Plant VS Human lighting terminology
Important lighting termininology, terms and units
Light for Plants
Light for Humans
PAR
Photosynthetic Active Radiation
Radation between 400 and 700 nm (nanometer) of the solar spectrum can be used by phototropic organism, like plants to drive photosynthesis. This radation is called photosynthetic active Radiation or PAR.
Visible Light
Radiation between 380 and 740 nm (nanometer) of the solar spectrum is considered as visible light.
The human eye is most sensitive to a yellowish-green color at a peak at 550 nm.
PPF
Photosynthetic Photon Flux
Radiation within the range of 400 to 700 nm (PAR) per second.
The PPF Value of a horticulture lamp is measured with an integrated sphere.
Unit: μmol /s
Lumen
Luminous Flux
the SI unit of luminous flux, equal to the amount of light emitted per second in a unit solid angle of one steradian from a uniform source of one candela.
This Value measures the brightness related to the sensivity fo the human eye
Unit: lm
PPFD
Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density
PPF Radiation / Radiation within the reange of PAR (400-700nm) per square meter (m²)
Unit: μmol /m²s
LUX
Illuminance – light hitting a surface
the SI unit of illuminance, equal to one lumen per square metre.
LUX = Lumen/m²
Unit: lx
Efficacy
How much light (inside the PAR range) do i get per used Watt of electrical energy. Important: this measurement uses the PPF of a lamp and not a ppfd value!
The Efficacy can alter tremendousely, depending on the used spectrum. Red/Blue LED grow lights usually show higher efficacies compared to full-spectrum LEDs. This is caused by different Energy levels of each color/wavelength as well as different efficiency of the available LED chips.
PPF / W
J = Ws
μmol /Ws = μmol /J
Unit: μmol /J
Efficiency
luminous efficacy of a source
How much light do i get per used Watt of electrical energy
lumen / W
Unit: lumen/W
More about Lighting terminology
Online Efficacy Calculator
[…] This Table Compares the lights based on the PPF – Photosynthetic Photon Flux. […]
[…] Performance and Efficacy (µmol/J) are quite similar. It mostly depends on the LED revision and development […]