Hps vs CFL need help and information

Hi everyone i need some help, i have a 400W hps on 24/7 on veg growth atm
and its killing my electrical bill so i decided to look into CFL's, for next growth but there are so many different types, etc...that i cant work out whats needed.

-how many CFL's of X wattage is needed for veg/flowering?
-where to buy/order?
-how much will they save me?
-whats the difference with warm/cool white?
-this any good?: http://www.1000bulbs.com/105-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent/31295

Any tips/comments on people that are doing this would be very helpfull.
Thanks in advance.

Dude....there's like 500 threads done on this. Search it next time for an over spoken topic like this one lol. You want good bud? Of course. Want a fool proof lighting system ultra cheap? 6500k for flowering is usually a good choice, you want blue and red...sorry if I'm confusing you but there is so much said on this topic by growers so much more experienced than I am....just do the work yourself...there are threads, and theres an entire sub forum on cfl growing man.

Best of luck..

Mr THC

Yeah i have one of those 105 W 5000K cfl's it works great. I got two 42 Watt 2700K CFl's, four 23 Watt 6500K Cfl's and im ordering two more 42 Watt 2700K CFL's now. Thing's are gliding for me on my first CFL grow. Good luck dude.

400w 24/7 wouldn't make much of a dent in most peoples electric bill, can I ask what it's costing you? High rates where you are?First you would have to tell us how big your grow area, how many plants, and how big/tall you plan to grow them to know how many or what size cfl's would be best.

To get the lumens equal to what you have now in cfl's you'd end up using more electricity than you are now, so the only way to use cfl's and drop your bill is to significantly downsize your grow.

HPS is more efficient than cfl's as far as lumens per watt.

Maybe you should downsize the grow and go to a smaller hps?

Dr Chronic

All the lights you list are going to use more electricity than one 400 hps, but give off less lumens.

Why?

The lights i have use 281 Watt's and even the one'es i am buying will bring the total to 365 Watt's and my temps are 85F already. Not only would a 400 Watt hps raise my electricity bill but the place would burn down before i would even get the bill. Lumen intensity doesn't matter iv got at least 5000 lumen's per square feet in the grow area, switching to hps would be plant stupid.

vnbenny said:

Hi everyone i need some help, i have a 400W hps on 24/7 on veg growth atm
and its killing my electrical bill so i decided to look into CFL's, for next growth but there are so many different types, etc...that i cant work out whats needed.

-how many CFL's of X wattage is needed for veg/flowering?
-where to buy/order?
-how much will they save me?
-whats the difference with warm/cool white?
-this any good?: http://www.1000bulbs.com/105-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent/31295

Any tips/comments on people that are doing this would be very helpfull.
Thanks in advance.

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While you vegitate the plant you will want to use 6500K Daylight or 5000K Full Spectrum Cfl's and while you flower you should use 2700K Warm White. Don't get it twist these lights are horrible for large grow's but if it's a relatively small grow you can pull off some good shit.

vnbenny said:

Hi everyone i need some help, i have a 400W hps on 24/7 on veg growth atm
and its killing my electrical bill so i decided to look into CFL's, for next growth but there are so many different types, etc...that i cant work out whats needed.

-how many CFL's of X wattage is needed for veg/flowering?
-where to buy/order?
-how much will they save me?
-whats the difference with warm/cool white?
-this any good?: http://www.1000bulbs.com/105-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent/31295

Any tips/comments on people that are doing this would be very helpfull.
Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

As has been pointed out, the HID lights are way more efficient as far as lumens per watt. I'm curious, I figured out my electric usage, and found that each 400w is costing me less than $18 per mo.

Is the electric included in the rent? That would make the LandLord antsy, but you could agree to a surcharge for the increased usage. If you rent, be REALLY careful. The LL is supposed to inform you ahead of time about any inspections he/she may make, and is supposed to only enter the place if and when you are home. Reality is quite different most of the time. Check your lease carefully. As the property owner, He/She COULD theoretically give the cops permission to search. And certainly the LL could call the electric company about the higher bill, thinking that there may be a prob with the wiring, and allow them to enter and inspect.
I know that one place I rented, I found evidence on several occasions that someone was in my place while I was gone (I used a toothpick wedged in the door). LL denied it of course. So either someone had a key, or it was him. Either way, it pissed me off. Thank god I wasn't growing then!!!

Hard to give advice when we dont even know how many plants you have. The 400 might have been over kill, you might only need a handful of them.
mainly cool bulbs with a couple warms

Hi i was just writing about this on my thread 24 26w cfls on a single outlet, well i got like 45 plants growing under 24cfls they are working for me, they are daylight the 6500k 1600 lummens per bulb, its golden ticket right now. and the lights are at 24/7, i dont have to worry about infrared detectors, and or fires, and i live in the tropics so i dont need heat or a/c

Dr.Chronic said:

The lights i have use 281 Watt's and even the one'es i am buying will bring the total to 365 Watt's and my temps are 85F already. Not only would a 400 Watt hps raise my electricity bill but the place would burn down before i would even get the bill. Lumen intensity doesn't matter iv got at least 5000 lumen's per square feet in the grow area, switching to hps would be plant stupid.

