Defying The Inverse Square Law

[Budsbunny]

YES you read well…., well at least I am giving it a good shot! I will give a brief explanation for now as I have to leave for a few days but the result is too good to keep it for myself . You can draw your own conclusions for now (I am very interested in those though…please don’t hold back) but later on I will give you my thoughts about this “whole thing”.

History
I have an army chest standing up 45 x 45 x 150 cm (18” x 18” x 58”) and I want to grow one plant in it with alternative lights. As I have sorted out the system (bubbleponics), I focused on light management. Now, I have enough power/lights to put this chest “on fire” but I have always been charmed of the simple and cheap led bulbs. Now I know what you’re gonna say but hear me out….
I spent a few hours investigating and trying to understand The Inverse Square Law, which is simplified in the picture below. It shows that the concentration of light is very close to the light source and gets very fast less when the distance gets bigger. So I thought “what if I can re-direct the full power light to a further distance” and I decided to give that a try.

This is the led bulb that I used for the tests.

I’ve done many…MANY tests, the image below shows less than half of the tests I did.

For now, this is how far I came until now, showing the start and end result.

Explanation:

• On the left you see the led bulb hanging in the closet.
• Image 2 is the same bulb, same image, but I inverted the image to make the density of the light more clear. Basically, all the light in the chest is now shown as black, the more black, the higher the density. You can clearly see that a lot of light is lost next and above the bulb.
• Image 3 shows my latest test result, all the “lost light” is now re-directed to below and a higher light density area is shown starting 150 mm (6”) below the bulb. This area is about 60 cm or 24” high. Also, you can see that the floor of the chest is getting more light. (it is more dark)

So basically what I tried to do is to create a greater bandwidth in distance with acceptable light for growth. One can say that this is not enough for a plant to grow, but I will put 5 bulbs like this for flower and 5 bulbs 5000F for veg for only 1 plant, I just exchange them at once or gradually. The bulbs will be on a frame that I can lower or raise.

I’ve done a test with a 16W 2700K led bulb without re-direction and my test bulb give more light density in the area shown than the 16W version and I used only 9 watt.

That’s it for now, don’t get fooled by the shape under the bulb as it is just a cover for now. I don’t want to show right now as I think I can improve density with 15-20% with better materials and possibly some more adjustments. (not trying to change the shape of the dark area)

Let me know what you think.
Cheers.

 

[Pbass]

My brain is very pea sized so I can only think "cool as #@$%". I love lighting, just recently bought some household grade 11w 3000k bright LED's that I've only done some sprouting under and in no scientific fashion, but they sprouted! Very cool experiment! CHeers!

 

[Budsbunny]

My brain is very pea sized so I can only think "cool as #@$%". I love lighting, just recently bought some household grade 11w 3000k bright LED's that I've only done some sprouting under and in no scientific fashion, but they sprouted! Very cool experiment! CHeers!

Thanks Pbass
Below is the result of a test that I did on a household 12W 5000K bulb. It is not finished yet, but this attachment will be very easy to make yourself and you can just "slide" it over a bulb, with other words, you can use the attachment on different bulbs. Eventually I will show everything but for now I want to finalize things in my own way and make them more "professional". I was so enthusiast about the results that I wanted to share it for now.

Cheers

 

[BeanTownFan420]

My brain is very pea sized so I can only think "cool as #@$%". I love lighting, just recently bought some household grade 11w 3000k bright LED's that I've only done some sprouting under and in no scientific fashion, but they sprouted! Very cool experiment! CHeers!

 

[BeanTownFan420]

I think this is enough light either way.Sorry about the fact it's blurple but its about how much light right and boy that's a lot of light particles or photons bouncing about that box.

Maximum light penetration.

• BeanTownFan420
• Feb 5, 2020

 

[Pbass]

I think this is enough light either way.Sorry about the fact it's blurple but its about how much light right and boy that's a lot of light particles or photons bouncing about that box.

Maximum light penetration.

• BeanTownFan420
• Feb 5, 2020

That is AWESOME!! I love blurples! I have 4 running and 3 qb's. The qb's do a bit better job but not significantly. I have a couple cheapos that I I was SO happy to retire though, the light is really offensive and I have some overspill in the veg closet located in my basement command post atm, can't close the door!

 

[BeanTownFan420]

They do suck to look at thank god i wear my 99% uv protection lenses in my grow room.

 

[Budsbunny]

Here are 2 images that I “borrowed” from The Mechanic, he’s a member here on the forum. He gave me the confidence that it is possible to grow with simple household led bulbs. Perhaps you don’t recognize the bulbs as such, that is because the dome is cut off.
I simply went on where he left and tried to improve the efficiency of the bulbs.

