Bright Lights

[Shawn]

I was sent a message asking what do I do to keep the lights from being to bright at night.

I have a few different things I use to soften the brightness of a room at night.  I have a corner in the main area of the house with two tall machines.  I bought a few of the Tri-Fold Foam Poster Boards (comes in white or black, I bought black).  I placed these behind my units.  It works great because it also covers/blocks the sides.  I then got some black fabric and sewed the seams to keep it nice looking.  Using Binder Clips, I clip the fabric to the tops of the poster board to cover the plants at night.  I just unclip in the morning so you can see the plants.  I also sewed some "curtains" or straight panels to cover the shelves they are on.  It does not look bad at all.

Note, depending on the machine I have cut the board to size.  I keep the board full size for the Tall machines.  I lower the board behind the stand the unit is on and lift it as I lift the hood (most of the time).


For my smaller machine, I cut the foam board in half and use one in the back and one in front at night.  This works well in the spare bedroom.  In the morning you will get some light but not enough to wake anyone up.

I do not cover the one in the Kitchen.  I have also thought about turning the one closet into a AG Closet to close the door at night. 



With that said do you do anything to lessen the lights in your home?

I used to use something called the AG power light boosters. All it is is a skirt of Mylar strips which you stick on all around the hood and it reflects the light back onto the plants.
I don't know how much reflecting it does with the LED, but it was very good with the cfl.
If you get enough (you'd need 6 strips for 1 machine and each pack has 4 strips)you could skirt these all around the project and adhere the front ones  with a strong tape like invisible packing tape that can be removed during the night.The rest are meant to remain on all the time.  Not only will the strips reflect , but I think the Mylar will also block the light.


www.amazon.com/AeroGrow-970279-0000-AeroGarden-Power-Grow-Boosters/dp/B004M5SDXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1514478785&sr=8-1&keywords=aerogarden+mylar

They also sell sheets and rolls of mylar online and at hydro stores, but the rolled will curl up.
FWIW

I also used to use a screen that was originally part of a tomato growing accessory distributed by Ginger from
the AG Mastery forum. I don;t think she has any now, but the idea is like Shawn's with a Styrofoam screen all around. That worked to corral my larger tom projects in, but would work just as well to block light.
The sleek looking Mylar is more decorative, though if the project is in a living room or dining room.
But the strips are pricey as the link shows.

[drbanks]

I don't.

In my bedroom, I have two 300W LED panels (one each over my Pepper Pot and Pepper Pot Deux), three extras, and regular room lighting.  Also have a couple floor lamps with 3 ea 20W grow lights.

So, that's about 800W of grow lights plus about 25 of regular (LED) room lighting.

I will NEVER get winter seasonal affective disorder .  I also don't really need an alarm clock.

Although, at 8:00PM when the grow lights all shut off, it sure does seem dark in the room, even with the regular room lighting turned on.

[Shawn]

I have made my own mylar type reflective light using cardboard with the shiny side of foil out and taped nicely to the board.  I found it did bring in extra light especially for the peppers that were lower.  Although I have not used this since my first set of plants.  I still have it if ever I need it again.

there is nothing better than diy.....saves a lot.

[cjsbabygirl313]

I actually bought a whole tube of mylar sheeting and was going to make my own mylart skirts (for lack of better term) using that and velcro (just a few small squares - nothing nightmarish).