legaleyes13
Well-Known Member
Which would be more reflective as grow room walls...? It's just a interesting thought that popped into my head... anyone with knowledge, please discuss.
Mirrors vs flat white paint
- Thread starter legaleyes13
- Start date
AltarNation
Well-Known Member
White paint.
ounevinsmoke
Well-Known Member
what he said... Mirrors dont properly reflect the full spectrum.
jeffblack
Member
trust me on this i bought an ikea mirrored cabinet from goodwill and while it was bright as fuck it doesnt actually do the job well. Mirrors reflect the image without dispersing it which is actually bad. it creates hot spots on your plants not to mention that mirrors are only 70% or so reflective when flat white is closer to 80% paint it also cheaper and easier.
kermit2692
Well-Known Member
neither..use mylar which is still only a small percentage, less than 10 percent, more reflective than flat white.
Mirrors are not as good as one might think. It's a reflective surface covered in glass and the light must go through the glass, bounce off the reflective surface and then go back through the glass thus lowering the amount of light reflected. It also creates hot spots becuase there's nothing to diffuse the light. Flat white paint works well and has about about 85-90% reflectivity. Mylar is a little more expensive, but works best and has approx. 95% reflectivity.
BarnBuster
Virtually Unknown Member
and I always use ceiling bright white.
brotherjericho
Well-Known Member
Not all flat white paints are the same, some get as low as 60% while others can go up to 90% reflectivity. Behr (Home Depot) claims their ultra pure white is close to 94% reflectivity.
djwimbo
Well-Known Member
What he said. If you have the option have the paint person mix in some anti-fungal additive (usually used in bathrooms).
Some new hoods are painted white on the inside now. Last I read, a good flat/matte white paint was 95-97% reflective.
The the OP, don't use mirrors. You will create uneven light distribution, you want it to reflect, but also illuminate. Shine a flashlight in your bathroom with the lights off, then turn the light on. A 14W cfl will illuminate the whole room more effectively than the same wattage flashlight, because of the light dispersion.