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The Best Ways to Set Up a Sealed, Air-Cooled HPS Light

An HPS light is an energy-efficient, high-pressure sodium light bulb. These bulbs emit a wide spectrum of light, so they are very popular for indoor gardening. Gardeners rarely use a single bulb; the bulbs are almost always used in arrays and the bulbs are air-cooled. And these lights, like all light bulbs, should be sealed. These bulbs will emit light even if they are cracked. So, since operating a broken HPS light is potentially dangerous, the first thing you should do is inspect each bulb to ensure that it is intact.

  1. About HPS Lights

    • HPS lights contain both inert gas and sodium salts. Each bulb begins to emit light when a spark jumps between two tungsten diodes. Then, as the bulb heats up, the sodium salts enclosed in the bulb begin to glow. Because of the way they work, HPS lights may not reach full brightness for 15 minutes and may not stop glowing for up to 15 minutes after they are turned off. These bulbs emit more light per watt of electricity than other bulbs, and they usually last for more than 20,000 hours of use. Their one drawback is that they reach temperatures of more than 300 degrees.

    Ballasts

    • These bulbs are usually screwed into hooded reflectors, called ballasts. Virtually any store that sells HPS grow lights also sells ballasts that will fit them. The ballasts are always hung from the ceiling or from supports over the plants you want to grow. Their installation is simple and straightforward. Usually, they hang from a thin chain at each end of the ballast. The only tools you will need are a hammer and a screwdriver. And, the ballast will include a lamp cord, which is how the power gets to the bulb.

    Ductwork

    • Unless you are going to install just one HPS light, you want to buy ballasts that have round 4-, 6- or 8-inch-diameter holes at each end. If you intend to install an array of HPS lights, you will need to do it in a room or building with at least two windows. An array is a pattern of installed lights that illuminates a large indoor garden. The holes at each end of the ballast are there to hold flexible, insulating air ducts that look like silver tubes. The same store that sold you the ballast will sell you the tube ducts. The duct comes in lengths up to 100 feet. You tape the tubes to the ends of the ballast with duct tape.

    Location Debate

    • The duct on one end of each ballast leads to a source of cool air, such as a fan, in front of an air conditioner. Indoor gardening stores sell inline fans that attach to one of the two ducts for each ballast. The duct on the other end of the ballast vents outside the room or building. The main debate among indoor gardeners who use HPS lights is where to put the inline fan. The dominant view is that the fan should be installed on the cooling side so that cool air is blown over the hot bulb. But some gardeners think the fan should be on the exhaust end of the ballast and should suck hot air away from the HPS bulb.

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