Artificial lighting for home hobbyist greenhouses or interior grow rooms has expanded in use in recent years as the price and quality of these systems have improved. Homeowners who have made a large investment in sunrooms, only to find their plants grow poorly all winter are turning to artificial lights to create a more lush space. In addition, many avid gardeners are finding that an indoor grow area lit by artificial lights can be cheaper to run than heating a greenhouse.
With few exceptions, most plants require relatively high levels of light to exhibit healthy growth. This coupled with the fact that most artificial lights have lower intensity than full sun means that serious gardeners need to be looking for more light. Anyone who has started tomato plants in February under a couple of fluorescent grow lights can tell you that the plants grow spindly and look terrible by the time it is warm enough to plant them outdoors. At the same time, gardeners who have invested in the proper lighting system can harvest tomatoes grown entirely under artificial lights in January!
