The lighting system includes both white grow LEDs and RGB accent LEDs. OpenShrooly uses lux measurements for easier following of mushroom growing guides!

Dashboard Card

Lighting Card

The lighting card shows:

  • Current lux (or OFF when lights are off)
  • Light schedule below (e.g., “08:00 - 21:00”)
  • Icon changes between 💡 (lights on) and 🌙 (lights off)

Lighting Settings

Click the Lighting card on the dashboard to open the lighting schedule modal.

Lighting Schedule Modal

Visual Timeline Scheduler

The lighting control features a 24-hour timeline slider with draggable sun and moon icons:

  • Sun icon (☀️): Drag to set sunrise time (when lights turn on)
  • Moon icon (🌙): Drag to set sunset time (when lights turn off)
  • Yellow highlighted zone: Shows when lights are ON during the day

White LED Intensity

White Intensity slider: Set brightness in lux (0-4000).

This slider uses a logarithmic scale because you are much likely to need the lower numbers.

General Guidelines:

  • Most mushrooms: 150-400 lux
  • Default starting point: 150 lux

Species-Specific:

  • Shiitake: 50-150 lux at pinning
  • Lion’s Mane: 100-250 lux at pinning
  • Oyster: 200-400 lux at pinning
  • Pioppino: 100-300 lux

RGB Color Controls

RGB Color Picker: Use the color picker for accent lighting.

The color picker controls three independent RGB LEDs (0-100% each):

  • Red intensity: 0-100%
  • Green intensity: 0-100%
  • Blue intensity: 0-100%

Blue light tip: Blue light (around 20% intensity) may promote better mushroom development and more compact fruiting bodies.

Light Requirements for Mushrooms

Why Mushrooms Need Light

Unlike plants, mushrooms don’t photosynthesize, but light serves important functions:

  • Triggers fruiting: Signals when to produce mushrooms
  • Directs growth: Mushrooms grow toward light sources
  • Affects morphology: Influences cap color, size, and shape

Photoperiod (Day Length)

Most mushrooms need consistent daily light cycles:

  • Typical duration: 8-12 hours per day
  • Consistency matters: Keep schedule regular
  • Complete darkness: Can cause deformed growth

Light Spectrum

  • Blue spectrum (400-500nm): Encourages fruiting and compact growth
  • White light: Provides balanced spectrum
  • RGB options: For experimentation or aesthetic purposes

Scheduling Tips

Basic Schedule

Set sunrise in the morning (e.g., 08:00) and let lights run for 10-12 hours.

Timezone

Make sure your timezone is set correctly in Settings for accurate scheduling.