do i have enough light??
- Thread starter fishindog
- Start date
mogie
Well-Known Member
My opinion different ones. Get some lights with balls.
A very general rule of thumb is that your garden needs 50 watts of HID lighting per square foot of illuminated area. This rule ignores the shape of your garden, so the following is really a better guide:
A 250 watt HID will illuminate a 2' x 2' garden.
A 400 watt HID will illuminate a 3' x 3' garden.
A 600 watt HID will illuminate a 3.5' x 3.5' garden.
A 1000 watt HID will illuminate a 4' x 4' garden.
From Jackerspackle, here's a different take on watts-per-square-foot/meter (WPSF).
WPSF assumes that the bulb's intensity is equal over the entire grow area.. in other words each square foot/meter receives the same number of lumens. But in reality light diminishes rapidly the farther you go from the bulb (1/4 the intensity for each doubling of the distance). So each bulb has a limited range, beyond which you do not have good growth.
For example, a growspace that's 2 x 10 feet would require 1000 watts if you go by the 50 WPSF guideline that's commonly mentioned.. But a 1000 watt bulb only covers an area about 5 feet across - meaning the edges of your garden will be dark.. A better choice in this case would be three 400s or two 600s.
Another problem with WPSF is it assumes all bulbs have the same intensity. But 1000 watts of HPS is not the same as 1000 watts of fluorescents or (yuk) incandescents. Fluorescents have their lumens spread out over a long tube and are therefore dim.. incandescents have the wrong color spectrum and are also dim.
Nor is a 1000 HPS the same as four 250 HPSs.. 250s don't have anywhere near the intensity needed to penetrate thick canopy or tall, bushy plants. (Don't even think about growing meter-tall plants with a 250.)
I could go on, but here's a basic guideline for lighting a growspace for good growth using common HIDs:
WATTAGE -- COVERAGE
1000 watt - 4 to 5 feet across (1.3 to 1.5 meters)
600 watt - 3.5 feet (1 meter)
400 watt - 2.5 possibly 3 feet (.8 to .9 m)
250 watt - 2 feet (.6-.7 m)
175 watt - small, less than 2 feet
These numbers assume you have a good reflector around your bulb and also reflective wall coverings. You can increase the figures a bit if using multiple bulbs, due to their overlapping effect. You can also increase coverage using a light mover...
I know this won't put to rest the old WPSF idea, but i hope it shed some light on the subject. -~
A very general rule of thumb is that your garden needs 50 watts of HID lighting per square foot of illuminated area. This rule ignores the shape of your garden, so the following is really a better guide:
A 250 watt HID will illuminate a 2' x 2' garden.
A 400 watt HID will illuminate a 3' x 3' garden.
A 600 watt HID will illuminate a 3.5' x 3.5' garden.
A 1000 watt HID will illuminate a 4' x 4' garden.
From Jackerspackle, here's a different take on watts-per-square-foot/meter (WPSF).
WPSF assumes that the bulb's intensity is equal over the entire grow area.. in other words each square foot/meter receives the same number of lumens. But in reality light diminishes rapidly the farther you go from the bulb (1/4 the intensity for each doubling of the distance). So each bulb has a limited range, beyond which you do not have good growth.
For example, a growspace that's 2 x 10 feet would require 1000 watts if you go by the 50 WPSF guideline that's commonly mentioned.. But a 1000 watt bulb only covers an area about 5 feet across - meaning the edges of your garden will be dark.. A better choice in this case would be three 400s or two 600s.
Another problem with WPSF is it assumes all bulbs have the same intensity. But 1000 watts of HPS is not the same as 1000 watts of fluorescents or (yuk) incandescents. Fluorescents have their lumens spread out over a long tube and are therefore dim.. incandescents have the wrong color spectrum and are also dim.
Nor is a 1000 HPS the same as four 250 HPSs.. 250s don't have anywhere near the intensity needed to penetrate thick canopy or tall, bushy plants. (Don't even think about growing meter-tall plants with a 250.)
I could go on, but here's a basic guideline for lighting a growspace for good growth using common HIDs:
WATTAGE -- COVERAGE
1000 watt - 4 to 5 feet across (1.3 to 1.5 meters)
600 watt - 3.5 feet (1 meter)
400 watt - 2.5 possibly 3 feet (.8 to .9 m)
250 watt - 2 feet (.6-.7 m)
175 watt - small, less than 2 feet
These numbers assume you have a good reflector around your bulb and also reflective wall coverings. You can increase the figures a bit if using multiple bulbs, due to their overlapping effect. You can also increase coverage using a light mover...
I know this won't put to rest the old WPSF idea, but i hope it shed some light on the subject. -~
SmokerE
Well-Known Member
I think 600's are the real deal. Most circuit breakers are 15 amp. 1k watt lights (i'm pretty sure) use up 9 amps. I think in using the 1k (at least in my grow area) I would blow fuses on the regular since the series circuit in my house pulls off of a couple of different outlets.
Wigmo
Well-Known Member
accroding to what mogie says, it would be more cost effective to get 5 250 watts, instead of a thousand. but aside from that you could just use cfls if that is all you can manage. if you can go with hps, becuase you will straight up get more bud. but if you decide to just use cfls, just get as many as you can and use cool light for veg and soft warm light for flowering. from what you said im pretty sure you only have 42 watters, unless you have envirolights. it should say 150 watt equivalent right? anyway man good luck with whatever you decide to do. peeeaacage
fishindog
Well-Known Member
ya wigmo they r 42 watts equivelent to 150...is that gunna be way to weak??? i only have room right now in this little area for 2 of these lights, they r both in 10 1/2 inch domes hangin above the plants....am i gunna need stronger or will the 2 do the trick for awhile till i move them to a bigger area??
skunkushybrid
New Member
I use 400's. When I first started I went for 600's, but they only had 400's. Used the 400's ever since.
Tried using a 150w cfl once. I wouldn't even rate it to grow one plant. It's perfect for clones... but you can put clones anywhere.
Tried using a 150w cfl once. I wouldn't even rate it to grow one plant. It's perfect for clones... but you can put clones anywhere.
skunkushybrid
New Member
Ohhhh YES!