CFL or HID lights for my build?

So I've been doing some watching of YouTube vids and some reading on here. I'm getting a handle on what i need to do for my first build and first grow.

One major decision is to go for CFL's or HID's for the space I have, it seems that either would work for the space:



It's a fully plasterboarded attic area. I have a mate who is an electrician who is going to sort the room out for me, so I want to do the right thing, not just the cheapest or easiest thing. I'd rather do it right once than have to re-do it later. The CFL route looks like it should be fine for me, but happy to go the HID route if it would be best. I'm obviously going to use the tall area for vegging and the short area for sprouting and cloning.

Its up to u man. Ppl have grown awesome Dank buds using both. Im using CFLs as my 1st grow.

cfl veg. and hps flower, or mh flower and veg. cfl cheap electric veg, and hps larger yields, or mh higher quality buds, lower yield.

You said tall area for veg, short area for sprout and clone... What are you going to do for flowering?

With a room that size in order to use it's full potential, go HID all the way and don't waste your time on CFL's. CFL's are great for small grows in a closet, but to light a room, there is only one real choice, and that is HID. Your grow should be kicking with all that room. Peace out

I use hps and cfl in my flower room and cfl and led in my veg room. My closet is about the same size as your attic space. I just have 150w hps, 2 42w red cfl, 6 23w cfl (2 blue, 4 red). So I guess that is 372w total. It's all hillbilly rigged using whatever I have around the house mostly. In my veg room I have 5 23w (1 red) and a cheap 13w led panel. I rotate them around so they get some led and some cfl during veg. Right now I really have too many plants cause cloning has been more successful than I thought it would be using dirt and a drawer from the fridge for a humidome.

HID are more efficient for covering large areas then CFL, CFL are best for small grows where u can keep the bulbs close to the plants. Anymore then 3 or 4 plants and the amount of CFL bulbs you will need starts to get very large (looking at minimum 4x 23w per plant + cords and sockets). HID however need more ventilation to stay cool so that is an added expense. Personaly I think LEDs could be a good option for your space and you may want to research them a bit but they are usually more expensive upfront but you make up the cost in energy use and reduced need for cooling. t5 flurosents would be a better option then cfl in my opinion, t5's provide better coverage per bulb then cfls with around the same enrgy use and results.

yes either or will work but most would agree the HID will produce more volume....but also more heat. If you can deal with the heat, go for HID, if not go with CFL or LED

So it's gonna be HID or LED, better do some more research then, cheers chaps

CFL's are for small grows. Something that size, stick with HID. metal halide for veg and HPS for flower, don't do LED's.

Looking at the price of LEDs it's gonna be HID, thanks everyone.

These guys are not joking about the need for ventilation with HIDs! I spent about 3x the money and effort on ventilation than I thought I would spend when I started using HIDs. I started out with CFLs and shoplights and upgraded to HID later on, when everything was already up and running. I am still using flourescents in the nursery and veg room for the simple reason that there is very little heat build-up. You are at a serious advantage in pre-planning your build so do it right. I use HPS for early flower and CMH for late flower and the results have been STELLAR. I use HTG Supply every time, they are cheap, fast, discreet, and they really know their stuff.