# Does a GE plant light help plants or just waste money **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022 "2010-04-22T19:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/1 "2010-04-22T19:40:34Z")
Will this “GE plant light” help grow plants in an area with low sunlight (north facing windows, or is it just designed to make the plant “look better” and take your money by making you think you bought a plant growth light? :dubious: [http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=41624&TABID=2&BreadCrumbValues=searchtext\_plant&ModelSelectionFilter=](http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=41624&TABID=2&BreadCrumbValues=searchtext_plant&ModelSelectionFilter=) ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/2 "2010-04-22T19:45:09Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > Will this “GE plant light” help grow plants in an area with low sunlight (north facing windows, or is it just designed to make the plant “look better” and take your money by making you think you bought a plant growth light? :dubious: > > [http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=41624&TABID=2&BreadCrumbValues=searchtext\_plant&ModelSelectionFilter=](http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=41624&TABID=2&BreadCrumbValues=searchtext_plant&ModelSelectionFilter=) No. According to your own link: > [@](#): > > The GE Plant Light bulb is tinted blue to highlight the natural beauty and color of your plants – so they appear healthier and greener. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/3 "2010-04-22T19:47:22Z")
Nope, just makes them look nicer. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/4 "2010-04-22T19:59:21Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > No. According to your own link: Dracoi: I can read. That doesn’t answer the question I asked. I fear that the lack of additional data means that it will not help with growth, but the link doesn’t answer that one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/5 "2010-04-22T20:25:37Z")
> [@drhess](#): > > Dracoi: I can read. That doesn’t answer the question I asked. I fear that the lack of additional data means that it will not help with growth, but the link doesn’t answer that one way or another. Actually it does answer your question, coupled with the technical spec. I see nothing that indicates the light spectrum emitted by the bulb actually helps the plants grow as opposed to [an ordinary light bulb](http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=41034&TABID=2&BreadCrumbValues=General%20Purpose_Standard_,0&ModelSelectionFilter=FT0010:General%20Purpose_Standard). The only difference I can find between it and a simliar light bulb is the sentence, “The GE Plant Light bulb is tinted blue to highlight the natural beauty and color of your plants – **so they appear healthier and greener**.” (Bolding mine.) > [@](#): > > A **grow light** is an [electric lamp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_lamp) designed to promote plant growth by emitting an [electromagnetic spectrum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum) appropriate for [photosynthesis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis). The emitted [light spectrum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_spectrum) is similar to that from the [sun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun), allowing indoor growth with outdoor conditions. Natural daylight has a high [color temperature](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature) (approx. 6000 K) and appears bluish. Through the use of the [color rendering index](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_rendering_index), it is possible to compare how much the lamp matches the natural color of regular sunlight. > > – snip – > > Incandescent grow lights have a red-yellowish tone and low color temperature (approx. 2700 K). **They are used to highlight indoor plant groupings and not as a true plant ‘growing’ light (although they may be labeled as such).** Incandescent growing lamps have an average life span of 750 hours. In addition, they are less energy efficient than fluorescent or high-intensity discharge lamps, converting much of the electricity consumed into heat (rather than light). (Bolding mine.) [Grow light - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grow_light) This place might be what you are looking for —\> [http://www.homeharvest.com/whichgrowlightisrightforme.htm](http://www.homeharvest.com/whichgrowlightisrightforme.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/6 "2010-04-22T20:48:40Z")
The advertising for the GE bulb is at least somewhat deceptive in my opinion - you could get the impression that it helps plants grow better instead of just (subjectively) looking better. I don’t know what the spectrum of this bulb is like, but I strongly doubt that adding one is going to make a measurable difference in the growth/health of plants grown in a relatively dim window. You’d likely be better off supplementing light with a simple four-foot shoplight fixture and two inexpensive cool white fluorescent bulbs. There are some knowledgable folks at [this forum](http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/lights/) who can answer questions. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/7 "2010-04-22T20:54:58Z")
I agree it’s a bit deceptive since most people use plant light and grow light interchangeably. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/8 "2010-04-22T21:00:18Z")
I agree: > [@Jackmannii](#): > > … There are some knowledgable folks at [this forum](http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/lights/) who can answer questions. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/9 "2010-04-22T21:18:42Z")
It may depend a bit on the plants involved, but the African Violet hobby growers have discussed this a lot, and done some research into which wavelengths are actually most necessary to African Violets, and a good cheap sub for an expensive grow light is a florescent fixture with one ‘daylight’ bulb and one normal bulb of the kind sold for workbenches and offices. The combination of wavelengths keeps my violets perky in a very dimly lighted townhouse with no natural sunlight on the plants. my fixture cost $9 from home depot, the bulbs were $5 and $7 ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/10 "2010-04-23T17:39:53Z")
In general, the more lumens the faster the plant will grow. Notice that the bulb you linked to provides 630 lumens while the [basic 60](http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=41026&BreadCrumbValues=General%20Purpose_Standard_,0&ModelSelectionFilter=FT0010:General%20Purpose_Standard) watt bulb provides 865 lumens. That is basically because the blue colored tint blocks some of the light … so … given the choice between those two particular 60 watt bulbs, the basic bulb will give better plant growth. Actual grow lights provide more of the blue spectrum for faster vegetative growth or more red spectrum for better flowering, but they don’t use colored tints that block lumens; they achieve the color by other means … different gasses, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/11 "2010-04-23T17:46:01Z")
Missed the edit window. So the answer to your question is: it’s not a waste of money. It will help your plant grow … just not as much as a bulb that uses the same amount of energy while providing more lumens. ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/12 "2010-04-24T18:30:14Z")
Thanks. So here’s the harder question: How many lumens does a plant in a unobstructed southern get vs in northern window? I.e., if I want to add enough light to get the northern window up to something closer to the southern, how many hours of a single 60w bulb (or more bulbs) are we talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-ge-plant-light-help-plants-or-just-waste-money/537022/13 "2010-04-25T16:56:44Z")
The only way to really answer that question if to measure it with a [light meter.](http://www.lowes.com/pd_251966-83666-1240_0_?productId=3028419&Ntt=light%20meter&Ntk=i_products&pl=1¤tURL=/pl __0__ s?newSearch=true$Ntt=light%20meter$y=0$x=0) You can get one at most any garden supply place for under $10. Trying to get direct sun light levels will take a lot of light bulbs. You run into heat problems because the closer you get the plant to the bulb, the greater the effect it will have; that’s why people are mentioning fluorescents. For maximum growth, you arrange the light to be within a few inches of the plant … but you can’t do that with incandescent bulbs. It depends on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to grow a decorative sun-loving plant on a shady window sill, your best bet is probably to get a shade-loving plant instead. If you are trying to max out the growth of a pot of basil or such and you don’t care what it looks like, **misling** posted the answer; a cheap fluorescent shop light with one warm and one cool tube, hung as close to the plant as possible without overheating it.