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I bet you a pound that you have no idea what your talking about

Sorry, but thinking that CFLs are superior in any way to HPS is plant stupid...listen, the bulbs you are using will be less bright while using as much electricity. Sounds...like a great move, and as far as your heat goes, if you get a ducted hood I bet adding a HPS and loosing the CFLs will DROP your temp!!!!

Burn down? Does anyone here know how hard it is to burn down a house?!?!

Trust me, switching to a HPS would not be stupid, it might even educate you. Any problem can be dealt with by thinking about it, the bud you grow will not come close to the density and quality you will get with a HPS.

your right am not going to argue that hps are better than cfls of course hps are better, all i got to say its that my 24 cfls are working for my 44 plants

speedhabit said:

I bet you a pound that you have no idea what your talking about

Sorry, but thinking that CFLs are superior in any way to HPS is plant stupid...listen, the bulbs you are using will be less bright while using as much electricity. Sounds...like a great move, and as far as your heat goes, if you get a ducted hood I bet adding a HPS and loosing the CFLs will DROP your temp!!!!

Burn down? Does anyone here know how hard it is to burn down a house?!?!

Trust me, switching to a HPS would not be stupid, it might even educate you. Any problem can be dealt with by thinking about it, the bud you grow will not come close to the density and quality you will get with a HPS.

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Im not going to argue with you, putting an hps in my closet with absolutely no ventilation to grow only TWO plants is just plain fucking RETARDED. Im pretty sure i DO know what the hell im talking about because i tried putting a 250 Watt hps in my closet and the temps were almost 100F. I spent $50 on all my lights and reflectors. I don't have $125 for a ballast and then another $20 for the bulb. It's not about what is superior. It's about being smarter. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Last time i checked 281 Watt's uses less electricity than 400 Watt's, i could be wrong...

gonzo-89 said:

your right am not going to argue that hps are better than cfls of course hps are better, all i got to say its that my 24 cfls are working for my 44 plants

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Jesus that's ALOT to damn CFL's.

if you step down from 400w to cfm you will be sorry. just put an exhaust fan or bigger blower than you have on your light and stick with what you've got. cfl is a huge step backwards, almost as bad as led. small tiny operations and clones are all anyone should use cfl's for

Dr.Chronic said:

Im not going to argue with you, putting an hps in my closet with absolutely no ventilation to grow only TWO plants is just plain fucking RETARDED. Im pretty sure i DO know what the hell im talking about because i tried putting a 250 Watt hps in my closet and the temps were almost 100F. I spent $50 on all my lights and reflectors. I don't have $125 for a ballast and then another $20 for the bulb. It's not about what is superior. It's about being smarter. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Last time i checked 281 Watt's uses less electricity than 400 Watt's, i could be wrong...

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Yes but your 281 watts will be far dimmer then the 250 HPS your replacing.

Its funny that you think its retarded to grow two plants and get good bud, your right, if you grow fewer plants you should settle for worse bud.

It might be more expensive and trickier, but FAR from retarded my friend.

"smarter" HAHA did you try and air cool that 150? Closet with no ventilation....ventilate it, hell just in one side and out the other with blacked out diffusers on either side of the closer or wherever the outlet would be.

While your being smarter you should Google the following, Lumen intensity, HID vs CFL efficiency.

I see your argument, you lament how its not smart to use HID on small grows, I counter that it is smart, but more complicated.

Your not being smarter, you had a problem and you gave up, how much did you waste on the HID setup?

I would like to chill with the retard pulling nuggliness out of his closet.

And btw, 400watt hps 120 bucks ballast reflector everything at HTg. Could potentially double your weight and massivly increase your density over 281 watts of CFL.

Again, im not judging your grow, if you are satisfied with your product and can smoke all you want for free thats great, but dont act like the people who are willing to put more energy into making a HID closet grow work are retarded. Sounds smarter to me?

I just cant get over that you think extra effort for growing makes people less adept then people who do shit simple on the cheap. Im not talking CFLers in general, just this particular case.

Here is an example of your retard, one plant, 250 watts, 6oz 6oz!!!!!!!

YouTube - Marijuana Plant Huge #1 No Topping, Fim instead! Super Crop

xochi said:

if you step down from 400w to cfm you will be sorry. just put an exhaust fan or bigger blower than you have on your light and stick with what you've got. cfl is a huge step backwards, almost as bad as led. small tiny operations and clones are all anyone should use cfl's for

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LOL no not really, if you know how to grow you can use almost any light. Yes hps is superior i went from a 400w hps to 400 watts of cfl and im happy with nice tight buds, to compare cfl to led only shows you dont know what your talking about sorry, do some research, An dyou people realize that all these BIGGER BLOWERS cost more money and make more noise right. Dont be a sheep

Info on CFLs < Start here

There are applications for each.

Have you considered T5 floros?