do you need a grow light for hidroponics to work?

[jacobellinger]

title.

[Astasia]

If under a roof, yes.

[jacobellinger]

Originally posted by Astasia:

If under a roof, yes.

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

[Choosechee]

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

Hydroponics grow plants faster than even rich soil, so it's not just for indoor growing. Also, you don't need hydroponics for indoor growing. Plants planted in soil can grow indoors as well, with a sun lamp of course.

[ichifish]

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

Originally posted by Astasia:

If under a roof, yes.

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

I’m not 100% sure but a streamer mentioned that plants actually grow faster outside than with a sun lamp, so having hydroponics outside is better anyway if you don’t need a roof. Maybe the sun lamp has a shorter growing period or gives off less light?

[Shiny cursed Potato]

Originally posted by ichifish:

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

I’m not 100% sure but a streamer mentioned that plants actually grow faster outside than with a sun lamp, so having hydroponics outside is better anyway if you don’t need a roof. Maybe the sun lamp has a shorter growing period or gives off less light?

No, this is wrong. Plants grow at the same speed, there is no difference between the sun lamp or being outside in the sun

[jacobellinger]

Originally posted by Shiny cursed Potato:

Originally posted by ichifish:

I’m not 100% sure but a streamer mentioned that plants actually grow faster outside than with a sun lamp, so having hydroponics outside is better anyway if you don’t need a roof. Maybe the sun lamp has a shorter growing period or gives off less light?

No, this is wrong. Plants grow at the same speed, there is no difference between the sun lamp or being outside in the sun

technically there is because a sunlamp's light falls off so plants on the edge will grow slower.

[Kittenpox]

Originally posted by Choosechee:

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

Hydroponics grow plants faster than even rich soil, so it's not just for indoor growing. Also, you don't need hydroponics for indoor growing. Plants planted in soil can grow indoors as well, with a sun lamp of course.

^ Yep! That's how I usually grow Devilstrand.

@ OP - there's a useful image on https://www.rimworldwiki.com/wiki/Sun_lamp which may help if you're designing a hydroponics setup in Rimworld.

[Astasia]

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

Extreme desert where the temperature is cool enough for plants to grow but there is no real fertile ground. You basically need hydroponics to grow a decent sized colony, but the extra power cost of a sunlamp isn't needed if the map doesn't get that hot. That's pretty much the only situation where I would use outdoor hydroponics.

[Noun]

Originally posted by Astasia:

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

Extreme desert where the temperature is cool enough for plants to grow but there is no real fertile ground. You basically need hydroponics to grow a decent sized colony, but the extra power cost of a sunlamp isn't needed if the map doesn't get that hot. That's pretty much the only situation where I would use outdoor hydroponics.

You can also use a heated room with skylights cut out on winter maps.

[Jigain]

Originally posted by Shiny cursed Potato:

Originally posted by ichifish:

I’m not 100% sure but a streamer mentioned that plants actually grow faster outside than with a sun lamp, so having hydroponics outside is better anyway if you don’t need a roof. Maybe the sun lamp has a shorter growing period or gives off less light?

No, this is wrong. Plants grow at the same speed, there is no difference between the sun lamp or being outside in the sun

It's technically true. When the sun rises and sets, the light level gradually increases from 0% to 51% (where plants actually start growing) to 100%, or vice versa. For the duration of 51% - 100%, plants grow at a reduced speed. Sun lamps, on the other hand, go from 0% to 100% light level instantaneously, resulting in no reduced growth speed. So technically sun lamps would be faster than natural light, though practically the difference is so small it is in almost all cases negligible.

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by Astasia:

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

why would you ever NOT have it under a roof? I thought the whole point was being able to grow when there is fallout or forced winter?

Extreme desert where the temperature is cool enough for plants to grow but there is no real fertile ground. You basically need hydroponics to grow a decent sized colony, but the extra power cost of a sunlamp isn't needed if the map doesn't get that hot. That's pretty much the only situation where I would use outdoor hydroponics.

Highly mountainous terrain may also not have a whole lot of soil, just a bunch of stone, so it might be feasible to grow as much as you'd like near your base.

[Nerdygamer1]

Originally posted by jacobellinger:

Originally posted by Shiny cursed Potato:

No, this is wrong. Plants grow at the same speed, there is no difference between the sun lamp or being outside in the sun

technically there is because a sunlamp's light falls off so plants on the edge will grow slower.

I had to check, but the claim that the sunlamp's light falls off is not true. While perhaps counter-intuitive, everything within the sunlamp's 5-tile range (Six? Do you count the square the lamp sits on?) is fully and equally illuminated at 100% light. Outside the sunlamp's range, the light level is no longer affected by the sunlamp

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by Nerdygamer1:

Outside the sunlamp's range, the light level is no longer affected by the sunlamp

No. 50% or less light extends for some distance beyond the 100% light range.

[Nerdygamer1]

Originally posted by gimmethegepgun:

Originally posted by Nerdygamer1:

Outside the sunlamp's range, the light level is no longer affected by the sunlamp

No. 50% or less light extends for some distance beyond the 100% light range.

While I admit that I am running a heavily modded Rimworld, I don't think any of my mods would impact the light range of sunlamps. Just before I made that post, I went in my game and looked at the lighting levels in and around some sunlamps I had installed, and I specifically checked right outside the range of a lit lamp.

[gimmethegepgun]

Originally posted by Nerdygamer1:

Originally posted by gimmethegepgun:

No. 50% or less light extends for some distance beyond the 100% light range.

While I admit that I am running a heavily modded Rimworld, I don't think any of my mods would impact the light range of sunlamps. Just before I made that post, I went in my game and looked at the lighting levels in and around some sunlamps I had installed, and I specifically checked right outside the range of a lit lamp.

Well, one of them does, because in unmodded Rimworld a Sunlamp makes 100% light out to 6 tiles away (measured entirely in one cardinal direction), 50% light out to 10 tiles away, with 45% on the next tile and 19% on the next. For comparison, a regular lamp is 50% out to 7 tiles, then 46%, 31% (still "Lit"), 16%.