Do you turn down your lights, last couple weeks to preserve terps?

What’s good DGC.

Do you turn down your lights a bit the last 2 weeks of flower to preserve terps? Or drop just the temps? (keep the light at 100% (or your desired full output) but lower the overall temps thru AC or both? (Drop temps and dial back from 100%, to 90% or 80%)? What’s your go to move?

Thx!

Comments

6 responses to “Do you turn down your lights, last couple weeks to preserve terps?”

New Leaf

02/22/2024

I try to lower just temps. I’m not trying to sacrifice light at the end of flower. I start running 11/13 a little past the estimated halfway mark of flower. I even go to 10/14 the last weekish. I have a 780 watt light in my 4×4. 880 with its added uva/ir bars. Its really designed for a 5×5. Which is the plan in the future, but right now I rarely hit 100%. I usually always have room for increased light. Whenever I take an hour away from flower I increase the light to match.

I’ve definitely folded and turned down the light at times during the hot summer months. Until I compensated with cooling. I have never had a problem with frying terps at temps around 80. And there arent many situations with LEDs where leaf surface temp is much warmer than ambient. Not to say it can’t happen though.

There are also those days when the dials weren’t set right for that particular day. So sometimes 85-87 just happens. The tent smells a little more on those days, but still so does harvest day.

In my opinion the rewards would be greater if your try and not sacrifice light near the end.

New Leaf

02/22/2024

Oh shit! what up mail man! Just realized this was your post lol

PacNW Dan

02/26/2024

Heat is more of an issue for terpene offgassing than light intensity. As long as you can keep your temps in an appropriate range, the extra light should be beneficial to yield, potency and terp development.

Since light is the primary driver in photosynthesis, I struggle with the concept of dropping hours of light at the end of flower. Just seems like you’re throwing away a potential 1-2 hours/day (that’s roughly 15%) of usable daylight right at the end when you want to bulk the most.

In fact, I’ve actually started adding hours at the end, typically going up to 18/6 for the last 10 days of flower which seems to boost yield and doesn’t appear to adversely affect quality or terpenes.

Your Mailman

02/26/2024

Thanks for the responses🙏

I suppose my thought is would the intensity of the light degrade the trichs from PPFD intensity vs the heat itself?

Example I can drop temps in my tent by opening the tent and pumping AC straight in but I thought maybe the intensity of the light could degrade the trichs even if the temps are low (thru light intensity, no)?🤷‍♂️

So it sounds like nothing to worry about about.
Thx everyone