# Turning Lights On / Off to reduce power like a light mover.



## shentharo (Dec 14, 2020)

Hi guys, 

I have 4 lights which I would like to alternate like so;


L1 On 
L2 Off
L3 On 
L4 Off 

5 minutes

Then 

L1 Off
L2 On
L3 Off
L4 On

then repeat 

That way only 2 lights are on at any time, but you still get light shining on other areas, which means you should be able to lower the light closer and it will kind of work like a light mover?

Cheers guys


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## smokinrav (Dec 14, 2020)

Light movers aren't magic, you reduce yield with less light. What are you trying to accomplish here?


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## rmax (Dec 14, 2020)

shentharo said:


> That way only 2 lights are on at any time,
> 
> Cheers guys


What kind of lights are you using? What about setting up strobe circuits?

I found this on Amazon:

"LED Flasher Strobe Module/Coverts Regular LED Lights Into Flasher Lights "

If you can get the flicker rates fast enough perhaps photosynthesis won't stop. 50% of the energy w/100% of photosynthesis.


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## smokinrav (Dec 14, 2020)

There are no free rides


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## Herb & Suds (Dec 14, 2020)

It cost more in energy to turn a light off and on than to leave it on


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## ilovereggae (Dec 14, 2020)

what kind of lights are you using? HPS? LED?

pretty sure that turning lights on and off like that is just going to waste electricity (inrush current) and be really inefficient way of achieving your goal.

if you want to use half the electricity you should just dim your lights to 50%. same effect and outcome. then you can lower your lights to get closer to the canopy if you want.


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## osowhom (Dec 14, 2020)

just get a set of clappers
 instead of a timer and clap every 5 minutes


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## osowhom (Dec 14, 2020)

osowhom said:


> just get a set of clappers
> instead of a timer and clap every 5 minutes


i am high AF right now


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## shentharo (Dec 14, 2020)

Light movers are pretty expensive, My goal was have 2x the lights for the job and then cycle them so that it is consuming the same electricity but provides more light and instead of moving a light across a crop just cycle between them. 
I have 4x 1000w mars hydro LED lights


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## shentharo (Dec 14, 2020)

With power draw, the PSU's are quite efficient, there won't be anything lost by switching the lights as the PSU is always on and the connection switched via a relay.


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## shentharo (Dec 14, 2020)

rmax said:


> What kind of lights are you using? What about setting up strobe circuits?
> 
> I found this on Amazon:
> 
> ...


kinda what I'm doing just slower


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## smokinrav (Dec 14, 2020)

shentharo said:


> Light movers are pretty expensive, My goal was have 2x the lights for the job and then cycle them so that it is consuming the same electricity but provides more light and instead of moving a light across a crop just cycle between them.
> I have 4x 1000w mars hydro LED lights


There are no free rides.


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## Grandpapy (Dec 14, 2020)

No, unless your goal is seeds. I just cant see lamps the way plants do.


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## ilovereggae (Dec 14, 2020)

shentharo said:


> Light movers are pretty expensive, My goal was have 2x the lights for the job and then cycle them so that it is consuming the same electricity but provides more light and instead of moving a light across a crop just cycle between them.
> I have 4x 1000w mars hydro LED lights


read up on PWM dimming, this is already doing exactly what you are trying to achieve anyway and most likely how your driver's dimmer function works out of the box. Its maintaining steady current but pulsing the diode on and off in the millisecond range so that it appears dimmer. if you try to do this manually my guess is you are going to burn out your diodes as they are not made to be run that way. at best case their lifespan will be way shorter.

you are not wrong with your thinking, just going about it wrong. with led's you also greatly improve efficiency + lifespan by running them at lower wattage. so you could achieve a similar goal by dimming them all to say 75% so you can lower them a bit, but you will need to experiement what work for you. I think if you dimmed them by 50% it will significantly decrease yields so that is probably too much. 

what is the size of your space?

if you are using the current generation TS1000 those are only 150W lights not 1000. Look at actual wattage / draw, ignore the marketing hype. 

Those arent the worst lights, but they arent the most efficient either. You need about 35-40 watts per square foot of space with these. So 2 of them will cover a 2x4 pretty good.

for instance I use HLG QB288 boards. most ppl run them at 120-150W each. instead i run them at 50-60W each and run 2x as many. so each 120W driver i would have 2 boards instead of 1.

i'm not sure you can rewire those mars boards but using a different method, i am suggesting that instead of using 2 of those to cover a 2x4 area at 150W each, use 4 of those in the same 2x4 space at 75W each. you will be using double the diodes, getting better spread and can get the diodes closer to the plants for better penetration.

however as noted this wouldnt be the best way to use off the shelf fixtures and would be kind of expensive. but if u DIY it you can see how you could run 2 boards on the same driver to accomplish same goal for a lot less.


