Larger CFLs vs Smaller CFLs
- Thread starter bunnyweed
- Start date
NorthWest69
Active Member
Besause a 150 watt is way closer to being like 'the sun,' than a 26 watt or even a 42 watt. Simply put use both. I have 13 watts up to 1130 watts. Use them depending on the circumstances. peace
Chillums
Well-Known Member
No dude "more like the sun" makes total sense. Think bout it, 4 bulbs or one? In nature plants grow towards the sun acting on photototropism, if you have one big bulb the "whole" plant will face the "sun". But if you have 4 or more smaller point light sources the plant can't take up photons as easily making for inefficient photosynthesis. That's the reason for big CFL's. For the record I'm poor and use all 13-26 watt CFL's, but I also have 600 or so watts of them. Peace out and good growin.
pabloesqobar
Well-Known Member
I've read some posts on here from folks who reported that the higher watt CFL's produce less heat. If true, that would be a potential benefit.
Chase1126
New Member
42 watt cfls are the most efficient for cost and benefit. People who spend 70 bucks on a 150 watt cfl are idiots. You can make a 150 watt HPS for less than that.
blakkmask
Well-Known Member
Actually 42's and 55's have proven to be the most efficient overall(Multiple bulbs in those watts) compaired to one large 150 watt. The cost of larger CFLs IMO outweighs their light out put. A 150 watt HPS would also cost about $70. The same as your big CFL but with double the lumens. Also one of the major benifits of smaller cfls is that I can place 8-42's and 4-23's in my flower room and move them around to allow light to reach differnt parts of the plant. Thats 428 watts and 28,000 lumens.
Try to find grow journals using 1 large light over several plants, compared to multiple small light ones. The plants usually suffer from some form of light stess such a stretching or "reaching" for the light source. One of the major benifits of CFL Growing IS THE ABILTY TO MOVE MULTIPLE LIGHTS TO SUIT PLANT NEEDS.
CFL's only penetrate about 24 inches of vegetation effectivly. Meaning any plant grown over 2 feet with cfls will more than like have less dense buds and uneven maturation of flowers. I usually only flower 4 plants under 2 feet in my grow space. They are normally budded from the base of the soil the tip-top of the cola, with relativly dense buds.
Try to find grow journals using 1 large light over several plants, compared to multiple small light ones. The plants usually suffer from some form of light stess such a stretching or "reaching" for the light source. One of the major benifits of CFL Growing IS THE ABILTY TO MOVE MULTIPLE LIGHTS TO SUIT PLANT NEEDS.
CFL's only penetrate about 24 inches of vegetation effectivly. Meaning any plant grown over 2 feet with cfls will more than like have less dense buds and uneven maturation of flowers. I usually only flower 4 plants under 2 feet in my grow space. They are normally budded from the base of the soil the tip-top of the cola, with relativly dense buds.
grow space
Well-Known Member
hey, what do yo think.im planning to run about 8 26 watt cfls with also a 70 watt hps-is that a good idea??
nikk
Active Member
for one plant that is sufficient for a personal grow....good luck and smoke one for your boy....nikkz
Roseman
Elite Rolling Society
From Ed Rosenthal:
In the new Skunk Magazine there was a question in the "Ask Ed" section that just made my night last night when reading it...
The question was...
Tiny Grow Space
I intend to grow a single cannabis plant in a space 1' x 2'. What light would you recommend? I was think of using four 30-watt compact fluorescent lamps. Will this be enough? Cost isn't an issue but I am deterred from getting a high pressure sodium [light] because of the amount of heat the bulb produces.
Barry, Internet
As you mentioned, you have several lighting systems to choose from, including compact fluorescents and high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. Among HPS lamps you have a choice between a single 100-watt lamp which uses a total of about 120-watts and emits about 8,800 lumens(73 lumens per watt) or a 150-watt lamp, which uses about 180 watts and emits almost double that-15,800 lumens (87 lumens per watt).
A 42-watt compact fluorescent (CFL) emits about 2700 lumens(64 lumens per watt). Four CFLs use 168 watts and emit 10,800 lumens. Other size CFLs have a similar efficiency.
However, that is only part of the story. Plants use mostly red and blue light. Yellow and green light is of little use to them, so light that is emitted in these spectrums is wasted energy. Most of the light emitted by HPS lamps is in the yellow spectrum. Only a small amount of the emitted light is is in the orange or red spectrums, which plants use efficiently. Warm white fluorescents (2700 Kelvin) emit a greater portion in the red and orange sectors.
Although fluorescents produce only about 75% of the light per watt that the HPS does, the amount of light usable by the plant is equal or probably higher with the fluorescents. You may wish to experiment to see if adding a single cool white CFL to replace one warm white results in shorter, stouter stems and more vigorous growth. The reasoning is that warm whites don't emit much blue light, which the plants use for photosynthesis and to regulate their growth. The cool white bulb supplies the blue light.
