cfls/flursc. lights vs mh, hps and HID

[papabeach1]

mh hps and hids, the pros, it works great, prefered HID for veg, HPS for bloom, but the cons, is high watt, makes much of heats, cost more to pay elec. bill...

cfls and floursc lights.. the pros, it works great, veg to bloom all the way.
I am tryin think of cons, is there any disadvantages? I don't see any

yall see any cons for cfls/flurs.?

lets debate please

 

[massproducer]

Are you serious? You can not find any cons for CFL's as opposed to HID's??? How about the fact that you will need a whole lot of them to even equal the smallest HID. The only real con that HID's have is that they generate heat, but it is all relative... So yes a 400 watt HPS will generate more heat then a 40 watt cfl, but in order to actually match the lighting out put, you would need around 12, not even 10 because HID's are more efficient. So in the end to match the 400 watts of HID generated light, your 12 CFL's would end up being a lot hotter then the 400 watt HID. Another major factor is that even with the CFL's matching the wattage the light being emitted from each lamp is far less as such less intense, with a weaker penetrating power.

Don't get me wrong Cfl's are wonderful, especially in a smaller enclosed space, the benefit of having a cfl set up would be that your light while being less intense would be spread out more evenly over the canopy.

By the way MH and HPS or both different types of HID's, their is no light simply called HID. Both HPS or MH can be used throughout the entire process. Yes, MH is better to used during veg and HPS in flowering, but this is not different then cool and warm cfl's

 

[TokeWithHope]

also to setup all of those cfls there is all of the wire setup and cords running everywhere. they can be used in small spaces but i think that they dont have anything on mh/hps lamps. plus if u put a mh/hps on a light mover they spread light evenly over the canopy and build up less heat. and like massproducer said once you start using so many cfls they energy efficient ability goes out the window one cfl compared to even one 250 watt mh/hps of course u save alot but with the other 10 bulbs u need it actually means more wattage

 

[papabeach1]

let me get this right...for flowering I can use cfls
let say, 40w. of cfl alone provides only 3000 lumens per sq. ft.
and HPS 400w. provides 45000 (45k) lumens per sq ft. if I want cfls to match these much of lumens hps provides, I would have to put up with 24 cfl bulbs in a hood? and alltogether watts of it will be 960 watts, ouch?

 

[papabeach1]

or is this 100 w replacment and actually runs 23 watts and provides 1700 lumens per sq ft. to match that 400w hps lumens I would have to get 45 cfl bulbs, here the math 23wx45 blubs =1035 watts, thats other ouch too.. that goes for watts per hour on the meter, thats bad..

 

[canibanol cannonball]

CFL con - trying to figure how many bulbs based on room size and lumins.

 

[gettinggray1964]

i did my first two grows with cfls. they worked well, but i was always haveing to move lights, and burning plants if you dont stay on top of them.... now i have 400 HPS , much less stress on me ..........

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

"...mh hps and hids, the pros, it works great,..."

Papa, HID stands for high intensity discharge. A mh (metal halide) and a HPS (high pressure sodium) are types of HIDs.

IMO, even if you have the same lumens in CFLs for budding, you are not going to get the same kind of yield as you would with a HPS

 

[TokeWithHope]

The hps spectrum is superior than the cfl,s

 

[papabeach1]

thanks everybody, I guess I will do flour for veg and use hps for bloom
right now using cfls for vegs....

 

[TokeWithHope]

nice choice or consider a mh for veg

 

[Pierced]

nice choice or consider a mh for veg

I agree. From what i have been reading and seeing the different yields

 

[papabeach1]

I agree. From what i have been reading and seeing the different yields

why MH can be a good choice over HID for vegs?

 

[TokeWithHope]

? an MH is a hid. an HID is a (high intensity discharge) light. both MH and HPS are HID lights

 

[slowmo77]

The hps spectrum is superior than the cfl,s

i could be wrong but isn't 2700k the same from a cfl as from a HID? if a bulb is 2700k or whatever thats what it is no matter what type of bulb i would think.

i grow with cfls and floros and am pretty happy with my results. heres some info on cfls

23 watt= 1600 lumens
42 watt= 2700 lumens

so 1 23 watt and 1 42 watt per sq ft would be 4300 lumens. thats with in the suggested 3000-5000 lumen. so for every sq ft just double the number of bulb. also all my bulbs are in a light board above my plants i don't put them around the sides.

as for pro's and con's

pro's, less heat, you can add over time if you low on cash, easy to find, easy to replace, can be placed within an inch of the plants. im sure theres more i can't think of cause im stoned.

con's, can get expensive if growin in a large area, only good for short plants under 3feet imo, i know theres more i can't think of any more right now.. feel free to add to this.

 

[KaliKitsune]

Well, CFLs actually are nowhere near as good as a T5 fluorescent. Each of my four foot bulbs pumps 5,000 lumens at 54 watts - better lumen:watt ratio compared to those CFLs, and comparing almost directly with an HID. Of course, lumens isn't what you look for when you deal with fluorescents, you deal with PAR (Photosynthetically-Active Radiation) at certain color ranges.

I must disagree with the "only good for short plants under 3ft" and I can back that up with light meter readings from various lamp heights (I just had to do this in another forum, for photography, in fact.) T5 fluorescents are very powerful, and depending upon how you hang them (like vertically as opposed to horizontally) you can get great plants growing upwards of six feet or more.

As soono as I make 15 posts and I can post images, I'll start posting such information in my grow journal here on the site. You don't see much of a drop in light hanging the light horizontally until it's about six feet above the floor, then the light meter needle drops drastically. Between 2 and 5 feet, the light meter reads steady with only a notch or two of fluctuation.

I'll quit yapping and wait for the ability to post pictures. Oh, wait, that means I have to yap some more, lol!

 

[TheEnhancementSmoker]

thanks everybody, I guess I will do flour for veg and use hps for bloom
right now using cfls for vegs....

If you have a HPS, why not use it for veg too?

CFL's are good for tender seedlings/cuttings, but that's all I ever would use them for.

 

[KaliKitsune]

If you have a HPS, why not use it for veg too?

CFL's are good for tender seedlings/cuttings, but that's all I ever would use them for.

Well, HPS bulbs emit more light in the red spectrum, whereas while you veg blue light is more of what's required, so going with the CFLs is probably the best idea. I avoid CFLs and use T5s personally.

 

[TheEnhancementSmoker]

Well, HPS bulbs emit more light in the red spectrum, whereas while you veg blue light is more of what's required, so going with the CFLs is probably the best idea. I avoid CFLs and use T5s personally.

The intensity will more than make up for the spectrum difference.

 

[canibanol cannonball]

The intensity will more than make up for the spectrum difference.

ever stare at a CFL....ON WEEED MAN!