CFL Temperatures and Quality. Is there a difference?

I'm just wondering if there is a noticeable difference in quality and temperatures between different cfl brands?

My Cab is getting a little warm. I planned to use 8 26w CFL bulbs. Right now I have 4 26w 5000k and 2 26w 2700k. My cab gets up to around 84, but avg temp is 79. I have to keep the door open to keep it cool. My room temp hovers around 72 degrees F. My cab is wood and inside of a closet.

Are some brands better than others?

Thx

None really but look to different wattages ....yes perhaps 1-200w cfl's would be cooler than 8 26w's, either way 8 x 26w's is getting very very high when 1x 200w Mh light would be best

I think so as well. 1 good 6500k cfl 100 watt bulb would be much cooler then running all those little bulbs and just as bright . this is a no brainer .http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-200W-Equivalent-Daylight-6500K-Spiral-CFL-Light-Bulb-ESL40TN-D/203252142?MERCH=REC-_-SearchPLPHorizontal1-4-_-NA-_-203252142-_-N 42 watts input += 200 watt of brightness . get 2 or 3 of these. would be cooler then what you have and much brighter . and only 126 watts total for 3 .

i heard CFL's are most efficient around 26 watts, and they decrease in efficiency as the wattage increases, i.e. they put out more relative heat. this may not be true though. I doubt it would really make much difference. As far as brands I would say no it won't save your heat problems by switching brands, just get a good name brand to start and that is all you can do.

kinddiesel said:

I think so as well. 1 good 6500k cfl 100 watt bulb would be much cooler then running all those little bulbs and just as bright . this is a no brainer .http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-200W-Equivalent-Daylight-6500K-Spiral-CFL-Light-Bulb-ESL40TN-D/203252142?MERCH=REC-_-SearchPLPHorizontal1-4-_-NA-_-203252142-_-N 42 watts input += 200 watt of brightness . get 2 or 3 of these. would be cooler then what you have and much brighter . and only 126 watts total for 3 .

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Lol...he has a duplicate thread and I said to stay away from generics...I was thinking of those Feit brand cfls..hahaha....I just haven't had luck with them that's all....

I do believe all of us cfl'ers should start looking at the led bulbs.....the A19 style as replacements.Look into it for yourselves!Even less heat and more lumen per watt for the high-end led bulbs....just thought i'd throw that out there

B166ER420 said:

Lol...he has a duplicate thread and I said to stay away from generics...I was thinking of those Feit brand cfls..hahaha....I just haven't had luck with them that's all....

I do believe all of us cfl'ers should start looking at the led bulbs.....the A19 style as replacements.Look into it for yourselves!Even less heat and more lumen per watt for the high-end led bulbs....just thought i'd throw that out there

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With the price, availability, and much better efficiency of light and heat, I scratch my head at why anyone, particularly in a small space, would be exclusively using CFL's today. All you have to do is replace the bulbs now, bite the bullet, fix your heat issue, and produce better plants. You can even do it in stages by mixing them up (cfl+led bulbs) and spread the spend if your budget is tight. The only use I've had for CFL's recently is heating up my LED grows for seedlings/clones, other than that I have enough cfl's to last me a year or two when my lamps go out...