Polished aluminum grow box lining

Has anyone ever tried this? I've looked into it a bit, apparently
the finest grade of polished aluminum that is sold has a light
reflectance of 98%.

Is there anything better than that?

I know mirrors are far less efficient, due to the light having to
pass through the glass twice: there, and back. Assuming a
'perfect' reflectance value of the mirror coating, and the light
losing 15% of it's power on each pass, this would leave an
efficiency of only 72%.

Has a study been performed on surfaces such as panda film,
and reflective mylar (safety blanket style, and from a sheet)?

Aluminum is good for reflectors because it can handle the high temps at close proximity to hot HID lamps, but it also reflects heat in addition to light, so it's not really good for the walls of a grow room. Mylar would be a better choice.

PJ Diaz said:

Aluminum is good for reflectors because it can handle the high temps at close proximity to hot HID lamps, but it also reflects heat in addition to light, so it's not really good for the walls of a grow room. Mylar would be a better choice.

Click to expand...

Err... Do you have a source stating that Mylar doesn't reflect heat?
Why would one use a Mylar windshield reflector if it did not reflect heat?

It also goes by the name Reflectix, which is used as insulation, i.e to keep
heat in.

Mylar reflects heat, but much less so than aluminum. For instance, windshield reflectors are a much better reflector to use than aluminum foil. Both for heat and reflectivity. I use windshield reflectors, but I assume there are different qualities of mylar just like there is of aluminum.

i was told by a grower/vendor that aluminum wasnt any good for reflective purposes when growing....something about the specific light your wanting isnt as a fraction as potent once reflected off any aluminum surface. ive seen grows where the grow room is covered in white panda film(which is excellent light reflective)....with small mylar cut outs at the bottom of plant, laying flat on top of the container the plant was in to reflect back up into the plants foilage from underneath.

This is why I don't like "reflective walls". It's like taking a flashlight and focusing the light into spots on the plant. The rest of the plant gets very little of the light. On most hoods you will notice they 'pebble' the aluminum to help diffuse the light better. Panda plastic has excellent diffusion properties and helps ensure that all of the plant gets consistant lighting.

True the plant will 'lean' toward the light concentrations but why make it work that much harder?