Designed by the Apogee Instruments’ engineering team under the direction of  world-renowned crop physiologist, Bruce Bugbee, PhD, the MQ-610 ePAR meter is the first in its class among leading scientists and serious growers for accurately measuring the new extended photosynthetically active radiation (ePAR) from 400 to 750 nm for all light sources. 

Laboratory-grade measurement of the newly defined 400-750 nm ePAR has been found to be photosynthetically active beyond the traditional 400-700 nm (PAR). Much of the transformative work to define the ePAR range was conducted by Dr. Shuyang Zhen and Dr. Bruce Bugbee. The MQ-610 can accurately measure far-red photons (700-750 nm), found in many next-generation LED fixtures, the sun, and other light sources, which cannot be measured by traditional PAR meters.

Unlike commonly available LUX or footcandle meters used for measuring light for human vision, our meters feature a laboratory-grade ePPFD (extended photosynthetic photon flux density) optical detector precisely calibrated to measure the light intensity in µmol m-2 s-1 of the specific color wavelengths (including far-red) emitted by LEDs, HPS, MH, sunlight, and other light sources utilized by plants for photosynthesis. The sensor contains a precision silicon photodiode detector, a custom optical filter, and an acrylic diffuser all housed in a self-cleaning, dome-shaped, anodized aluminum sensor head.