So whats the difference between HPS and CFL??

[greasemonkeymann]

so 8 sq feet.
use the cfls they will fit perfectly...
The 250w hps would work too but they aren't as efficient as the cfls or larger wattage HIDs.

 

[StaySmokin206]

150 watt HPS would work fine imo.. You can add a couple lower watt CFL's but you can veg under HPS fine, and I would rather come out with dense nugs than fluffier nugs.. Plus 150 watter doesn't put out that much heat, I use one along with CFL's for one plant and am almost to harvest.. If you really want to make it a beast of a plant you could go 250 watt HPS but im not sure about the heat difference between wattages

 

[genuity]

Plus you really can't veg under a hps.

c'mon man,you can veg under any one of these lights

 

[GrowThatGoodShit]

150 watt HPS would work fine imo.. You can add a couple lower watt CFL's but you can veg under HPS fine, and I would rather come out with dense nugs than fluffier nugs.. Plus 150 watter doesn't put out that much heat, I use one along with CFL's for one plant and am almost to harvest.. If you really want to make it a beast of a plant you could go 250 watt HPS but im not sure about the heat difference between wattages

Im deciding whether to use a 250w HPS or 2 250w CFLs for flowering. Im just going to use 1 250w CFL for vegative growth. What Im trying to figure out is if using a 250w HPS would make a significant difference to the quality and yield. Like I said in my first post both setups will come to around 30,000 lumens. Some people are saying the light penetration is stronger when using a HPS but I'm wandering how true that is because alot of it is being based on how much light per sq feet each light can cover. As Iv said though thats sort of irrelevant because you can almost place the light as close as you want using a CFL....What I really need is the science...

 

[greasemonkeymann]

150 watt HPS would work fine imo.. You can add a couple lower watt CFL's but you can veg under HPS fine, and I would rather come out with dense nugs than fluffier nugs.. Plus 150 watter doesn't put out that much heat, I use one along with CFL's for one plant and am almost to harvest.. If you really want to make it a beast of a plant you could go 250 watt HPS but im not sure about the heat difference between wattages

Thats cool man, i'm just saying 2,000 lumens per square foot isn't enough for my tastes, and that's initial lumen output, and the 150w degrades quickly.
Don't get me wrong i love hps' but he only has 250w to deal with and the 4X2 cfls cover the area dedicated to growing perfectly.
I stand by my initial statement and recommend getting a 400w hps aircooled and you'd be REALLY happy with results, but that is not an option.

 

[StaySmokin206]

Well light penetration definately is stronger with HPS as you put it farther away than CFL's and achieve greater results.. I could be wrong but why use 500 watts per hour instead of 250 watts with the same lumen output? when the 250 watt will penetrate and imo be a lot for just one plant.. Lumens dont add upon each other so you are just gaining more light coverage by adding the extra 250 watt CFL.. Just a thought but they could all be incorrect, not for certain so someone to back up what I am saying would help your decision.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

no, more lumens equal larger plants, thicker stems delievering more nutes creating denser, bigger, nugs with more trichomes.
Try one closet with a 250 and one with a 400 i PROMISE you'll see what i mean.
same goes true for 400 to 600.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

the extra cfl he was using for vege.
the initial argument was "what to use for the 250w of available energy he has for flowering, either cfls or a 250w hps"
but i'm not sure i understand your statement when you said 500w would put out the same lumens as 250w.

what did you mean?

 

[StaySmokin206]

no more lumens equal larger plants, thicker stems delievering more nutes creating denser, bigger, nugs with more trichomes.
Try one closet with a 250 and one with a 400 i PROMISE you'll see what i mean.
same goes true for 400 to 600.

Well of course if I could cool a 400 watt that is what I would be using for sure..More lumens definately means bigger plants, but by taking 2 250 watt CFL's you aren't adding any more lumens than with 1 250 watt CFL just more coverage..

 

[greasemonkeymann]

Well of course if I could cool a 400 watt that is what I would be using for sure..More lumens definately means bigger plants, but by taking 2 250 watt CFL's you aren't adding any more lumens than with 1 250 watt CFL just more coverage..

No, you are still mistaken it's exactly twice the lumens.
I'm not sure on your thinking, here...
I understand you couldn't fit two in a 4 foot by 2 foot area.
But absolutely two cfls setups put out twice the lumens than one.

 

[GrowThatGoodShit]

Well light penetration definately is stronger with HPS as you put it farther away than CFL's and achieve greater results.. I could be wrong but why use 500 watts per hour instead of 250 watts with the same lumen output? when the 250 watt will penetrate and imo be a lot for just one plant.. Lumens dont add upon each other so you are just gaining more light coverage by adding the extra 250 watt CFL.. Just a thought but they could all be incorrect, not for certain so someone to back up what I am saying would help your decision.

Shit yeah, I had in my head that it would cost less using a CFL regardless of watts. I don't know why I didn't think about it. Shit lol. That means Il have to use either just one 250w CFL or one 250w HPS for growth and flowering...or risk it and use the a 400 watt hps. Do you think you could run a 400w HPS with only 1 intake fan?

