What you guys think about high output cfl does 100 plus actaul watts?

so i wanna do some small grow op i am looking at high output cfl's and led lights any info please would helpful.

Questions
if you had the choice of high output cfl's or led what would you pick and why?
normal cfl's vs high output grow cfl's ?

if you know about led grow lights what brands do you recommend and why?

thanks

I am using cfls and they work pretty good but Id like to try LED soon. I use the 26 watt natural daylight blue 6500k cfls at 1600 lumens each. 2 per socket with y splitters gives you 3200 lumens. You can buy larger LEDs but usually ive found $/watt is cheaper with the 26 watts compared to anything higher.

ROBISHI said:

if you had the choice of high output cfl's or led what would you pick and why?
normal cfl's vs high output grow cfl's ?

Click to expand...

I spent a total of $80 for 416w of regular cfl, best lights for the money. Pics in my sig, wiring tutorial under comments.

From the research I have done, if you want an LED system that competes with HID or even super high output CFLs then you are going to be dropping hundreds of $USD on each fixture. Those cheap ass low watt things on ebay are trash.

I would just stick with the lower watt 20-40w bulbs and just use a few of them instead of one or two big ones. You want to get as many surrounding your plant as you can because of the low light penetration.

unless you are willing to shell out like $200-$500 LED isn't worth it, even in LED grows people use CFL to supplement extra light.

Thanks for your opinions guys. i picks up some supply's at home depot to start working on my grow i will have more info on my plans and items i gathered soon...

A 3w chip set LED will out perform cfl's, but will cost 10x more. I use 105w cfl's at the corners of my led panel it helps fatten up the buds furthest from panel. I personally like bulbs that are 56w to 105w the 84w is a good performer in a cheap hood, with bulbs over 100w I've found that you can't keep them close enough to get full use of the wattage you paid for. For a good cheap fixture go to your local co-op or ranch or farm supply store, and look for a incubation lamp, they look like aluminum shop lights with a spring clamp. But they have a heavy duty socket and are rated for 250w heat lamps, + they only cost $12

Good luck with your grow. Don't forget to check out the CFL threads.