JoeyV I am one of the first contributors to this thread, and feel compelled to share a better way
My experience growing quality meds, not quantity, is...
I needed to replace my grow bulbs every 3rd grow and flower bulbs every grow. The more red phosphors, the shorter their life
Quality bulbs run > $20 per, so forgive me for trying to educate the T5 club
You can lead a horse to water...
yeah, I'm not really sure what you're trying to say... my method works for me as I simply grow for my own pleasure. I don't put much stock in quantity either, but quality, when growing bagseed, is always hit or miss and until recently I only had bagseed to work with.
I don't doubt your "meds" are probably more of a connoisseur quality, but all other things being equal, strain is probably more important than lighting for exceptional meds. In fact, lighting is only one part of growing...medium, water, airflow, nutrients, etc., they all make up the grow.
I don't stress over whether I'm getting peak light output or not. A few hundred lumins here or there isn't really gonna make much difference.
I'm not experimenting with different types of bulbs, actinic (sp?), 10000k, or whatever. A mix of grow and bloom bulbs seems to work fine.
I'm not concerned if the bulbs aren't premium quality, per se, though I do avoid the no-name generics.
I only need to harvest once or twice a year to supply my 'meds', so the way I see it, bulbs could last a couple years. Those that break or fail prematurely get replaced.
I'm also not sure you're "educating" anyone by suggesting they replace bloom bulbs every grow. It's hard to gauge the color of the light, without having the right tools. And while the bulb may degrade somewhat, it's hardly at the end of it's useful life after only one grow. So, as a rule of thumb, once every 4 grows seems reasonable, and affordable. Even the HID crowd only recommend replacing MH or HPS bulbs once a year. (I know, different animal, but...)
I haven't followed this whole thread from the beginning, so perhaps I miss some of your previous comments.