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Reflecting light back towards your plants is always a good idea, however, using mirror is not the best method of doing this. Mirrors are not actually all that reflective, I have heard that mirrors are only about 80% to 85% reflective, also mirrors do not defuse light which can cause "hotspots" You can burn your plants with them. Flat white paint is actually more reflective than mirror and it defuses the light very well.

There are several products on the market that are specifically designed to go in a grow room. The most popular is probably Mylar which is about 95% to 98% reflective. Mylar comes on rolls of 4 feet x 25, 50 or 100 foot in 1 or 2 mil thickness.

Foylon:
A more durable version of mylar, made of spun polyester fabric and reinforced with foil laminate. Foylon is resistant to most solutions, won't tear or fade, and can be wiped or washed clean.

A great solution for growers who are interested in long term use, and though it may be slightly more expensive than mylar, its durability will more than make up for its cost. It has the ability to reflect about 95% of the light and approximately 85% of the heat energy, so a good ventilation system should be used in conjunction with folyon.

A recommended method to attach Foylon to the walls would be using Velcro, as it makes taking it down for cleaning much easier nd reduces the risk of tearing, creasing or bending it. If this is used for your walls, making sure you get it flush with the wall with no pockets of air between it and the wall to prevent hotspots.



Mylar:
A highly reflective polyester film that comes in varying thickness, the most common being 1 and 2 mm thick. The 2mm thick mylar while not quite as durable as the foylon, is fairly rugged. The 1mm thick mylar tears fairly easily, so taking it down for cleaning is quite difficult without damaging it in the process. Both types of mylar are able to reflect approximately 92-97% reflective, giving it the potential to be more reflective than foylon, but because foylon is more easily cleaned without damaging it as well as it being harder to crease, foylon usually ends up being slightly more reflective. Important to note is that mylar reflects radiant heat energy just as well as foylon (around 85%), so proper ventilation is necessary if mylar is used in your grow room. Attaching this to walls can be done in a similar fashion as foylon, and the same caution should be used to avoid creating hotspots in your room. The 1mm thick mylar stands a fair chance of being creased or ripped in the process unfortunately, even if Velcro is used to attach to the walls.

knoodles wrote:
Foylon, where can you buy it?

Weedguru_RyaNayR wrote:
and no, mirrors don't absorb light, that's stupid... they reflect 100% of the light in a focused beam, that's why there appears to be less light being reflected, because it is focused not spread. you only notice reflected light making things brighter if it is spread... otherwise it doesn't look like it's "reflected" in your perception./

i hate misinformation based on assumptions... its just not a good tool of deduction at all... any conclusions based on misinterpreted data are fallible.