So what will people achieve from going out and reading their lux on their phone again? Do you think the 5% difference in readings was on the same phone? I do but regardless
I'm not advocating buying a lux meter at all. I think ilux is almost worthless for plants even it was accurate. That isn't an insult to you. Its my opinion.
The first article was why phones aren't worth anything because they aren't light meters and don't correct cosine and the second shows that even with accurate equipment, many of the LED colors are not measured.
So why use it?
They will be able to give their plants a within 5% accuracy of optimal light for their current application. For free, with just a little bit if knowledge......
Isnt that enough?
The article title is IT’S NOT ALL SPARKLE. IT’S SPECTRUM AND COSINE CORRECTION: YOUR GUIDE TO BUYING A LIGHT METER
Who's buying anything? I agree, if you buy a light meter, buy one that is accurate.
The phone apps I have, have calibration settings where you can look up your known manufacturers (LG, sylvania, GE etc..) specs for their bulb, and calibrate your phone. It's just math man. As for degree angle, the hydrofarm appears to be the worst for that. That's just user error. Use an app like the one I have, it show maximum readings on a graph in real time So you can be sure you captured the right angle.
Anyways, dont use one if you dont need one. I dont absolutely need one. But it sure is nice when you're trying to get even distribution from multiple fixtures. And to keep track of my led output as a % when dimming. But many new growers can definitely use this to be sure they are in the correct range of light for the current stage of their plant.
The entire post started off describing what light is and how it works. How the par spectrum and lux spectrum are in fact the same spectrum. Yes with weight in certain places or not. I then go in to show how you can, using math (or even easier, online calculators) using the color temperature of your spectrum as a variable, get a decently accurate par or umol count.
If you dont like anything I said specifically, please quote it and we can talk about it. If I'm wrong I'd live to correct it.