Plant temperature is more important than ambient temperature! When the camera is connected, the climate can be controlled based on plant temperature. If the plant temperature becomes too high, the Dimlux Maxi Controller will dim the lights to keep the stomata open. In the event of water shortage (e.g. due to a faulty pump), the lights are also dimmed or switched off to prevent crop damage.
- infrared camera for heat detection
- highly precise environmental control
- allows the Dimlux Maxi Controller to calculate VPD*
- used by the professional horticulture industry
- very easy to install – plugs directly into the Dimlux Maxi Controller
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10m cable
*Note: see the detailed description for an explanation of vapour pressure deficit (VPD).
See how to calculate your plant's VPD: here*
Dimlux Plant Temperature Camera is a fantastic accessory that accurately measures your plant's infrared levels and sends the information back to the Dimlux Maxi Controller. This information is then used together with room temperature and humidity readings to calculate and display the vapour pressure deficit (VPD)* – the potential of the surrounding air to draw moisture from the plant. It gives the grower the most accurate information on how much the plants need to transpire (release moisture through their leaves) to reach equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere. A high vapour pressure deficit means your plants will lose more water through their stomata. Low vapour pressure deficits mean plants retain water more easily (great for cuttings, etc.). The Dimlux Maxi Controller can regulate your lighting power according to the temperature difference between the plants and the surrounding atmosphere, ensuring that VPD levels are always within the correct range.
VPD (VAPOUR PRESSURE DEFICIT) VAPOUR PRESSURE DEFICIT. The plant temperature camera, connected to and integrated with the Dimlux Maxi Controller, measures the plant temperature and displays the results on the Dimlux Maxi Controller.
The question is: Why do we need a plant temperature camera at all?
The reason is that it is crucial for the Dimlux Maxi Controller to understand the plant's overall condition or health. The temperature of a healthy plant should always be lower than the ambient temperature in which it lives. Water and nutrients continuously move through the plant, keeping it cooler than its surroundings. If the plant temperature rises to the same temperature as the ambient air, it is no longer healthy and will begin to wilt and eventually die. Factors that contribute to this undesirable condition or environment include:
- High-intensity discharge lighting - HPS (sodium) or MH (metal-halide) lamps
- Lack of adequate extraction or ventilation
- Incorrect water supply to the plant.
- With the help and intelligence of the Dimlux Maxi Controller, the lights it controls are dimmed until the plant temperature falls below the ambient temperature and remain that way until the fault causing the temperature imbalance between the plant and the ambient air is resolved (for example, a plumbing or electrical fault).
- Now, with the plant temperature camera, the temperature sensor and the Dimlux humidity sensor, connected to and integrated with the Dimlux Maxi Controller, the controller is programmed to analyse the ambient temperature, plant temperature and humidity levels, and to calculate another vitally important measurement, described as “Vapour Pressure Deficit” or VPD. This measurement is an indicator that best describes the level of environmental support in which the plant lives.
- This environment is critical for optimal growth and nutrient uptake, and depends on how hot and humid it is. If the indoor environment is lit with HPS, MH or CDM lighting, and humidity is above 70 to 80% while temperatures are above 35°C, then the plants' ability to photosynthesise and to take up CO2 and to absorb nutrients decreases; consequently, the plants' ability to grow and produce flowers and fruit also decreases.
- Therefore, if the environment cannot be controlled or restored to normal conditions, your plants' ability to absorb nutrients and grow optimally will also be reduced. Consequently, reducing the light output and heat from HPS, MH or CDM lighting is the next logical step in balancing the parameters [heat and humidity] to maintain high photosynthetic activity and, more importantly, to keep the stomata in the leaves open.
- By keeping the stomata open for gas exchange, which is the main force driving water and nutrients through the plant, more sugars and amino acids are formed in the flowers/fruits for optimal production. This level of control is possible only with the Dimlux Maxi Controller and your Dimlux lighting. For greater flexibility in your indoor environment in relation to your lighting, the right control equipment is the key to consistently maximising the quality and yield potential of your plants and every harvest!
- The idea of VPD and its application is new, exciting and perhaps confusing to some. The idea, once again, is that if it is too hot or too humid for your plants to function optimally, why waste electricity on lights at full power when the plants cannot use the light, when we can balance heat and humidity by reducing lighting power and bringing the VPD reading to around 1 to 1.2?
- By doing this, the plants will use the nutrients you feed them, and therefore grow and produce optimally. Again, this is possible only with Dimlux lighting, Dimlux Maxi Controller and the plant temperature camera, the temperature sensor and the Dimlux humidity sensor. The same yields have been achieved even at 70% light output, simply because the other parameters were balanced and optimal VPD was achieved.
