LED adjustable spectrum tuning playbook

[Bandit420]

I believe there's another thread on this subject but I'm not sure where it's at...

This is a work in progress being done by Mammoth Lighting. It's not gospel.

Understand that Mammoth is a company here to sell lights and not independent science but they are pushing limits of lighting nobody is even trying.
I have no connection to Mammoth but I do know baddassery when I see it and Mammoth is quite baddass.

There's only a few lights out there that can truly adjust a spectrum between colors and not just dim them. This playbook can perhaps guide those decisions when it comes to how much red, white, and blue, for what stage of growth

The Spectrum Tuning Handbook - The Holy Grail

Mammoth Lighting Spectrum Tuning Handbook Please note - this is a working document and we will be making adjustments over time. Check back often and feel free to add comments or suggestions for the community. Executive Summary At Mammoth Lighting, we believe that approximately 95% of growers...

mammothlighting.com

 

[growsinse79]

I believe there's another thread on this subject but I'm not sure where it's at...

This is a work in progress being done by Mammoth Lighting. It's not gospel.

Understand that Mammoth is a company here to sell lights and not independent science but they are pushing limits of lighting nobody is even trying.
I have no connection to Mammoth but I do know baddassery when I see it and Mammoth is quite baddass.

There's only a few lights out there that can truly adjust a spectrum between colors and not just dim them. This playbook can perhaps guide those decisions when it comes to how much red, white, and blue, for what stage of growth

The Spectrum Tuning Handbook - The Holy Grail

Mammoth Lighting Spectrum Tuning Handbook Please note - this is a working document and we will be making adjustments over time. Check back often and feel free to add comments or suggestions for the community. Executive Summary At Mammoth Lighting, we believe that approximately 95% of growers...

mammothlighting.com

Good read.

 

[TomH]

One thing I’ve often wondered about the progression of natural light spectrum on a daily basis is if we’re missing a very early morning and late evening weak far blue signal.

Before the sky even begins to get light in the morning and after dark, noctiluscent clouds can reflect electric blue light.

They are very rarefied and very high, catching sunlight well before other signs of a new day/end of day.

Does that low level of very blue light do anything to the plant?

Definitely need a very special light environment to replicate.

 

[growsinse79]

This is from google Gemeni
Compare cloudy vs clear day light spectrum.

• Clear Day (~5,500K - 6,000K): In direct sunlight, the spectrum is relatively balanced but slightly "warmer" than an overcast sky. This is because Rayleigh scattering (by small gas molecules) removes blue light from the direct beam to create the blue sky, leaving the sun’s direct rays slightly more yellow/white.
  
  
  
• Cloudy Day (~6,500K - 10,000K): Counter-intuitively, an overcast sky is often "cooler" (bluer). While clouds are made of water droplets that perform Mie scattering (scattering all wavelengths equally, which is why clouds look white), they also act as a filter that reduces the intensity of the longer red/orange wavelengths more than the shorter blue wavelengths. This results in a higher color temperature

• Comparison Table: Light Quality​

  Feature	Clear Day (Direct Sun)	Cloudy Day (Overcast)
  Dominant Source	Point source (the Sun)	Area source (the whole sky)
  Color Temperature	~5,500K (Neutral White)	~6,500K to 8,000K (Cool/Blue-ish)
  UV Levels	High (Direct path)	Moderate to Low (Scattered/Absorbed)
  Infrared (Heat)	High (Directly felt)	Lower (Reflected/Trapped by clouds)
  Shadows	Sharp and high-contrast	Soft or non-existent (diffuse

 

[Bandit420]

One of the reasons why I'm watching what Mammoth is up to is because they're using modern info from Dr. Bruce Bugsbee and Utah State among others to guide them.
I think some of Y'all know Dr. Bugsbee is something of a cult icon among growers who has debunked a lot of bro science helping to keep us on track and not treading down a garden path when it comes to lighting and things to get more potency or better results at harvest.
So when you get info from a source like that a put capital behind it to build something, you start to get products from the results and that product is a grow light.
Discussion is fun and nice but it's always better when it can be put to use and an actual products can be built and used to verify the science.

The biggest thing I think I'm taking from this is for the most part, many grow lights are pretty darn good out of the box and don't need much help aside from maybe UV. There may be limits to how large of footprint and power to drive thru a triple layer canopy but for the most part, spectrum is there with not much need if any to adjust it.
I do believe "blue for veg" and "red for flower" is dated and old info for today's LED tech. Balance seems to be better for both stages and I think we're moving toward that

 

[Zen_seeker]

One thing I’ve often wondered about the progression of natural light spectrum on a daily basis is if we’re missing a very early morning and late evening weak far blue signal.

Before the sky even begins to get light in the morning and after dark, noctiluscent clouds can reflect electric blue light.

They are very rarefied and very high, catching sunlight well before other signs of a new day/end of day.

Does that low level of very blue light do anything to the plant?

Definitely need a very special light environment to replicate.

@Pipecarver is big into using far reds and blues at different times/stages. Seems to get above average results.

 

[Observer]

I believe there's another thread on this subject but I'm not sure where it's at...

This is a work in progress being done by Mammoth Lighting. It's not gospel.

Understand that Mammoth is a company here to sell lights and not independent science but they are pushing limits of lighting nobody is even trying.
I have no connection to Mammoth but I do know baddassery when I see it and Mammoth is quite baddass.

There's only a few lights out there that can truly adjust a spectrum between colors and not just dim them. This playbook can perhaps guide those decisions when it comes to how much red, white, and blue, for what stage of growth

The Spectrum Tuning Handbook - The Holy Grail

Mammoth Lighting Spectrum Tuning Handbook Please note - this is a working document and we will be making adjustments over time. Check back often and feel free to add comments or suggestions for the community. Executive Summary At Mammoth Lighting, we believe that approximately 95% of growers...

mammothlighting.com

Thanks for sharing this.