CFL vs FL

valuablevariable

valuablevariable

Well-Known Member
Is there any difference between the light given by a CFL and FL with the same watt?
I currently have a FL with two 18 watt tubes for two plants and am considering returning them and getting two 23 watt CFLs. Would the CFLs be better because they have 5 watt more each or is there something about FLs that i dont know about that makes them better after all?
 
mr_issues

mr_issues

Well-Known Member
Compact floros are better than tubes... they put out more lumins I believe. plus you can focus their light into one spot better.
 
smkpt

smkpt

Well-Known Member
CFLs are gonna be alot better then the flouro's and most people say atleast 2 CFLs per plant and the more you can get the better
 
splifman

splifman

Well-Known Member
what type of fluoros do you have???? T5 high output fluoros put our more lumens per watt than any, ANY, cfl. However, if you bought your 18 watters at a store like Home Depot or Lowes, chances are they are T8 bulbs, and yes, cfls will be better.

If you can use straight 4' fluoros, I suggest you get the T5 high output bulbs. at 54 watts per bulb they put out 5000 lumens each. This is more lumens per watt than any cfl, hands down...

Light per growing area:
veg: 2000 lumens per square feet.
flower: 8000 - 10,000 lumens per square feet.
 
pauliojr

pauliojr

Well-Known Member
You definitely want to go with CFLs when vegging. Yes 2 per plant is the minimum. Make sure you get the highest lumen output you can find. Try some 150W equivalents. Not sure what the actual wattage is, but it's not even near 150. They are packing with lumens and if reflected right will do an amazing job on plants. Good luck.
 
D

DoobsDay

Well-Known Member
splifman said:
what type of fluoros do you have???? T5 high output fluoros put our more lumens per watt than any, ANY, cfl. However, if you bought your 18 watters at a store like Home Depot or Lowes, chances are they are T8 bulbs, and yes, cfls will be better.

If you can use straight 4' fluoros, I suggest you get the T5 high output bulbs. at 54 watts per bulb they put out 5000 lumens each. This is more lumens per watt than any cfl, hands down...

Light per growing area:
veg: 2000 lumens per square feet.
flower: 8000 - 10,000 lumens per square feet.
Click to expand...

i have some freinds that use t5's and man they are nice 90-100 lumens a watt, better color spec. for veg and can be inches from your plants, just expensive as a mofo.
 
pauliojr

pauliojr

Well-Known Member
ismokelightgreen said:
These lights are to make the plant grow faster?
Click to expand...
CFLs are good to grow with, but you would be much better off with a DAYLIGHT METAL HALIDE bulb for vegging followed by a HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM BULB for flowering. When using CFLs, you generally end up using a lot of bulbs whereas with the MH and HPS, you are only using 1 and they can range a lot further.
 
splifman

splifman

Well-Known Member
pauliojr said:
CFLs are good to grow with, but you would be much better off with a DAYLIGHT METAL HALIDE bulb for vegging followed by a HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM BULB for flowering. When using CFLs, you generally end up using a lot of bulbs whereas with the MH and HPS, you are only using 1 and they can range a lot further.
Click to expand...
I agree with your statement about the HPS 100%. However, I have to totally disagree with what you said about the MH. I used to veg with an MH but I specifically switched to fluoros and cfls for veg. Based on the amount of light you need per square foot during veg, power usage with cfl's and fluoros is more efficient than with the MH. The percentage of spectrum output that is in teh PAR range in much greater, which more than makes up for the fact that the lumens per watt isn't as much with fluoros than it is with the MH.
Therefore PAR lumens per watt is more with flouros and cfls than it is with an MH.
 
pauliojr

pauliojr

Well-Known Member
splifman said:
I agree with your statement about the HPS 100%. However, I have to totally disagree with what you said about the MH. I used to veg with an MH but I specifically switched to fluoros and cfls for veg. Based on the amount of light you need per square foot during veg, power usage with cfl's and fluoros is more efficient than with the MH. The percentage of spectrum output that is in teh PAR range in much greater, which more than makes up for the fact that the lumens per watt isn't as much with fluoros than it is with the MH.
Therefore PAR lumens per watt is more with flouros and cfls than it is with an MH.
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I am just going by what I have seen and done myself. I am a 100% loyal fan to CFLs. I love em' and use them all the time. At the correct height I have seen 1 metal halide bulb blow about 10 CFLs out of the water. The size and weight difference was just amazing. If space and money is not a problem, I suggest a Metal Halide for a big grow. But for a few plants, CFLs are the way to go. Floros shouldn't really be used besides germinating seeds and the beginning of vegging. Their lumen output doesn't even match those of the CFLs or a Metal Halide. As for color spectrum goes, you should go with the correct color, but if there is a huge amount of lumen output, then the recommendation is to go with that.
 
splifman

splifman

Well-Known Member
just to clarify, I agree that HPS must be used during flowering to attain the best possible results, and I would never use anything but. I'm just saying that during veg cfls or fluoros will give you the same results as an MH. The real magic is done in the flowering room.
I've vegged with an MH and have recently switched to fluoros and cfls. I have seen no differences in the end product. Just a cheaper power bill... :)
 
babygro

babygro

Well-Known Member
pauliojr said:
Floros shouldn't really be used besides germinating seeds and the beginning of vegging.
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I don't agree for a variety of reasons. Just because your average person has no idea about the right fluoro's to get and how to use them in a grow situation is no reason to perpetuate a 'myth' that they're no good for anything other than germinating seedlings or the start of vegetative growth.

Most people are lazy and can't be bothered to understand lighting sufficiently to tailor the most cost effective solution for them, so go out and buy a MH or HPS system because it's easy to do so - and it costs them a lot more in power consumption - their choice - their money.

Certain fluoro's output the most PAR of any grow lighting system available, some as much as 80-90% PAR compared to 30% PAR of your average HPS/MH system - that means you're getting a lot more bang for your buck with fluorescents than MH or HPS.

The lower PAR/lumen requirements of vegetative growth means fluorescents AND CFL's can be far more cost effective than MH systems in vegetative growth and for maintaining clone mothers.

I'm currently working on a growbox design for vegetative growth, seedling/clone germination and clone mother maintenance that uses soley T5 2ft fluorescents, and I'm also considering doing the same for a flowering box - just to show people what fluorescents are capable of producing.

Don't dismiss fluorescents quite so quickly when you have no idea of what they're capable of doing or producing.
 
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