PPFD to DLI Calculator

Easily convert between PPFD (µmol/m²/s) and DLI (mol/m²/d)

Both PPFD and DLI measure light that's actually usable for plants (PAR). However, PPFD measures the amount of light your plant receives at a given moment, while the DLI measures the total amount of light your plant receives over an entire day. This is why you need to enter the photoperiod — the amount of time your plant is exposed to light each day.

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Common PPFD to DLI conversions

The table below shows DLI values for common PPFD inputs across typical indoor-grow photoperiods. For instance, 600 µmol/m²/s PPFD over a 12-hour photoperiod equals 25.9 DLI; over 18 hours the same PPFD equals 38.9 DLI.

PPFD (µmol/m²/s)	12 h	16 h	18 h	24 h
100	4.3	5.8	6.5	8.6
200	8.6	11.5	13.0	17.3
300	13.0	17.3	19.4	25.9
400	17.3	23.0	25.9	34.6
500	21.6	28.8	32.4	43.2
600	25.9	34.6	38.9	51.8
800	34.6	46.1	51.8	69.1
1,000	43.2	57.6	64.8	86.4
1,200	51.8	69.1	77.8	103.7
Formula: DLI = PPFD × photoperiod (hours) × 3,600 ÷ 1,000,000. DLI values rounded to one decimal mol/m²/d.

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PPFD to DLI Calculator

Inputs

Result

Common PPFD to DLI conversions

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