 

[greasemonkeymann]

it depends on if you want a perpetual harvest system or singular.
a 4" vortex will cool a 400w no problem, about 100 bucks though.

 

[StaySmokin206]

Shit yeah, I had in my head that it would cost less using a CFL regardless of watts. I don't know why I didn't think about it. Shit lol. That means Il have to use either just one 250w CFL or one 250w HPS for growth and flowering...or risk it and use the a 400 watt hps. Do you think you could run a 400w HPS with only 1 intake fan?

I think you should really just use a 250 watt HPS because the use of fans and such is gonna add a little bit and just stay safe but thats just me..

--And lumens are a measurement of brightness to my knowledge and by adding another light of the same lumen output wouldnt make it any brighter.. I saw someone had a thread about it the other day.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

I think you should really just use a 250 watt HPS because the use of fans and such is gonna add a little bit and just stay safe but thats just me..

--And lumens are a measurement of brightness to my knowledge and by adding another light of the same lumen output wouldnt make it any brighter.. I saw someone had a thread about it the other day.

I don't want to be combatitive but under that theory one 400w HID would have the same lumens as 4 400w HID?, are you thinking spectrum?
one plant with a 4foot cfl on one side and another cfl on the opposite side would undoubtedly grow faster and harvest more than the plant grown with one.
Go buy two of them turn them on and look at them it'll be brighter(more lumens) than one cfl.

 

[GrowThatGoodShit]

I think you should really just use a 250 watt HPS because the use of fans and such is gonna add a little bit and just stay safe but thats just me..

--And lumens are a measurement of brightness to my knowledge and by adding another light of the same lumen output wouldnt make it any brighter.. I saw someone had a thread about it the other day.

With a 400 watt Hps it would cost £9.30 with electricity being charged at 0.065p pkwh. Add a 100w exhaust fan running 12/12 is an extra £2.30 Then another 100w intake fan running 6/18 is £1.15. So total cost works out at £12.75 a month. My gas company charges 0.065 pkwh every quarter then half that for the rest of the year (Im not 100% if that means if they charge more during one part of the year than the other)So If its being charged at 0.035 pkwh it'l work out at £6.40. I'd be using the 400w for 2 months (flowering period) so it's either going to be roughly £25 or £13. So I dont know with a 250w I know my landlord wouldn't notice the difference (the bill would be over half the price of the 400w) I need some to think..lol

 

[GrowThatGoodShit]

I don't want to be combatitive but under that theory one 400w HID would have the same lumens as 4 400w HID?, are you thinking spectrum?
one plant with a 4foot cfl on one side and another cfl on the opposite side would undoubtedly grow faster and harvest more than the plant grown with one.
Go buy two of them turn them on and look at them it'll be brighter(more lumens) than one cfl.

I think the watt of the light determines the brightness and lumens determine the quality of the ligh being produced. Obviously two lights with 15,000 lumens would give a 30,000 lumen output though lol. If I'm right though the total wattage of a light should determine the area your covering, a 250w HPS might cover you for growing 2-3 smaller plants while a 400w would cover 4-6 plants.

 

[LAX Skunky BwS]

Thats the problem I dont have the money, I'd have to work for it. I can get a decent HPS system for £200 but then I have to invest in ventilation (another £200-£300) So Im either spending over £500 on a HPS system or £50-£60 on a single CFL. If I knew it would make a significant difference I'd go for the HPS..

no matter what light system u using u need good ventilation u need good air flow hot air going out and fresh air going in or get a Co2 tank ... no matter what u need good air flow

 

[GrowThatGoodShit]

no matter what light system u using u need good ventilation u need good air flow hot air going out and fresh air going in or get a Co2 tank ... no matter what u need good air flow

No you don't if your using CFLs ina small grow space. Just opening the doors and breathing on them is good enough for ventilation and CO2

 

[LAX Skunky BwS]

No you don't if your using CFLs ina small grow space. Just opening the doors and breathing on them is good enough for ventilation and CO2

lol...... lol..........

 

[StaySmokin206]

I don't want to be combatitive but under that theory one 400w HID would have the same lumens as 4 400w HID?, are you thinking spectrum?
one plant with a 4foot cfl on one side and another cfl on the opposite side would undoubtedly grow faster and harvest more than the plant grown with one.
Go buy two of them turn them on and look at them it'll be brighter(more lumens) than one cfl.

It is spreading out the light more so yes dont get me wrong more light = bigger plant however yes lumens do not add up..

Lumens measure light intensity, in other words it is how much force or energy they have behind them to penetrate material. So putting another bulb next to a light with a certain intensity does not amplify the intensity. You can kinda think of it in mph for cars. If you are driving 55 miles per hour and someone pulls up next to you going 55 miles per hour, you will not both then be going 110. You do however get benefit from extra lights because you can spread out the lumens and cover your surface area better. Even though using two cars won't get you to the location any faster they can each haul a certain amount of boxes so you still get benefit of using two cars over one. I hope this strange analogy helps a bit.

Read some of this thread https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/82702-lumens-they-dont-add-up.html