I'm setting up a 3'x 6' space in my living room to grow citrus trees. I'd like them to be able to fruit year-round.
I'm trying to decide between a few 200-400 watt CFL grow lights or LEDs.
LEDs are lighter and cheaper, but I'm worried about eye damage related to having them in a living space.
Is this something I should be worried about?
Neither lamp will use 200-400 watts, this is just the equivalent amount of light each will give off compared to an incandescent light of those watts.
Will it hurt or damage your eyes to look at a 200 watt incandescent light? Yes it will. As will both these equivalent lights. You should not look directly at either lights.
I use both LED and fluorescent lights for my plants. I prefer the LED, because it does not loose power as fast as a fluorescent. A fluorescent should be replace every one to one and half years. The LED not for many years. The LED also uses less watts than the fluorescent. For both of these reasons the cost of the LED will be much cheaper in the end. The cost of LEDs are coming down quickly, they are close to if not the same as fluorescent in most cases.
They both hurt my eyes when I look directly at them. DO NOT look directly at either of these lights.
LEDs are the most efficient type of grow light. The science behind the led grow lights is to provide the spectrum that helps plants to grow. These spectrums include
380-410nm is Ultraviolet UV that promotes higher flower quality in plants and is harmful to eye, but is rare, only found in high end and expensive products. Contact with harmful blue light (between 380 and 450 nm) can lead to age-related macular degeneration. This means that, over time, retinal cells can become irreversibly damaged. In industrial countries, this is the most frequent cause of eye diseases resulting in blindness.
660-665nm is visible Red light that boosts flowering/fruiting, is Harmless and quite Common in led grow light
730-740nm infra-red (IR) Speed up phylochrome conversionis Harmless and quite Common in led grow light
3200-4200K is warm white light that boosts vegetation in plants and is normal light and is generally present in al LED grow lights
4800-5000K is normal pure white light that promotes foliage growth and is generally present in al LED grow lights
Generally, you should not be looking directly at any source of light. If you are using a high-end LED light, make sure you wear protective eye gear when working in your canopy.
ref:
You shouldn't have either of them in your living space as it would disrupt your body clock full on worse then jet lag
LED is ment to be better in efficiency and running costs but not all led bulbs are created equal
I prefer led and I have had both CFL and LED
I used LED lighting in my living space and I can confirm that it is not advisable! a CFL would do the same.
Yes some lights will damage your eyes if you look directly at them and some just from the reflection
And I can promise you they would also affect your body clock.
https://www.naturaleyecare.com/blog/led-lights-damage-eyes-sleep/
LED technology is excellent but protective eye gear should be used.
Eyes are not designed to look directly at light - they are designed to see reflected light
The damage caused by artificial blue light is well documented and researched read more here
If you wanted to stare directly at the sun your eyes would stop you, the light some LED emit lack the intensity of the sun but nevertheless they are attempting to replicate an artificial sun using similar wave length and frequencys such as UV. Exposure to this light over long periods of time cause damage that would accumulate.
This type of damage is not reversible and the cells will never recover.
Agricultural lighting is not designed for lighting living spaces
more photons/second = larger artificial growth = more dangerous blue light radiation = eye damage
They are designed to barrage the plant with artificial photons, some of which would be emitting UV radiation!
That is why manufacturers always recommend using protective gear, because they know it will damage your eyes.
Ultraviolet light is what you should be worried about the most as eyes cannot adjust enough to protect you, so always use protective uv glasses especially when working with agricultural led technology as they produce very high levels of ultraviolet light from a small source point, a bit like a defused laser
All three types of ultraviolet light can damage your eyesight, but UVC does by far the most damage.
Limiting your exposure to UV radiation is advised as the damage is cumulative and irreversible.