exponential rate. 2x the distance means 1/4 the light. So, mathematically, i woulld think that, with four bulbs you can probably grow plants 2-3 feet from the lights.

I'd put some around that distance and see how they do.

Karin
zeroXstaticlife
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Thanks for all the replies! The bathroom has a stall shower which I thought would be perfect for the humidity and it stays pretty warm, I could always run the shower to increase the humidity. My house seems to be on the dry side I think they would love it! The ones I have now are under gooseneck desk lamps, but they aren't daylight or full spectrum, I suspect that's why some don't flower as much as I would like. My collection is growing and I was trying to think of somewhere where I can expand. ;-) A multi headed light would be perfect if I need the extra light what I terrific idea! That would make it easier to get light to the minis I have. I'm hoping with 4 lights I could make it work it would be so beautiful! It actually has 5 lamps but the one in the middle is broken. It could probably be fixed easily with new wiring. I have been entertaining this idea for a while and you guys have given me hope! This would make so much room for new violets (I can see my hubby saying as if I need anymore lol but I bet he would be happy to have the space back, at least that's what I'll try to convince him). I'm going to have to get on down there and start getting this going! I guess at the very least I can just move them back to where they are now if it doesn't go quite right. I think it'll work out! Thanks again everyone!