Lighting Wattage/SquareFootage

[NatzTurnazHeadzBustaz]

Whats sufficient watts per sq.ft for mother, seeds/fresh clones, and veggie room. I have had this question answered all ready from someone but would like to get different opinions.

 

[WeedHopper]

Its not Watts ya need to be concerned with,,its Lumens. Minimum 3000 PSF for Vegg and Min of 5000 lumens PSF for flower.
Seedlings ya can use less. Couple 23 watt(1600 lums) or 40 watt(2700Lums) Daylight CFLs will work for seedlings and small clones untill they get bigger. Keep Floras 2-4" from top of canopy and plenty fresh moving air.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

The reason that you should use lumens and not use watts, is because of the vast difference in lumens between different types and wattages of bulbs. Just as an example: 10 40W CFLs (400W) put out approx 27000 lumens. A 400W HPS will put out 50,000-55,000 lumens. This is one of the reasons that people here tout the benefits of HID lighting. You get twice the light for the same amount of money.

 

[thedonofchronic]

yes HIDs have the most light output for the cash
(i.e. most bang for your buck.) and most penetration.
watts is a term youll remember back in high school they taught
in science class. its a unit for how much eletricity device uses.
so with watts you can figure out how expensive your bill will be.
so with all lighting you want to focus on how many lumens it puts out.
reflective surfaces for walls a good reflector for your light and being in
the proper size of space are good ways to make sure your making
the most out of your light.
hope this helps later

 

[WeedHopper]

T5's gives ya the best output per watt for Floras.
432 Watts of 4ft T5's is 40,000 lumens.
But as HG pointed out,,HPS is better and cheaper. An extra 10-15,000 lumens and 32 less watts of electricity used. Also easier to keep cool with a cooltube setup.

 

[Shockeclipse]

How do I know how many lumens psf my 1000w hps puts out?

 

[lordhighlama]

How do I know how many lumens psf my 1000w hps puts out?

It depends on the amount of sq/ft you are working with.

Just take the lumen output for a 1000w bulb and divide it by your sq/ft

Presto you've got your lumen psf number!

 

[Shockeclipse]

It depends on the amount of sq/ft you are working with.

Just take the lumen output for a 1000w bulb and divide it by your sq/ft

Presto you've got your lumen psf number!

Thats what I mean, whats my lumen output. Is that wattage, bulb, ballast specific?
And also, would that mean the size sf of the room or the sf of the plants in the roo
? I have about 24sf but the plants take up less.

 

[WeedHopper]

Thats what I mean, whats my lumen output. Is that wattage, bulb, ballast specific?
And also, would that mean the size sf of the room or the sf of the plants in the roo
? I have about 24sf but the plants take up less.

I dont know what a 1000 HPS puts out,,but what I will tell you is you go by the SF of area your plants are using for light. You say you have 24sf but your plants take less,,HOW much less. How many plants. Find out how much space your plants are using and devide that into what ever Lumens that 1000 watter puts out,,and ya need to make sure ya have at least 5000 lumens PSF of grow area.

 

[lordhighlama]

Thats what I mean, whats my lumen output. Is that wattage, bulb, ballast specific?
And also, would that mean the size sf of the room or the sf of the plants in the roo
? I have about 24sf but the plants take up less.

It's bulb specific...

1000w HPS bulb can put out 150,000 lumens --- 6250 lumen psf
1000w MH bulb can put out 100,500 lumens --- 4375 lumen psf

Both numbers will work fine since you don't need 5000 during veg.

:ciao:

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

like everyone is saying Natz, HID lighting is always best, but (I know from reading your other posts) for the small number of clones and vegging plants plus the one foot height maximum you are going to let your vegging plants get to makes HID lighting an ineffective way to go. You would end up having to cool that box you are building if you put HID (metal halide) lighting in there. Yes you do get more lumens per watt with HID, but it would be like putting a Corvette engine in a Ford Fiesta. If you put say 250 watts of fluro tubes in your box you are going to be able to get the light sources much closer to your plants because you will have light emitting over a large surface area (al lthe tubes). If you put one 250 watt metal halide in that same space, yes it will give you more lumens, but since you can not get all of your plants as close to the light source since you will only have one, the difference in your situation between the lumen output and the light getting used by the platns would be a wash.