Jogro
Well-Known Member
From personal experience, I'll say the following:
-Aluminum foil works FINE. This idea that aluminum is a bad reflector is stupid internet BS. Polished aluminum is actually one of the best reflective materials available, period. Don't forget mylar itself is just aluminized polyester film. Also don't forget that all the of the best grow light reflectors are themselves made of polished aluminum. Why is AL good enough for to make expensive grow light reflectors out of, but not for the walls of the grow room?
-"Hot spots" of reflected light that burn plant leaves are some kind of stupid internet BS that make no sort of physical sense.
Flat sheets of anything do NOT concentrate light or heat. Think about it. . if aluminum foil causes these mythical hotspots, why doesn't mylar. . .which is supposed to be a much better reflector. . .create the same problem? I'd still suggest running aluminum foil dull side out for more even light diffusion, but even shiny side out will still work without burning your plants.
-Disadvantages of aluminum foil over metallized mylar are that foil is quite a bit more fragile, somewhat harder to install, basically impossible to remove without destroying it (though its cheap, so maybe that doesn't matter), and electrically conductive.
The latter could be a SERIOUS disadvantage if your electrical wiring isn't up to snuff.
Yes, Al foil will also conduct heat better than mylar, though its debatable how much of a disadvantage this is. It arguably could even be considered an ADVANTAGE, though I'm not going to make that argument now.
Typical cheap Al foil may be *slightly* less reflective than special purpose mylar, though I don't think this particular disadvantage is nearly as significant as many would have you believe. Real world advantages of aluminum foil include low cost and ready availability.
d. Way to tack up aluminum foil? Put Elmer's (white) glue on the back and rub the front down carefully with a flat object (ie a book edge or squeegee) to distribute the glue over the back. Allow glue to dry and you're done. Again, you basically can't remove it this way without destroying it after doing so, but it is pretty easy to get it up there.
EDIT:
Looks like undercovercop just posted more or less the same thing as I did at nearly the exact same time, though I think I said it with fewer words!
One other real world advantage of mylar is that its a bit easier to clean.
-Aluminum foil works FINE. This idea that aluminum is a bad reflector is stupid internet BS. Polished aluminum is actually one of the best reflective materials available, period. Don't forget mylar itself is just aluminized polyester film. Also don't forget that all the of the best grow light reflectors are themselves made of polished aluminum. Why is AL good enough for to make expensive grow light reflectors out of, but not for the walls of the grow room?
-"Hot spots" of reflected light that burn plant leaves are some kind of stupid internet BS that make no sort of physical sense.
Flat sheets of anything do NOT concentrate light or heat. Think about it. . if aluminum foil causes these mythical hotspots, why doesn't mylar. . .which is supposed to be a much better reflector. . .create the same problem? I'd still suggest running aluminum foil dull side out for more even light diffusion, but even shiny side out will still work without burning your plants.
-Disadvantages of aluminum foil over metallized mylar are that foil is quite a bit more fragile, somewhat harder to install, basically impossible to remove without destroying it (though its cheap, so maybe that doesn't matter), and electrically conductive.
The latter could be a SERIOUS disadvantage if your electrical wiring isn't up to snuff.
Yes, Al foil will also conduct heat better than mylar, though its debatable how much of a disadvantage this is. It arguably could even be considered an ADVANTAGE, though I'm not going to make that argument now.
Typical cheap Al foil may be *slightly* less reflective than special purpose mylar, though I don't think this particular disadvantage is nearly as significant as many would have you believe. Real world advantages of aluminum foil include low cost and ready availability.
d. Way to tack up aluminum foil? Put Elmer's (white) glue on the back and rub the front down carefully with a flat object (ie a book edge or squeegee) to distribute the glue over the back. Allow glue to dry and you're done. Again, you basically can't remove it this way without destroying it after doing so, but it is pretty easy to get it up there.
EDIT:
Looks like undercovercop just posted more or less the same thing as I did at nearly the exact same time, though I think I said it with fewer words!
One other real world advantage of mylar is that its a bit easier to clean.