My call for your unit would be to use several (three to five) CFLs with a total input of between 120-160 watts. Although the 150 watt HPS is a bit more efficient that the CFLs in total output, watt for watt the fluorescents provide as much useful light as the HPS lamp. Heat is another consideration. The HPS runs much hotter and emits more heat than the fluoescents.
Make sure to use reflective material around the garden so that any light escaping the garden is reflected back to the plants. Any light that doesn't get to the plant leaves is wasted.
In the new Skunk Magazine there was a question in the "Ask Ed" section that just made my night last night when reading it...
The question was...
Tiny Grow Space
I intend to grow a single cannabis plant in a space 1' x 2'. What light would you recommend? I was think of using four 30-watt compact fluorescent lamps. Will this be enough? Cost isn't an issue but I am deterred from getting a high pressure sodium [light] because of the amount of heat the bulb produces.
Barry, Internet
As you mentioned, you have several lighting systems to choose from, including compact fluorescents and high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. Among HPS lamps you have a choice between a single 100-watt lamp which uses a total of about 120-watts and emits about 8,800 lumens(73 lumens per watt) or a 150-watt lamp, which uses about 180 watts and emits almost double that-15,800 lumens (87 lumens per watt).
A 42-watt compact fluorescent (CFL) emits about 2700 lumens(64 lumens per watt). Four CFLs use 168 watts and emit 10,800 lumens. Other size CFLs have a similar efficiency.
However, that is only part of the story. Plants use mostly red and blue light. Yellow and green light is of little use to them, so light that is emitted in these spectrums is wasted energy. Most of the light emitted by HPS lamps is in the yellow spectrum. Only a small amount of the emitted light is is in the orange or red spectrums, which plants use efficiently. Warm white fluorescents (2700 Kelvin) emit a greater portion in the red and orange sectors.
Although fluorescents produce only about 75% of the light per watt that the HPS does, the amount of light usable by the plant is equal or probably higher with the fluorescents. You may wish to experiment to see if adding a single cool white CFL to replace one warm white results in shorter, stouter stems and more vigorous growth. The reasoning is that warm whites don't emit much blue light, which the plants use for photosynthesis and to regulate their growth. The cool white bulb supplies the blue light.
My call for your unit would be to use several (three to five) CFLs with a total input of between 120-160 watts. Although the 150 watt HPS is a bit more efficient that the CFLs in total output, watt for watt the fluorescents provide as much useful light as the HPS lamp. Heat is another consideration. The HPS runs much hotter and emits more heat than the fluoescents.
Make sure to use reflective material around the garden so that any light escaping the garden is reflected back to the plants. Any light that doesn't get to the plant leaves is wasted.
nikk
Active Member
This is what I get with CFLs:
__________________
thanks roseman,some people on here need some reassuring that cfl's are very good and a great alternative if you have spce or heat issues....peace bro
silentzombie
Active Member
cfl lights is only good up until a point. cfls stop being efficient once you hit the 50w mark. If you are looking to make around 10-14k lumens get a cheap MH or HPS light. 100w MH makes about 9k peak lumens. The 150w HPS puts out almost 16k peak lumens!!! That is way more light for your money considering you can get a 100w MH for ~$55.
grow space
Well-Known Member
Thanx bro-will do...
nikk
Active Member
nodoubt..peaceThanx bro-will do...
NorthWest69
Active Member
"CFL's only penetrate about 24 inches of vegetation effectively!"
Do you realize what you are saying Blackkmask?
That means people could put their CFLs like over a foot away from their plant and it would still grow "effectively".
Well I say NO Way! Where the heck did you get that information? Most CFL's are effective to about 2.4 inches more like it. A CFL light is hardly powerful enough to penetrate 2 or 3 set of leaves, before there is almost no light at all. I think you missed a decimal in there somewhere bud.
PS. I want to correct what I said in my 1st post. I use a 130 watt CFL, not a 1130 watt CFL, but hopefully you figured that out for yourselves.
Do you realize what you are saying Blackkmask?
That means people could put their CFLs like over a foot away from their plant and it would still grow "effectively".
Well I say NO Way! Where the heck did you get that information? Most CFL's are effective to about 2.4 inches more like it. A CFL light is hardly powerful enough to penetrate 2 or 3 set of leaves, before there is almost no light at all. I think you missed a decimal in there somewhere bud.
PS. I want to correct what I said in my 1st post. I use a 130 watt CFL, not a 1130 watt CFL, but hopefully you figured that out for yourselves.
Shackleford.R
Well-Known Member
I HAVE THIS MANY!!! **child's voice**
main hood has a 125 watt CFL (the beastly kind) plus two 23 W bulbs (one hanging either side)
also the shop lights, left side is y-socketed 2-23w for shoot #1
other side is single 23W for shoot #2
i'm happy!
main hood has a 125 watt CFL (the beastly kind) plus two 23 W bulbs (one hanging either side)
also the shop lights, left side is y-socketed 2-23w for shoot #1
other side is single 23W for shoot #2
i'm happy!