Comparing Reflective Materials For Grow Room & Tent: Mylar, Alu Foil, Panda, White Walls
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- How much light do various materials reflect? How good are they for indoor grows?
When growing indoors using grow lights, we want to maximize the emitted photons from the lamps. To prevent photons from getting wasted, we want to use as reflective materials as possible on the walls of our grow space. Grow tents are typically fitted with reflective mylar but how good is it really at reflecting light?
DIY inclined growers sometimes build their own grow rooms and dress the walls with reflective materials. We've seen Panda Film, mylar, white color, (mylar) emergency blankets, and aluminum foil is used. But which material reflects light most efficiently?
In this video we measure our LEDTonic Q2 LED grow light and the PPFD light footprint it emits when the walls of our grow closet are dressed in the above-mentioned materials. We compare the reflective properties to using no walls and also white walls.
The light intensity is measured with an Apogee MQ-500 quantum sensor.
Skip to 05:38 for results.
LEDTonic Q2 36W LED grow light:
www.ledtonic.c...
Our results are also presented in our blog:
www.ledtonic.c...
www.ledtonic.com
support@ledtonic.com
The final results are found at 05:38 (clickable),
for those of you that prefer time traveling.
Light and love!
Thanks, what about white 2.0 paint(world whitest white)
you should measure temperature.
I love videos that test and give us the actual scientific results. We are so bombarded with false information from corporations who want to sell stuff but it's hard to get good information like you have given us. I also love videos that help me save money! Thank you.
Not just corporations, also just random "self-made" youtubers who blast out their opinions or what they say others say on RUclips, as the pure truth. False info sent on as true info after a couple of modifications.
Man you personally destroyed all the light reflection content I've seen anywhere.... Fantastic job! What do we learn from this: measuring is knowing for sure! Thanks a lot!
Amazing test! So helpful for those of us overwhelmed with choices and with limited funds!
Great video! Very professional! Glad I went with the aluminum foil, shiny side. It does tend to make a rattling noise when the fan breeze hits it, unless you fasten it down very evenly to the walls, which I did. Thanks again!
Happy to hear you like it! Thanks for watching :-)
I brushed watered down PVA glue on some recycled cardboard and glued the alfoil to the cardboard. I expected it to stick just enough that it didn't rattle, but it turns out it actually sticks really well. It takes a few days to dry as it has to dry through the cardboard, but otherwise it worked great.
@@kylesenior Great Idea! Thanks for sharing!
😂 cheap space blankets are not easier to clean unless you mean just replace them😂 but fr foil is easier to clean my setup has 90 something % mylar space blankets n honestly tin foil is better in some ways but same can be Said for mylar like how tape sticks to mylar miles better to the point where I can use half as much tape n be stronger then the foil 😂
Finally, something educational. I appreciate you doing that. Thank you
What about walls made of mirrors? Very informative video. Thanks for the content!
I love the more scientific nature of the comparison. I too would love to know if a mirror is a good idea or not.
Thatd be interesting indeed lol
Im no scientist but i think that would create straight beam (concentrated light) that could burn leafs, could look cool tho...
@matyaskvapil7674 how would it concentrate by refraction off a even and flat surface?
@nosam5k It wouldn't concentrate. Rather, reflect light as it is (that's why we use mirrors because of fidelity). Other reflective foils, let's say aluminium, they kind of spread out light more evenly, so the risk of burn and hotspots isn't that high. But again, I'm a newbie when it comes to indoor gardening. I'd love to see the mirror growbox. It must look amazing, so feel free to build one!
crazyness. how is the cheapest option (other than white/not adding anything) the best?
Lolololol. I guess I'm getting foil.. I guess Ricky from trailer park boys was right
Just an FYI. I wouldn't pay much attention to someone's advise with "juggalo" in their name.... Usually. Great great vid. Keep it going!
The person's name has nothing to do with the quality of their facts and arguments. Nothing.
@@gary7vn you obviously don’t have much experience with Juggalos 😂. And either way, I’m referring to the guy in the comments who was talking smack not the RUclipsr 🙄👌.
Excellent thank you 👍💯 I was basing my knowledge off old internet articles that said aluminum foil was not as reflective as plain flat white paint and mylar was the best. But now I know for sure. Awesome video 💯😎
So the answer is clear. Glue ali foil to the walls so you can get it super flat, and job done!
Thanks for the great video.
