Hey there, I'm a RDWC person and longtime lurker. For my last grow I installed a heavy duty battery backup unit or UPS. If you're not familiar with them, they're basically heavy surge protectors that keep power running to whatever you have plugged into them when the power goes out. Mine's about $200, nothing like a generator, but enough to run four 4 watt air pumps for a couple of hours. I initially did this to prevent my roots from drowning because of previous 3+ hour power outages. For this upcoming grow I'm thinking of adding a 1 watt LED bulb to the room, set to kick in during the chance of a power outage as well.
The reason for all of this is to minimize stress/chance of hermies/zombie plants.
Power goes out, air keeps pumping to the roots. Power goes out, light keeps hitting the plants. But I'm concerned that a 1w LED won't make a damn difference. What about 2? The more watts, the less time for power. The idea is that in the event there's a power outage the plants will remain in daytime mode like nothing happened and not shut down for the "night," which only causes stress when the main 600w HPS inevitably kicks back on. Power outages are rare and only temporary, and hopefully never more than an hour.
Will plants recognize a 1w LED and stay "awake", or will it stress them all the same?
I'm just looking for some feedback if anyone's got any. Thanks!
The reason for all of this is to minimize stress/chance of hermies/zombie plants.
Power goes out, air keeps pumping to the roots. Power goes out, light keeps hitting the plants. But I'm concerned that a 1w LED won't make a damn difference. What about 2? The more watts, the less time for power. The idea is that in the event there's a power outage the plants will remain in daytime mode like nothing happened and not shut down for the "night," which only causes stress when the main 600w HPS inevitably kicks back on. Power outages are rare and only temporary, and hopefully never more than an hour.
Will plants recognize a 1w LED and stay "awake", or will it stress them all the same?
I'm just looking for some feedback if anyone's got any. Thanks!