UV light occurs naturally in Sunlight all over the earth. However, UV light is nearly entirely missing from indoor gardens. Nearly every commercially available HPS and MH lamp is constructed with UV blocking glass, therefore – little to no UV radiation will be provided – and LED technology has not been able to produce UV-B light at any energetic level. AgroMax Pure UV lamps provide robust amounts of both UV-A and UV-B light and can be a powerful supplement to any garden. AgroMax Pure UV lamps are up to 15 times more powerful than specialty “reptile” UV lamps. AgroMax Pure UV lamps provide 75% UV-B, 25% UV-A and a very slight amount of visible light. AgroMax Pure UV lamps are constructed using a special phosphor formula and advanced glass tube construction.
Benefits of UV light for Animals and Plants
UV-B light is required to allow skin to manufacture Vitamin-D. When exposed to adequate levels of UV-A and UV-B light, the amount of the brown skin pigment, melanin, will increase, commonly known as a sun-tan, and over exposure will cause a sun-burn. Humans are able to regulate their UV-B exposure by either staying out of the sun, wearing sun blocking clothing, or using chemical sun-block creams. Less is known regarding Plant reactions to natural levels of UV-B light. Unlike Humans, Plants are unable to avoid UV-B light, nor are they able to apply suntan lotion. It is widely accepted that when plants are subject to UV-B light, this event triggers the plant’s defense mechanisms. It is exactly this defense reaction which is targeted by many users of the AgroMax Pure UV lamp. In many plant species, exposure to UV-B light will cause changes in phenolic compounds, flavonoid pigments, resins, oils, etc. It is this ability to enhance plant growth, naturally – without the use of chemicals that the AgroMax Pure UV lamps provide.
UV levels provided to your garden by the AgroMax Pure UV lamp will be effected by 3 primary factors, the number of lamps used, the distance between the energized lamps and the plant and the efficiency of the lighting fixture and reflective surface of the fixture.
When used in a single lamp T5 fixture with average grade efficiency and reflectivity the microwatt levels provided by the AgroMax Pure UV lamp are shown below:
Distance From Lamp Microwatts Per CM2 Coverage Area
1′ 440 1’x4′
2′ 170 2’x4′
3′ 95 3’x4′
4′ 64 4’x4′
Understanding UV light
Ultraviolet (UV) light is a natural part of Sunlight that reaches the earth, and is invisible to the naked eye. At ground level, sunlight is approximately 3% UV light.
Light is measured scientifically in wavelength units. The wavelength of visible light ranges from 400-700 nanometers (nm), a nanometer is a billionth of a meter. Light waves ranging from 10-400 nm are known as UV light. The Sun is a source of UV light, which is commonly subdivided into UV-A, UV-B and UV-C light. UV-C light is almost entirely absorbed by the atmosphere surrounding the earth. UV-A light measures between 400-320nm, UV-B is between 320-290 and from 290-100nm is UV-C.
UV light is measured in micro-watts per square centimeter (µW/cm²) “µ” is the symbol for “micro-watt” UV-B occurs naturally in sunlight. Much of the UV-B light produced by the sun is absorbed by the Earth’s ozone layer. However, depending on your location on the globe, the season of the year, and the time of the day UV-B levels can be upwards of 400 µW/cm².
