Thread: Blacklighting an Entire Room

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Say you want a room about 15 X 20 with a 9 foot ceiling awash in UV light so that everything in it glows.

How much blacklight power are talking here?

Two 18 inch bulbs?
Four?
... Fifty?

Seriously, how much would I need?

hmmmm....Don't know, but you ask a VERY good question. I'd like to know myself...... Anyone.....?

I lit this walkway with 4 36' blacklight tubes in two workshop style fixtures: Its very bright. Anything more than that and it wont feel dark/glowing:

Excellent question! I was wanting to ask the very same thing. I am planning to do a corridor too. Should the lights be at what high to be more effective?

Originally Posted by devils chariot

I lit this walkway with 4 36' blacklight tubes in two workshop style fixtures: Its very bright. Anything more than that and it wont feel dark/glowing:

That's sooo cool ! Did you make the tiki head's yourself ? If so, I'd like to know what they are made of. I also dig the dragonfly one. Awesome...

That is a nice effect, what I had mind exactly!

What are the dimensions on that walkway?

I'm needing some numbers here.

Also, are the bulbs above facing down, on the wall opposite or on the floor facing up?

Originally Posted by Spats

Say you want a room about 15 X 20 with a 9 foot ceiling awash in UV light so that everything in it glows.

How much blacklight power are talking here?

Two 18 inch bulbs?
Four?
... Fifty?

Seriously, how much would I need?

Surprisingly, the answer is "it depends".

Depends on the quality of the blacklight fixtures and bulbs. Different bulbs and fixture combinations give off differing levels of true UV light vs visible light.

If there's more ambient light bleeding into the room, you might want higher quality lights to activate the UV sensitive items.

So, personally, when dealing with lots of ambient light bleeding, I tend towards the 48" fixtures. When I have a dark room, I've had good luck with the el cheapo walmart blacklight/fixture combos that are cheaper than replacement bulbs.

Some technical info on UV lighting and effects:
http://www.wildfirefx.com/resources/...ienceofuv.aspx

Take your measurements to Home depot. You can get shoplights for a low price and blacklight bulbs too. They can tell you how many you need, and also any ordinances your area may have.