Q. Why is sunlight so important for plants?
PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
All plants need light to grow and flourish. Plants capture the energy in sunlight
and then convert it into different forms of chemical energy. This is called photosynthesis, which literally means “ making things with light”.
Plant leaves are like small factories that produce food for the plant. They contain
a green pigment called chlorophyll.
Think of chlorophyll as an energy capturing
substance that uses sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen
and glucose or sugar. This sugar is then mixed with water and is sent throughout
the plant where it is used as food.
It’s an amazing process that sustains life and makes the correct amount of sunlight
vital to your plants’ survival and ability to flourish.
Q. WHEN WE TURN SUNCALC ON…
HOW DO WE KNOW IT’S WORKING?
When power is applied by pressing the power switch the Full Shade through
Full Sun LED’s are illuminated sequentially signifying the microprocessor has
stabilized. Each LED illuminates in sequence from bottom to top. The unit is on.
All 4 LED’s flash once every 2 seconds during the 12 hour cycle indicating that solar energy accumulation is in progress.
.
After 12 hours of continuous operation , the unit will cease to accumulate solar
radiation data. A single LED representing the sunlight threshold achieved will
flash every 2 seconds for the next 12 hours unless the unit is turned off.
In the event you wish to turn the unit off prior to completion of the normal
12 hour accumulation cycle, press the power switch again and the Full Sun
through Full Shade LED’s will illuminate sequentially from top to bottom
and unit turns itself off. No solar energy reading will be recorded.
If after attaining a valid reading ( 12 hours of continuous operation) you do
not turn off the unit it will stay on for an additional 12 hours displaying
the current reading. At the end of 24 hours the unit turns itself off.
No further indication of activity is present and the last reading will be saved until
the unit is turned on again.
Q. I USED THE SUNCALC ONCE WITH GOOD RESULTS. WHEN I TURNED IT ON TO USE IT AGAIN THE LED THAT REPRESENTS THE LAST READING WAS FLASHING ….. HOW DO WE RESET IT?
Resetting the unit is automatic. When you turn the unit on after having attained a
valid reading the LED that represents the last reading will flash for about 7 seconds….then the unit will automatically reset and resume collecting solar energy. This feature is designed into the units program to prevent gardeners
from losing the last reading by forgetting it.
Q. SOMETIMES PLANT TAGS SPECIFY HOURS OF SUNLIGHT REQUIRED PER DAY. HOW DOES TIME RELATE TO SUNCALC READINGS?
SunCalc is programmed to calculate the aggregate amount of full intensity solar energy that falls on a specific piece of property during a (12) twelve hour period.
SunCalc readings are related to time as follows :
Full Sun - 6+ hours
Partial Sun - Less than 6 and more than 4 hours
Partial Shade - Less than 4 and more than 1 1/2 hours
Full Shade - Less than 1 1/2 hours
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