Would one 650W be better than three 240W lights?

I'm contemplating lights. I'm buying from Ali and the price for ONE 650W unit and THREE 240W units are the same

The 240W light is 65 x 28cm, the 650W is 110x110cm.

In terms of even light distribution, which choice would be better? (despite the 70W difference between 650W vs. 240W x 3). And if 240Wx3 is the answer, how will I place the lights?

I'm growing in a 5x5 tent.

I would rather be redundant in case of failure, and have 3.

Grab the 3. Hope that's true watts. U gotta watch them and it takes forever not to mention no returns. U really need 750 watts for that tent. If u space the 3 out evenly u will get better coverage then the one unless it's the bar lights.

I’d go with the three as well for the same reason mentioned above. Better coverage, a little more power and if one fails your still ok.

Are they both the same brand & style?

I'm going to go against the grain here. Your tent is 150cm x 150cm. You will have better spread with the 110*110cm fixture than three 65*28cm fixtures.

I agree with horse.

65cm is not going to be great light spread with 3 units across a 1.5m x 1.5m (5×5ft) area, no matter how you oriented them.

To be honest I would keep looking at your options and find something more suitable.

The 650w is underpowered and the 3x 240s just don't lend to the foot print.

There are loads of bar lights 750w+ to be had.

What's your budget

I disagree with Horse respectfully, there's a hot spot in the center of a bar light that can fixed/blended with 3 dimmable boards, i think i could argue 3 boards gives a more even/consistent light spread.

The drop off from bar lights is quite sudden, outside its footprint there's not a lot of growing power.

3 boards let's you keep 3/6 plants at different heights with a bar light the tallest plant dictates light height or it's bleaching.

You get bars much closer and get some benefit from the radiated heat, it's also more convenient to work with, dialing 3 boards with light meter in blinding conditions is a pain.

When I start seeds/clones i use a corner I've no need to light up a big area so 1 board is fine, as they bigger i can add, so I'm only ever lighting the area i use its about saving £££

I have and like both bar lights and boards and I'll use both depending on the grow in question.
That's about all the pros and cons i can think of.

Eta... As Corey said 3 boards isn't great for the footprint in a 5x5, I've got 4x for my 5x5.

I believe these are true 650W lights. I haven't bought the tent yet, should I just go with a 4x4?

Three 240 watt, more watts and far more versatile. The redundancy thing is big here too.

Pros and cons with the tent size to... If you're in a warm climate that extra 9x7 sqft is helpful to keep temps in check, in cooler climate a smaller tent has better temps all else being equal.

However if the light doesn't fit the area you can loose a bit of light intensity, ideally you want the light as close to edges as possible, or you can make a reflector.

It increases the light by 20/25% on the outside edge and around 5-6% in the middle.

I say get the 5x5 if you have room, and put the 3 lights together more towards one corner. Then grow as if you have a 4x4, but with a little extra space on 2 sides.

growkingky69 said:

I believe these are true 650W lights. I haven't bought the tent yet, should I just go with a 4x4?

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If you have the space I’d go with the bigger tent just so you don’t regret it later on. Bigger is always better right

With a 5x5 you can do as Drop the sound suggests and in future when funds allow get another board.