Question about CFLs

SO i have seen a lot of discussion about CFLs on here, some really helpful and some phony.
i have a few questions for anyone who really knows!
, i have noticed cfls have lower wattage than most bulbs but sometimes can put out more lumens, so what is more important or what effects the plant more?
and what about bulbs that say "100 watt replacement", but are 26 watts? am i getting those other 74 watts as well?

what is the bud per watt with cfls?

Am i waisting my time with CFLs?

I am also interested in having a mixture of HPS and CFLs but am not sure, does this sound like a good idea?


Thank you for all who reply any and all who have had experience with CFLs please help

Im surprised you havent found info about this its all over the place....Lumens are whats it important and the more lumens you can get per watt the more efficient your light is. With CFLs you have to look at actual watts. The most efficient CFLs are the 26w ones at about 1600 lumens. I was using 4 per plant for the 1st month of my grow and my plants did fine under it but when comparing the size compared to other people at the same time frame mine were much smaller. Plus unless your only doing 1 plant maybe 2 your going to spend about the same on adapters and shit for CFLs as a decent HID system will cost you.
I returned all my CFL shit and bought a 600w air cooled system and tent. Trust me just go the same route. The plant growth exploded, its 1000% easier to maintain the environment in the tent and when you get to flowering its also so much easier than trying to make your grow area completely dark. Not to mention once they start stinking the tent is SOOOO much easier to vent with a carbon filter since the smell is only in the tent and not in the whole room.


Wow that was longer than I planned on lol

i'm a cfl grower, been doing it for 4 years or so
and those are micro grows, 100w or less for a plant
cfl's can do fine work, especially in small setups
won't get into the endless HPS/CFL war, HPS and larger grows seems to be the gold standard
but CFL's have some nice traits, easy for a new grower, and not so scary as HPS can be with the very hot bulb temps

hey bro cfls are great for tight spaces and keeping heat down. i have a 600watt hps/mh and i have 800 watts of cfl to flower also. the cfls will give fluffier bud no matter what but you can get great bud that is fairly compact. potency isnt changed in my opinion. and sure you can use cfl side lighting with hid

Thank you all for your advice, it is very helpful! i will look more into getting into HPS.

Stick with HPS.
You'll love yourself for it.

Just a word of warning. Hps lights are next to impossible to use in hot climates during summer without some kind of air-conditioning system. If i used an hps for growing i wouldnt be surprised if my grow temps pushed 110 easy during summer.

LEDs are looking good with recent developments in the technology, like higher wattage (3-4 and more) LEDs and focused lenses. There are are now quite a few growers here who have produced impressive buds with LEDs. Main problem is cost, they are expensive to buy at the start and the savings in bulb replacement and power cost take a long time to balance out. I like the idea that cooling is nowhere near the problem as with HPS bulb systems. I was thinking about going with an $800 LED, but for $250 I can get a fine HPS system and some fans and deal with the heat. My electric bill is almost $50 a month higher since my addiction to growing started last year, so $600 a year could be reduced to about $300 by switching to LEDs, so in 2-3 years I would be ahead by having LEDs instead of HPS. Hmm, wonder if the wife will leave me if I order some new LEDs tonight?

thanks a lot 420circuit ive looked into LED but that is just a little too pricey for me riht now! :/

1000 bulbs is a great place to order higher watt CFLs because they have good prices and will identify the spectrum of the lamps. I got some T5s and a couple CFLs from them a while back and was very pleased with the way it worked out. The Hydrofarm 125 watt flowering CFL is on Amazon for about $48, up from $35 last year, looks like a nice rig for budget closet growing, maybe supplemented with some smaller CFLs and even a fluorescent tube. Good luck with your grow, try not to overthink it, this plant grows pretty easily compared to orchids. If I can grow anyone can.

i will have to look in to that site while im still using CFLs, im not trying to overthink it too much im just trying to find the perfet light system that works for me and my grow, thanks for the advice! good luck with your current and future grows as well!