quick easy lighting question

iwir3d

Well-Known Member
I was wondering what exactly is better. Wattage or Lumens? For eample I have (12) lights putting out 100 watts each and 1,600 lumens. Or should I aim for more lumens? This is a small area 50x20 inches and 8ft tall. It is a closet. Or should I use tube floros rather then my CFL's im using?

[Edit]:
I am using Daylight CFL's btw.
 

FilthyFletch

Mr I Can Do That For Half
Lumnes and light spectrum are you main shooting points.Get as many lumnes as you can but make sure its the right color spectrum for the time in your grow
 

entropic

Well-Known Member
What you really want a rating of is the Photosynthetically active radiation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia of the light bulbs (light from 400nm to 700nm wavelength), some lights have high wattage and lumen output but aren't in the right spectrum. Lumens are very important as they are an indication of the intensity of light, the higher the better. Beyond that the lumen per watt ratio is important (most lumns from the least watts).

If they're CFLs they not really 100w, they're the equivalent of a 100w incandescent, it's more likely they're 23w CFLs or something around there. At 19,200 lumens, 8,000 lumens is about the minimum for good growth. You'll at least need more light for flowering.
 

iwir3d

Well-Known Member
Well, yes 26w (100 equiv) I ment. They glow blueish. I rigged the lights myself and it reuired alot of work. Would (for flowering) 42w cfl's that glow redish orange be better for flowering? I am loking for cheap easy solutions. Hanging a light and having to take it down (heavy) would be a bitch. Because theres almost no room to move in that closet yet alone fit a light in it. Thats why I had to build one special.

So Lumens amd Spectrum is what i need.. Any more suggestions.. thanks for the help everyone.
 
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