Basement orchid room finished

[chemist]

Thank you! The lights are on at night so it should save a lot on electricity.

Did you think about solar panels. I can imagine how much it cost to run all those lights. I have three and it cist me more than all other electricity needs lol.

[Chris in Hamilton]

I did think about them and talked to a few people that have them. I only have the lights on in this room in the off peak hours (5pm - 7am). I think that I would end up paying more for the panels in the long run. Panels aren't too efficient in my area either. The last few years there has been very little sun from the beginning of November to the end of January. A neighbor built a windmill a few years ago. That is a consideration.

[Arne]

The thought of having solar panels is good for the environment to say the least. Nevertheless, you have to spend a lot of money to install those and keep them running. I know a lot of people with solar panels but they all confess that those panels were expensive but they did install them because of environmental reasons. These people are wonderful but I cannot do it right now myself.

I really have to watch myself from getting political nowadays so I censored what I just wrote many times. Chris, you seem to be a nice guy that I can trust so please let me know when I tend to go down the political road.

[Chris in Hamilton]

The biggest problem with upkeep here is that our weather is so volatile. We can have a 10 F one day followed by a 50 F the next and back again the next. A snow storm could put a foot of the white stuff on the roof and with the freezing and thawing the panels can be pushed right off. The guy who built the windmill had that happen.

[raybark]

Chris, just how variable is the electricity cost in Canada? My aunt in Mississauga used to keep almost every light on in her house, and her "Hydro bill" was only about $25/month.

I'm (hopefully) going to "plant a mental seed" about solar, but I won't hijack this thread...

[Chris in Hamilton]

Chris, just how variable is the electricity cost in Canada? My aunt in Mississauga used to keep almost every light on in her house, and her "Hydro bill" was only about $25/month.

I'm (hopefully) going to "plant a mental seed" about solar, but I won't hijack this thread...

Couple of screen captures from the bill I received yesterday. I think most of the on peak usage is from the plant lights that are still upstairs. We only cook or do laundry in off peak hours. This is the last 30 days.

[Marlene]

Chris, I really admire your setup! I'm hoping to set something up similar to yours in my basement, for winter. For now, my few plants are upstairs on windowsills. My collection is very small but hopefully will eventually grow. I will have to move them downstairs for next winter since your weather zone is very comparable to mine. I appreciate your telling us about your lighting. Are they strictly "plant grow lights" or regular "cool, warm, fluorescent bulbs? I also like your idea of running them during the "off peak hours", and your thrift shopping excursions!
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[Chris in Hamilton]

Thank you Marlene! The T5 bulbs are a combination of warm 3000k and cool 5000k and just the ones recommended for kitchens and bathrooms. I have to make some adjustments when all of the plants have been moved outside for the summer. The lights are too close to the shelf on the small wooden one above the sink. Without fans it hits 90F in a couple of hours at the ceiling so they are set to come on two hours after the lights. A mist system runs during that two hours for the cloud forest plants. I still have not put the door on because of the heat buildup from the lights. Although the floor area still sits at 55-60F I think with the door it would sky rocket. I've been researching LED lighting (very little heat) but so far haven't been able to make up my mind on that.

[-Nicola-]

Hi,
I find your setup, inspiring.
I live in an apartment and for my orchids I have a 6 x 10 feet windowless room.
At the moment I have only one rack but I have ordered two more.
I use led lights to avoid excessive heat, which here in Delhi is a problem.
As in your case I use common household tubes in mixture of warm and cold light.
In addition to the benefit of lower consumption and less heat,these LEDs do not need a reflector.
I have even removed the light diffuser cover of the tubes and the plants seem to like it.
I hope that in a while it will be somewhat similar to yours,
Thanks for this beautiful post
Ciao Nicola

[Chris in Hamilton]

Thank you Nicola! Some people here claim I have an orchid addiction problem but that is simply not the case. I did the basement room mainly because I had run out of windows upstairs. The area closest to the floor allowed me to try more of the cooler growing miniatures as well. I'd tried those upstairs but they always died when summer came. Now for a few larger cold growers!