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## shentharo (Dec 15, 2020)

ilovereggae said:


> read up on PWM dimming, this is already doing exactly what you are trying to achieve anyway and most likely how your driver's dimmer function works out of the box. Its maintaining steady current but pulsing the diode on and off in the millisecond range so that it appears dimmer. if you try to do this manually my guess is you are going to burn out your diodes as they are not made to be run that way. at best case their lifespan will be way shorter.
> 
> you are not wrong with your thinking, just going about it wrong. with led's you also greatly improve efficiency + lifespan by running them at lower wattage. so you could achieve a similar goal by dimming them all to say 75% so you can lower them a bit, but you will need to experiement what work for you. I think if you dimmed them by 50% it will significantly decrease yields so that is probably too much.
> 
> ...


Hmm... Okay I have dimmable panels, they are just pots so I wouldn't want to dim them all the time but I can do as you said run them a little lower and have more spread. Cheers dude


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## Gond00s (Dec 15, 2020)

ain't no free rides. if you're gonna use a light mover you're just spreading the same amount of light over a bigger area just a terrible idea. doesn't help.


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## ilovereggae (Dec 15, 2020)

shentharo said:


> Hmm... Okay I have dimmable panels, they are just pots so I wouldn't want to dim them all the time but I can do as you said run them a little lower and have more spread. Cheers dude


cool. just so as not to confuse anyone else... dimming them with your current setup will just lower the intensity. you can drop them a little which will help make up for it. but it will still reduce yields.

in order to get better spread u would need to do 2 boards per driver.

also im not sure how your drivers work specifically. it might just be using resistance not sure it its using PWM. just wanted to clarify before someone calls me out.

you still didn't tell us how big is your space you are trying to cover with these lights? that will help us advise you on best way to run them and maybe save a few bucks on electricity


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## Don't Bogart (Dec 27, 2020)

shentharo,
More power to you. (Or less power to you??!!).
Have fun. Be truthful. Let us know your results.


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## Budzbuddha (Dec 27, 2020)

shentharo said:


> *I have 4x 1000w mars hydro LED lights*


You are better running all on straight on off cycles. 
None of those panels are pulling what you think they are. 
There is no 1000w Mars hydro .


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## Maryjae's Bud420 (Mar 16, 2021)

Gas lamp routine gives you a light cycle similar to the 1 you described


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## ttystikk (Apr 1, 2021)

Cycling the lights quickly won't hurt the diodes at all but your drivers won't like it and it may burn them out prematurely.

Contrary to what been said above, used properly light movers DO increase yield (I've done it) but there are so many caveats that is generally not with the trouble. You won't see better results because you're using directional LED lighting.

If you're concerned about even coverage just raise your lights a bit.


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## smokinrav (Apr 1, 2021)

There are no free rides, including movers. It's not possible to increase yield by pluralizing your light. Physics, yo.


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## ttystikk (Apr 1, 2021)

smokinrav said:


> There are no free rides, including movers. It's not possible to increase yield by pluralizing your light. Physics, yo.


Have you done it? No, you're just making pronouncements by talking out your ass.

I've done it, ran it for *years* and I know exactly how and why it works. I also know why it's not worth pursuing with modern technology- but that's a lot different than talking shit with no experience.

And don't presume to lecture me on physics; I'm pretty damn sure I've forgotten more of it than you know.


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## smokinrav (Apr 1, 2021)

You don't know shit about me and my 25 years of experience. But I can definitely tell when a scared, small minded piece of shit is talking, and you're example A.


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## ttystikk (Apr 1, 2021)

smokinrav said:


> You don't know shit about me and my 25 years of experience. But I can definitely tell when a scared, small minded piece of shit is talking, and you're example A.


Have a look at how long I've been here and what I've done. I'll wait.

I'm not scared and I know when someone is talking out their ass.

I notice that exactly none of your rebuttals have even one shred of evidence associated with them; you've just tried to make "nuh uh!" stick as your argument.

Now, try on almost 40 years of experience.

Go away unless you can bring real, actual proof that you've done it.


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## Don't Bogart (Apr 3, 2021)

Well now...that was exhilarating.


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## a mongo frog (Apr 3, 2021)

ttystikk said:


> I've done it, ran it for *years* and I know exactly how and why it works.


no ones does it. why even argue this?


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## UpstateRecGrower (Apr 3, 2021)

smokinrav said:


> There are no free rides, including movers. It's not possible to increase yield by pluralizing your light. Physics, yo.


Yes it's actually very possible. When you take a single light source (hps) you typically have a significant hot spot and much less light around the perimeter of the light/reflector footprint. When you put that same light on a mover you're better spreading the light, areas below the canopy that would normally be shaded get direct light as the light moves across the path of the mover, it increases yield..


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## ttystikk (Apr 5, 2021)

a mongo frog said:


> no ones does it. why even argue this?


No one does it because most have no need to.

But the conventional "wisdom" is flat wrong. Back in the day, I averaged a pound and a half every 3 weeks under just one 1000W HPS. And the fuckin' bulb was 4 years old.


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## a mongo frog (Apr 5, 2021)

ttystikk said:


> No one does it because most have no need to.
> 
> But the conventional "wisdom" is flat wrong. Back in the day, I averaged a pound and a half every 3 weeks under just one 1000W HPS. And the fuckin' bulb was 4 years old.


How much money did you lay on Gonzaga?


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