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Lighting Ballasts: 250 Watt Ballast | 400 Watt Ballast With Timer | 600 Watt Ballast | 1000 Watt Ballast

A ballast is a large box containing an electrical transformer and other circuitry required for the normal operation of high powered lighting. The boxes are approximately one foot (25-35cm) long, size increasing with the power rating of the ballast. Extreme care should be taken to ensure the electrical safety of the ballast. If possible, place the ballast outside of the growroom to avoid accidental damage. Never place a ballast on the floor of your growroom, otherwise floods and leaks may cause failure of the ballast, damage to the lamp, electrical fires or damage to other electrical equipment.

All ballasts supplied by Esoteric Hydroponics are capable of working with High Pressure Sodium lights [HPS] and Metal Halide lights [MH], also supplied by Esoteric Hydroponics. Ballasts available from other suppliers may not suitable for operation with both types of lamps. Operation with High Pressure Sodium lamps is the most important. Many growers only use such lighting, although some people prefer to change the Sodium bulbs for Metal Halide bulbs to encourage fruit or flowering of their crop. The use of Metal Halide lighting in combination with a reduced daylight period provides a better hint to the plant to begin producing fruit or flowers. Large growrooms with multiple light sources may have mixed lighting. For example, it is the recommended operation of the three arm circular light mover to use one Metal Halide light with two High Pressure Sodiums. So, should your ballast not work with Metal Halide lighting, these options will not be available to you.

We strongly recommend the use of powerful lighting, and for all except the smallest of hydroponic systems, 1000 Watt lighting is recommended. Light is the only source of energy for a plant and therefore greater energy equates to greater yields, produced faster with less time for disease to take hold. Without energy, a plant cannot process nutrient. For example, a plant does not grow during the night or in periods of very low lighting. For this reason, an abrupt change in the lighting conditions is desirable and acceptable. It is also the reason that hydroponic pumps and CO₂ release systems are inactive during darkness.

So, how much light can a plant receive? At the equator in the upper atmosphere, 1400W/m² of light falls. This is filtered by the atmosphere and ignoring weather conditions, plants are able to receive 1000W/m². Obviously, this is for hardy plants in tropical conditions, but it would not be unreasonable to suggest lighting at 600W/m², or a 1000 Watt light for a 16 pod HydroPod hydroponic system.

Please note that until recently, Metal Halide lamps were not available as 600 Watts, and only available as 250 Watt, 400 Watt and 1000 Watt lamps. 600 Watt Metal Halide lamps have only recently been introduced and for this reason, the availability of 600 Watt Metal Halide lamps may be uncertain. This is another reason to opt for the most powerful lighting available (1000 Watt).

Also note that the size, colour and specification of ballasts may vary, although this does not affect operational parameters of the equipment. All ballasts sold by Esoteric Hydroponics will match or exceed the specification of the ballasts depicted here.

See Also

• Ballasts with timers.