Guess no need to wear uv protection lenses here....

 

[Budsbunny]

My meetings today and tomorrow are cancelled due to the weather so I have a bit more time.
Below you see a setup in a (low) dresser, I am waiting for my clones but in the meantime I test my bubbleponic system on a lettuce and pepper plant. The grow is not bad, at least the system works well but growth stays behind a bit for my feeling, to be honest I have that feeling with ALL my growths lol,or maybe I am just not patient enough.....

Good occasion to compare with the modified LED bulbs.

I think I have an answer on some of my questions....

 

[bluenoserjoe]

I guess , in my own round about way, I understand the problem and in my tinkerers way this is my solution. Would love to see this under your test. Curious to know if this just blocks the upward light or actually redirects it thus intensifying the resulting beam. It redirects heat very well so I would think the same for light. My seedlings sure love it.

DSCN8715.JPG

• bluenoserjoe
• Feb 6, 2020

20200119_061100.jpg

• bluenoserjoe
• Jan 19, 2020

 

[Budsbunny]

I guess , in my own round about way, I understand the problem and in my tinkerers way this is my solution. Would love to see this under your test. Curious to know if this just blocks the upward light or actually redirects it thus intensifying the resulting beam. It redirects heat very well so I would think the same for light. My seedlings sure love it.

Yes I understand but I have to make "mini versions" as I don't have space for 5 or 6 in the chest, dresser and shower stall.
Good idea though..

 

[Pbass]

You guys inspired me! Frankenstein v.3:

(8) 11w 3000k bulbs @ $3.50 each - $28
(2} resale light fixures @ $2 each - $4
Packaging from Mars Hydro box, scrap wood, hardware - $0

88w of nice white light for $32 bucks! Everyone likes this better than CFL's. CHeers!

 

[Budsbunny]

You guys inspired me! Frankenstein v.3:

(8) 11w 3000k bulbs @ $3.50 each - $28
(2} resale light fixures @ $2 each - $4
Packaging from Mars Hydro box, scrap wood, hardware - $0

88w of nice white light for $32 bucks! Everyone likes this better than CFL's. CHeers!

Loololl, this does not look like a “pea brain” solution!

 

[Budsbunny]

Packaging from Mars Hydro box

Glad to see you use materials from sponsors

 

[Pbass]

I could have gone this route, in stock at HD but I'm much further ahead, I know you'll agree!

Feit Electric 2 ft. 2-Light 19-Watt White Full Spectrum LED Non-Dimmable Indoor Linkable Plant Grow Light Fixture, Daylight - $39.97

 

[Pbass]

I shouldn't knock that stuff I bet that does seedlings and clones just fine, just its so nice to make something that's better!

 

[Budsbunny]

I need smaller bulbs as my “grow dresser” is very low, I will use the same in the “shower stall “ and “grow chest” but adjustable in height, so that compensates lesser power.
Just come back from shopping, all on clearance….

• 5000K bulbs $1.00 each
• 2700K bulbs $1.20 each

All Canadian $$$$$$ (hehehehe)

 

[Budsbunny]

I could have gone this route, in stock at HD but I'm much further ahead, I know you'll agree!

Yes I DO think you are better off this way, although I think you could lower your light, just look at the shadow on the wall, your bulbs will start to be effective at 14 to 12 inches I think looking back at my tests. And you know 3000K is light more the red, right?
A plant does not grow on watts, it grows on light. More light does not necessarily mean more watts, if you bring your bulbs closer your plants get more light with the same wattage.

 

[Pbass]

It was 3000, 2700 or 5000. At one point playing around with cfls I thought I read 3000, 3500 waat the range I wanted?

 

[Budsbunny]

I can’t say exactly the optimal distance in your case but I can show you how the intensity is with a similar bulb. This is a 2700K 9W bulb so you will have a bit more light available. On the other hand, it looks as my bulb is a bit more tapered, that will direct the intensity a bit more to below. The white area is the area that works as a grow-light for your plants. (between the red lines)
Try to "feel" the intensity with the back of your hand going towards the light.

With my tests until now, I am only trying to identify where “the good light is” with different bulbs that are available to me. I don’t even measure the light (until now…) as you can clearly see where the light area is and I am not planning to change “bulb system” so I have to do it with the bulbs I have.

The picture below shows a 2700K bulb for flowering, it is there since 2 days and I can see the difference. Is it optimal? I don’t know but it is much better than the LED light string that I had on it before.

I try to go "step by step", starting from a far "ideal" position. It is not the fastest way but each time I learn along the road.