Hey there,
Just wanted to pass along a little app i have found to be quite useful. This little app will measure lux (lumen per meter squared) if your smartphone has a light sensor on the front of it. It may not be as accurate as an actually light meter but it is free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.fmbee.beecam.lightmeter&hl=en
They say that 5000 lux is minimal for life, but I don' think that is 100% true although anything under I would strongly recommend upgrading your lighting system. My initial set up was approx 500w of cfl and a the most intense area i measured was around 20,000 lux, after I upgraded with two 150w HPS it skyrocketed to 60-70,000 lux. Since then I have also added 200w more cfl for approx 1000w total and still have room for more with splitters and plug in sockets. Outside on a sunny day in direct sunlight I measured 90,000 plus lux and a cloudy day was 40,000 lux. It really allows you to realize how strong our sun is.
Low (500–2,500 lux; 50–250 foot-candles)
North window at 40o latitude, 3–10 ft from fluorescent lights
Medium (2,500–10,000 lux; 250–1,000 foot-candles)
East/West window at 40o latitude, filtered daylight, 1–3 ft from fluorescent lights, 5–10 ft from a 400W metal halide light bulb
High (10,000–20,000 lux; 1,000–2,000 foot-candles)
Full Daylight (10,000–25,000 lux), South window at 40o latitude, 2–5 ft from a 400W metal halide light bulb
Very High (20,000–50,000 lux; 2,000–5,000 foot-candles)
direct Sun (32,000–130,000 lux), 1–2 ft from a 400W metal halide light bulb
From wikipedia
Just wanted to pass along a little app i have found to be quite useful. This little app will measure lux (lumen per meter squared) if your smartphone has a light sensor on the front of it. It may not be as accurate as an actually light meter but it is free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.fmbee.beecam.lightmeter&hl=en
They say that 5000 lux is minimal for life, but I don' think that is 100% true although anything under I would strongly recommend upgrading your lighting system. My initial set up was approx 500w of cfl and a the most intense area i measured was around 20,000 lux, after I upgraded with two 150w HPS it skyrocketed to 60-70,000 lux. Since then I have also added 200w more cfl for approx 1000w total and still have room for more with splitters and plug in sockets. Outside on a sunny day in direct sunlight I measured 90,000 plus lux and a cloudy day was 40,000 lux. It really allows you to realize how strong our sun is.
Low (500–2,500 lux; 50–250 foot-candles)
North window at 40o latitude, 3–10 ft from fluorescent lights
Medium (2,500–10,000 lux; 250–1,000 foot-candles)
East/West window at 40o latitude, filtered daylight, 1–3 ft from fluorescent lights, 5–10 ft from a 400W metal halide light bulb
High (10,000–20,000 lux; 1,000–2,000 foot-candles)
Full Daylight (10,000–25,000 lux), South window at 40o latitude, 2–5 ft from a 400W metal halide light bulb
Very High (20,000–50,000 lux; 2,000–5,000 foot-candles)
direct Sun (32,000–130,000 lux), 1–2 ft from a 400W metal halide light bulb
From wikipedia