That glue might melt or run , use tape maby¿
@@chaseedwards407 it wouldn't get hot enough to melt glue, however I still wouldn't glue foil on the walls because then if you wanted to take the foil down for any reason you just ruined the walls.
This test is very interesting and teaches us a lot about the different light reflecting materials. Personally I use mylar survival blankets, I have not seen any difference in quality between one brand and another much more expensive, and I think that by testing them at the PAR meter the differences between one and the other will be very small, so I buy at the best price (1$ the survival blanket in 130x200cm).
Keep making videos as informative and interesting as this one.
Hey!
You may be right about that. The reflectivity probably differs less between different blankets compared to the difference between different panda films or diamond mylar rolls.
$1/blanket is incredibly cheap!
Thanks for your comment. Stay awesome and have a wonderful weekend :-)
I chose Mylar wrapped on cardboards and hang them where I want them to reflect instead of everywhere so that I don't waste meterials.
Could you check it out with mirrors!! Would love to see that! great vid. keep it up!
Hello!
It's a common misconception but mirrors are rather poor at reflecting light as photons would have to travel through glass twice, and many of them would be absorbed in the process. A standard 6mm sheet of glass absorbs around 11% of light in the PAR region.
@@LEDTonic with aluminum foil you get hot spots. Right?
@@skinnyslims5327 It's a never ending debate but we've never been able to create one intentionally and we were never able to see one with our eyes and light sensor during these tests. While we're sure it isn't impossible for such an effect to occur, the chances seems to be very slim.
Thanks for watching and have an awesome day!
@@LEDTonic hey thanks I appreciate the response. I’m still learning myself brother so any advice helps. Enjoy your weekend 🤙🏻🤙🏻
@@LEDTonic Hot spots, whatever they are, wherever they are, are not something that I have ever noticed, let alone care about. I get great yields in my DIY 30s wooden armoire that is painted white inside. I am happy with this setup. Great video.
This is almost useless. What you are measuring is the light that hits the floor, not the plant. Take the emergency blanket vs the tent material. The emergency blanket only reflects light down to your meter, while the tent material is designed to reflect light up and to the sides as well. All that reected light that would hit the plant from the sides and even at the bottom of the sides is not measured in your test. Therefore, you need to measure all surfaces equally, sides, top, bottom. The bottom would also be covered with plants, so you need some low reflective surface at the bottom too. Cheers:)
Scrog ftw, all canopy in the same level, just like in the test.
I swear I get more out of my emergency blanket.
I crinkled mine up then spread flat on the walls. has to be more PPFD than all of them.
Sad that wasn't tested :( But cool video too :)
#buyingthoseQ2lights
Emergency blankets are indeed underrated!
Crinkled, you say? Might be worth testing in the future :-)
Thanks for your comment and have an awesome weekend.
@@LEDTonic yes crumble foil you will get alot more reflection its, grow tent mylar is overrated
@@martinsrp2184 How do you "know" this? How did you measure and with what?
@@gary7vn well it is way worse than aluminum foil and the emergency blanket, it was just above the panda film.
sounds like a Scandinavian or actually either Norwegian or Swedish in my ears from the pronunciations
That is correct! We are from Sweden :-)
hi, what about using corrugates roofing sheets covered with aluminium foil (ridges of sheets horizontally), that would reflect in more directions back at the plants ??
Great data!!! I'm glad I bought emergency mylar blanket to make my own grow tent. 👍👍👍
I'm going to add this to a playlist on grow box/cupboard setups, great information. Thanks so much for posting! 🙏
Thanks a lot, i just putted alu foil around my plant in a box. Was here just to double check if i did the right thing. Thanks again for the effort and infos, keep up the good work 🥰😍😘
This video just went into my video cannabis toolbox.. thank you for sharing!
This is so helpful! Thanks for doing all this work so we don't have to!
This information is semi effective for certain types of weapons also 😂
I bought 2" foam insulation boards from home depot with the shiny foil on one side. Wonder how it compares?
Nice review of reflective walls, but just plain white melamine doesn't provide a proper LRV. It'd be nice knowing the actual LVR of the wardrobes surface, most of those white surfaces actually cast a grayish or blueish hue. Using a extra clean white with a high LVR of 95% or higher will provide a greater reflectivity.
There's diamond patterned mylar and smooth mylar. I guess duamind is similar to shiny aluminum.?
Which material will reflect almost 99% of UV, Visible light and infrared rays of wavelength range 100nm - 3000 nm?
This is indeed a very valuable video. Thanks!
Wow! That was amazing! So helpful! Thank you!
