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Originally Posted by Dubstepsoldier  So I am doing all the math for my CFL setup, trying to find the most lumens at the best wattage and price. I found the most cost effective to be 96watt CFL's which produce 8600 lumen at 5000k and under, and 8100 lumen at 6700k. For roughly 5 sq. feet of grow space I was thinking about going with two 96 watt and two 28 watt (each 2100 lumen) giving me a grand total of 20,900 lm for 248 watts.
I have noticed that most people doing CFL have 6 to 10 lights between 30-45 watts each. Is there an advantage to having more lights at a lower wattage than having only a couple at a high wattage?
Where I live a 36w CFL cost $20 while the 96w cost $34. The added bonus with the 96 watt is that when I change the spectrum for flowering I will only have to buy 1 or 2 bulbs instead of 6 or 8 new ones all over again.
The only thing that I can think of is that with more bulbs you can spread the light better. However, the 96 watt lights are 2 pronged long, skinny guys, so If they sit horizontal the light should spread out fine. |
the only advantage is as you said, being able to spread the light simply because there is more to move around where you want them.
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Originally Posted by Dubstepsoldier Will I have heat issue with higher watt lights? |
there is always more heat with more wattage, no matter the bulb.
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Originally Posted by Dubstepsoldier
And lastly, is there and advantage to the coil lights versus the 2 (or 4) pronged lights? I hope all of this is coherent! Thank you!!
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the prong cfl's might actually have the advantage because they have features from both the coil model and the t5 model fluorescents. (just my opinion)
hope that helps but wait for more info from others
