Testing Lighting

[mikro402]

Is it a good idea to get a lux meter to test your lights?

I was thinking of this one:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mastech-MS6610-3-RANGE-Luxmeter/dp/B000643U1G/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1295917082&sr=8-5"]Amazon.com: Mastech MS6610 3-RANGE Luxmeter: Electronics[/ame]


I have always replaced my lights every year. I am going from pc's to T5 and thought a meter would be better than just replacing the lamps after a year or so.
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[ccCapt]

Not really. A PAR meter is much more useful.

 

[bjohanson1234]

LUX is just how bright the light it.
PAR is how much of that light can be used for photosynthesis.

LUX will tell you that the bulb is getting weaker, but not much else. Might be good for comparisons over time. If you are assuming that the bulb will reduce the light output of all wavelengths of light equally over time. However, bulbs tend to "shift" their spectrum. So some wavelengths will become more dominant and others will become less dominant. So the LUX might stay the same after 1 year, but the PAR might have decreased.