How does reflectix foil insulation stand up to the rest
I would assume it would be the same as emergency mylar or between that and alum foil (shiny side). I also use reflectix as well and the light reflection it has vs my previous white walls is night and day. It reflects a lot more and also adds good insulation properties as well. So it's a win for sure.
Some questions please, I saw someone asked about mirrors already, but what if I used the most reflective only on the door and aimed the grow light at it ?? Thanks
Awesome video mate, props for showing timestamp gif results, saw the whole vid through anyway :) Alu foil all the way!
I'm happy to hear it was helpful!
Have an awesome day :-)
Interesting video!
I've heard this accent before, is it Swedish maybe? :D
Thanks for the feedback. We're happy to hear the information is useful.
That is correct! Nordic accents can be difficult to hide 🙂
@@LEDTonic as swede i heard it haha. to much articulation with the tongue 😲
amazing video!! thanks to share with us
Thank you bro, you helped me a lot 😊🤙💖
Good test, thanks for sharing your results & data.
What if you use multiple small scuare or rectangular mirrors they should duplicate the brightness by a lot more as each mirror will duplicate the light bulbs which cause an increase in brightness
Edit: (point is that glass doesn't allow UV through. Only a primary mirror with the metallic film outside will reflect UV.)
This has been aknowledged to increase secondary metabolites like terpenes, cannabinoids and IMO possibly even alkaloids like capsaicin in chilli. A mirror is actually a metallic film too. It's just very smooth and flat because of the glass but for telescopes, when they want the best reflection they dont use secondary mirrors. We obviously dont need high optical resolution. Plants actually prefer scattered light. It's better than pointy reflections creating spots. That's why mylar has the surface it has. It's actually possible that if mylar was flat it would reach better results. It is reflecting some of the light back to the top. Mylar could still be the best of them. He'd need to test the surface in a different cavity and read the numbers at the source or something like that
Nice test. I will try some alu foil on the walls :) Now I can also see why my white paper walls worked so great.
How well do you think Holographic tape would work its reflective and it reflects every color. In theory it might increase light and the spectrum of light?
Anything that's pure white or silver reflects the entire spectrum to begin with, holographic tape would actually be less reflective.
I can say that a thin coat of white primer on aluminum foil is impressively more reflective than primer on bare wood.
The surface of the mylar is reflecting some of the light in all directions including back to the top. Mylar could still be the best of them. You'd need to test the surface in a different cavity and read the numbers at the source or something like that
Most growers cover a similar grow space the same way it was done in this test and grow plants below the lamp. Not sure how measuring other ways than this would benefit the average indoor grower.
@@LEDTonic obviously. The mylar doesn't have a smooth surface. You cant compare scattered light with a mirror-like reflection. It's not valid. Rename the video
@@trollmcclure1884 that was the same commercial grade mylar that's used in grow tents, he even said the effect was the same as when he measured the reflectivity of a grow tent.
I need one build
thank you, so stick with the amount of aluminium foil one already has in their home even if you put it wrong it beats all others.
Would cardboard be abit better then panda black 😂?
As long as it is better then panda black I might aswell jus make a cardboard grow tent
Swedish? 😁
What happened guys? Your website is offline!
is this normal shopping market aliminium foil or the ones used to insulate roofs can you do a test please of the heat difference
How did you attach the mylar?
The diamond-pattern mylar was a bit tricky to fasten and was wedged/pinned in place with angle irons, wardrobe shelf pins and screws. Tape didn't stick to the mylar's surface so we had to improvise a bit.
Thanks for watching :-)
Thanks for the info. Just dropping a comment to show support ✊
Orca reflective sheeting is the best. Tyvek is a cheap close second. Orca is worth the high price.
Thanks
hey where u go?
What brand of alu foil are you testing ?
The foil is made by a German brand called Toppits:
www.toppits.de/en/aluminium-foil-421.html
2:08 one of best videos i've seen on subject ....i've studied reflection decade ago while i was growing inside .....without instruments
Brilliant test bro, subscribed. Make more videos please!
what about the hot spots foil would cause? not to mention the heat it would create!
Aluminum reflects all wavelengths from 350-1000nm very well (but it doesn't create heat on its own). This would be more noticable with an HPS lamp which produce a lot of heat in the form of far-red and near infrared wavelengths, especially when compared to white LEDs which don't produce any of these wavelengths at all.
