Grow light bulbs at HOME: HortiPower vs Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp

Grow light bulbs: HortiPower vs Philips GreenPower LED Flowering Lamps DR/W

In this blog post we are going to compare lightbulbs for flowering management; the Philips GreenPower Flowering Lamp with HortiPower Bloomer 2. These lights are typically used for indoor plants.

• The GreenPower flowering lamp is made for photoperiodic lighting in greenhouses. It works for managing the flowering time of Cut flowers, Bedding plants, Perennials and Strawberries. living room plants. In addition the HortiPower Bloomer 2 can grow herbs, leafy greens, succulents, berries, seedlings for fruiting vegetables and decorative plants such as calathea and monstera.
• The GreenPower flowering lamp DR/W and the Bloomer 2 contain both plant-centric lighting and have a similar spectrum.
• The GreenPower is larger is size and the Bloomer 2 is more compact so it is easier to fit into an existing light fixture.

Photoperiodic lighting to manage flowering time

Short-day plants will only flower during short days. Using light at night will slow down or inhibit the plant from flowering. The plant will use its energy to focus on vegetative growth instead. This is be desirable for growers that would like to let the plant focus on stretching and getting stronger before flowering. Examples of short-day plants are chrysanthemum, dahlia, poinsettia and others. Using photoperiodic lighting helps to prevent bud formation in mother plants.

Long-day plants are more likely to flower when the duration of light is long. Long-day plants are those that typically would love long summer days. Examples are gypsum, aster, deer hay, goldenrod, as well as pot plants and annual and perennial plants. Flowering is also important for soft-fruit such as strawberries as it can promote the stretching of strawberry plant stems and stimulate flowering.

Plant-centric
GreenPower and HortiPower Bloomer 2 communicate plant-centric lighting specs on the website and packaging. The GreenPower offers slightly more micromol. 

The spectrum of the GreenPower DR/W and Bloomer 2 are very similar. They both contain a large portion of special plant-centric red light, which is very important for photosynthesis and plant health.

The Philips light is mainly made as supplemental light in the greenhouse. The HortiPower Bloomer 2 is primarily focused on growing plants indoor, such as herbs, leafy greens, flowers, berries and seedlings for fruiting vegetables. It is also suitable to act as supplemental lighting in a greenhouse. Note that the Philips light has an IP rating of 44 and the Bloomer 2 a rating of 20. Both lamps are not waterproof.  

Installation

The GreenPower flowering lamp DR/W has a relatively large diameter. The HortiPower Bloomer 2 has a diameter that is 57mm more compact. The GreenPower is made for greenhouse application and is normally hanging from a trellis from a E27 socket. The Bloomer 2 is designed for use in smaller fixtures, such as desk-lamps, and floor standing lamps. this means you will have more options to install the lamps in larger or smaller compatible light fixtures. 

The Bloomer 2 can more easily installed near the plants, this helps to get more micromol on the plants where you need it. 

Please make sure you choose a fixture or socket that can handle at least 11W.

Luminous flux

The GreenPower flowering lamp documentation does not explain lumen output. Lumen is the brightness that a lamp emits, and that is visible for the human eye. The HortiPower Bloomer 2 has 765lm output. For plant-centric light the PAR is more important than lumen. 

The color temperature tells you the how cool or how warm the light appears. Philips does not offer information about this metric, the Bloomer 2 is 4500K. The Boomer 2 is white link and has a pink color tone.

Various

The energy consumption is similar with the GreenPower using 10 watts and the Bloomer 2 using 11 watts.

The switching cycle determines how often the lights can be switched on and off. The GreenPower has 35.000 switching cycles and the Bloomer 2 has 15.000. If the lights are switched on every day the Växer can turn on 35.000/2/365=48 years. Whereas the Bloomer can switch on 15.000/2/365=20 years.

Both lamps have a lifetime of 25.000h which results in a possible lifetime of 25.000/10/365=6.8 years under optimal circumstances. In practice these lamps will continue to do well for at least 2 years before the light output starts to degrade.

Dimmability

Both lamps are not branded as dimmable. But the Bloomer 2 is compatible with standard LED dimmers from brands such as Scheider Electric and it can control its brightness from 100% to 20%. This is helpful is the light appears too bright, especially if you are using the light very closely near your plants, for example in a desk-lamp or floor standing lamp.

The mercury content for both bulbs is zero. 

The Power factor for GreenPower is 0.9 and for Bloomer 2 it is 0.8. 

The Lumen maintenance factor is 90% for GreenPower and 70% for Bloomer 2. Philips states that it is not a performance claim for individual bulbs. The EU regulation stipulates that manufacturers must indicate lifetime with a L70 maintenance factor.

Availability

The GreenPower flowering lamp is listed under specialist applications, and this means it is not easily available for consumers. It is available in specialist horticultural sales channels. The Bloomer 2 is available for both professional as well as home users.

Price

The GreenPower LED flowering lamp DR/w is listed for 18.07 euro. excl. VAT. With VAT and shipping it is 35 euro for one lamp.

The Bloomer 2 comes in a set of two lamps and is 35 euro incl. VAT and shipping. This makes it 50% more affordable.

In summary, the Philips GreenPower flowering lamp DR/W and the HortiPower Bloomer 2 are both excellent lamps for periodic lighting in the greenhouse or at home. The GreenPower has some efficiency benefits. The Bloomer 2 is much more compact and fits in many more lighting fixtures. The GreenPower is available in specialist channels only. The Bloomer 2 is available online for every grower. The Bloomer 2 is 50% more affordable. 

The HortiPower Bloomer 2 is available in Europe since February 2022.