ORCHID LED FLOODLIGHT SYSTEM

I saw this in my local Maplin store while killing time before visiting my GP which I had some awkward questions to put to him while recording

As I previously posted I was after an LED bulb or two and could use any one of two different routes to do what I wanted and though I did not enter Maplin for that reason it did occur to me while I was in there.

Nothing to make it simple and after being told yes they would do that I was then told that they did not actually do what I wanted.

Now while looking in there I then spotted something I had only seen pictures of previously, an LED strip lighting system only this one was FLEXIBLE, made in a way that you can have them in different set-ups and best of all you can buy ADDITIONAL strips at a lower price than the main system and just link them in?!

The light colour temperature was even given as a warm 3000K and each strip contained 15 LED lights and there were three strips. The whole thing consumed 20 WATTS, but I need to check how this works when you ADD strips?!

The strips themselves have plugs at each end and you have a junction box with four plugs. I have not chain linked mine so three of the plugs in the junction box are used up leaving one free. They also come with adhesive backs too but I wrapped garden wire around them in three places for each strip just to be safe.

As I stated you can buy an extension pack for these but I am not sure if this comes with another junction box and I will check that out.

I was able to remove three bulbs totalling around 30 Watts so reduced my energy consumption a little more as well as placing one light over my Orchid Nursery to provide more light!

It IS bright but not quite as bright as I had imagined. However what it does do is act like a floodlight and fills in the gaps while adding to the photon count that will wash the Orchid leaves.

I will buy an extension pack but will check if they come in different sizes as I may not need another THREE, lol.

BUT I am now thinking about buying a second one and using them to REPLACE the two 36" fluorescent tube lights in my one metre aquarium! Off the top of my head the tube lights are 20 Watts each I think so 40 in total. Replacing them with one of these would HALVE that consumption which runs for 12 hours each day.

As for the Orchid set up in the picture I made the frame they are attached to out of bamboo canes using silicone sealer and gardening wire. My thinking is to add two more strips which overlap by about 4 inches in the middle, providing more intense light in the centre, will adding to the light on the left hand side.