Which light is better?

I have been searching and have not been able to find an answer to my question. Which light is best to use: a screw in cfl, a T5, a T8, or a T12? I know the other type of lights are probably better but the florescents can't be beat for power consumption imo.

I prefer Big CFLs. Much more flexible.

budzrus said:

I have been searching and have not been able to find an answer to my question. Which light is best to use: a screw in cfl, a T5, a T8, or a T12? I know the other type of lights are probably better but the florescents can't be beat for power consumption imo.

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If a light (or combination of lights) consumes 200 watts, it consumes 200 watts. The measure is what you get for those 200 watts. For example, we all know that 200 watts of incandescent produces a lot of heat and very little beneficial light.

T5's are the most efficient of the tubes, and the proper reflector gets the best results. As for CFL, the advantage might be the ability to place many small lights very close to the plant since all fluorescent lights drop off pretty quickly.

If you are going to use them all the way thru flower I also think VERY large CFL and Y adaptors to increase your coverage. It also depends on your goals...how big of an area and how many plants. Establish a budget and expect to exceed it. Thre is a lot of good info in this section and I'm sure you've read a number of interesting threads. A large # of CFL will give off a decent amount of heat, too.
Good luck. You'll prolly get a lot of opinions on this one.