Hotspots it a hot topic but we haven't been able to intentionally create, see, or measure a hotspot in any of the setups, or any other setups outside of this video. When it comes to hotspots, It seems to be mostly anecdotal evidence with little or no support from real tests and simulations. In other words, hotspots doesn't seem to be worth worrying about for the average grower.
Thanks for watching and have an awesome day! :-)
@@LEDTonic I totally agree about these "hotspots", which, like so much of the lore surrounding cannabis growing, seems to be a myth. I no longer flush either, and I only have exhaust fans in my boxes. No fan to blow on the leaves. I tried growing without a fan on clones and could see no effect. People say it promotes root growth. My plants have a LOT of roots! No fan required.
Thank you very much for this informative video
Do you think that alu tape would be as good as foil?
Emergency blankets it is !
Would it be possible to use mirrors or sticker mirrors (you can buy in rolls)? Or would this have a disadvantage like setting your house on fire or confusing your plants somehow?
Glass absorbs light and photons would have to travel twice through the glass, as the reflective surface is on the back of a mirror, before it's bouncing back towards your plants. A perfectly reflected image does not mean the most amount of light, unfortunately.
Your plants and house should be fine :-)
this video should have a million views
I heard before that matt white is better then glossy white, seems to be true.
As mentioned in the video, this was a generic black/white film and different versions/brands should differ in reflectivity. I sincerely hope that a high-end film produce better results than a wardrobe with lots of small holes in it, but who knows.
Thanks for watching and have an awesome day!
great video
you guys rock.
Very nice test, thank you!
Thank you!
Doesn't foil cause hot spots?
We've never been able to create one and while we're sure it's possible to do so if one really tries, it doesn't seem to be worth worrying about for the average grower :-)
@@LEDTonic Thanks
I just wanted to let you know in small spaces yes Mylar isn’t the best but when it comes to grow tents that’s a completely different subject it’s used to equally distribute the light from the top all the way down to the bottom. Also you only used 3 different types of Mylar that don’t even compare to a high quality grow tent Mylar which has always proven to work best for any plant type. The other thing is Mylar is also designed to hold in heat and the distribution of the lights your using also come into play when using different materials so your light will most likely give a completely different result for different types of grow lights. For instance my grow tent I have a 7 spectrum LED light system and in my grown tent alone it almost produces 4x the amount of light from the high quality Mylar compared to any other types such as foil.
Howdy!
Mylar (in a grow tent) is aluminum foil with a thin coat of plastic. Except for the plastic, it isn't very different from regular aluminum foil. Here's a great page on wiki if you want to read more:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BoPET
As mentioned in the video, some brands have a higher quality and reflectivity than other brands. This video was not intended to bash on grow tents in any way. Instead, it was intended for the DIY'er that is wondering what material to cover the inside of a stealth grow cabinet with (as example). Most DIY'ers cover their grow spaces with the materials used in the video, which is why we gathered these exact materials.
We might do a second video on this topic in the future. Feel free to share any tips or recommendations on other materials and brands that you'd like to see us test.
Max
LEDTonic
@@LEDTonic just so you know though you can never trust anything you read on wiki its literally been proven to be less than 5% with the correct information and anyone can change them anytime just giving you a heads up on that and I have nothing against your video, just honestly everyone I've ever known that does a stealth grow normally is still on a bigger scale than that though i really never heard or seen until your video of someone doing a a grow is a small location like that it just in the end doesnt really do well for most plants and you can still buy pro grade grow lights for small setups to like mine has many different sizes from small to professional grows in warehouses. Once again I'm not trying to be rude or disrespectful I just want to pass on the info I know to help. The other thing you should keep in mind that most states in the United States (I apologize idk where your located or anything) but at least for the USA most people dont really even need to hide growing anything they want anymore.
@@PhillyJuggalo Hilarious. Even if your unsourced BULLSHIT about wiki is true - it says nothing about the quality of the information in the linked article. Is it really 95% inaccurate? No.
lol ruclips.net/video/zL_yj_b-rHg/видео.html
thank you for this awesome demonstration! good work
This isn't that accurate. 👎👎
I thought it was done correctly, and others could replicate his method.
If you have one sensor then take multiple readings and average all of them. Then area by time by the ppfd.
I thought it was great.
@@skepticalgenious from someone that's dealt with numerous situations. This isn't that accurate. He needs to rethink his process. Don't comment if you don't know what's going on.
@@skepticalgeniousI've dealt with numerous situations. This isn't accurate. Like I've said before. I've been doing this for a long time. Do comment on situations that you know nothing about.