When you say "get away with", what exactly are we talking about? I understand there's no hard science on this, but if you were to take an educated guess, what would I gain by going with the 200w instead of the 120w?
And specifically, if I went with the 120w would I be losing only quantity, or do you think that I might also sacrifice quality?
When I say quality I'm not referring to bud density -- I consider that a factor of weight which is quantity. Quality to me is primarily related to potency, i.e. a bag full of larfy bud that kicks your ass and smokes well, is perfectly fine as long as there is enough of it to meet the patients needs. I hope that makes sense.
My apologies for the lack of showing credibility - I'm just now getting to my cup of black tea for the morning, lol.
When it comes to growing plants, there are so many variables to a successful grow operation. Lighting is huge - quality and quantity go hand in hand.
You mentioned you were growing in a confined space and that Optic claimed a large footprint with a measly 120W. The fact of the matter is that all COBS, which offer 120 degree angle output, are going to illuminate around the same area at around the same heights above the ground, due to the law of sines. Now keep in mind, the more power or bigger the COB, the greater the intensity of the illumination, therefore making the light appear brighter in that given area when using more watts.
The point is that even though the 120W covers 36" x 24" at 16" inches, the 200W will do the same but with a higher intensity.
Moving onto to quantity and quality; plants only require so many umols per given area. Some here, such as GreenGenes, will state that 500-1000 PFFD (umol per square meter) is 'adequate' or even ideal for start to finish when growing marijuana, where others will seek upwards to around 1500 PFFD, with anymore being too much for the plant. I think Supra goes after around 300 PPFD for seedlings and plants vegetating. What ends up happening is that the law of diminishing returns comes into effect around 1000 PFFD, which undermines attempts to raise PFFD levels any further.
Comparing the PFFD from my 120W fixtures (
heavenbright.com) with Optics, as each incorporate Vero products and run at similar efficacys, your area of ~2.5' x ~2' would receive around 800 PPFD with the 120W - really a nice level to be growing at.
I don't believe quality will differ too greatly between choosing either the 120W or 200W models, as both will share similar lighting qualities.
I totally understand how quality can be crucial - it takes less butter that is heavily concentrated with THC or CBD to make a batch of brownies, thus increasing both supply of product AND profit
.
Humanrob, if you're serious about buying COB-infused lighting fixtures, please check out my selection! I'll make sure you're taken care of
