flueros

[newguy]

hey guys

i was going to go with a 400w hps light and now im wanting to use flueros to save a bit on the power bill,

so when i get enough flueros to produce 400w would i need heat extraction? im growing in a room about 4ft sqaure and 5ft in height

thanks for any help!!

[everest]

you were on the right track with the 400 hps mate , and if you want to save power watch your appliances . :smoke

 

heat extraction ? yea ..... fans yea ...... fluro's wouldn't bother

[newguy]

so you wreckon flueros are no good? does anyone know roughly what it costs to run a 400w hps light a month?

cheers everest

[quizywig]

400w worth of fluro's will use the same power as a 400w sonT, its both 400w of power, although you'll get significantly less lumens from the fluro's hence less smoke,

either choice you'll need ventilation(heat extraction),

my last power bill was $138 for 3months which covered my grow, i also run at least 1 350w pc 24/7 plus the usual home stuff.

[newguy]

Thanks madoga

 

i aint gonna bother with the fluros :thumbdown

i just read at some hydro site you could get 2ft 37w fluros that had the equivalency of 150w

Im gona stick with the hps light

:exclamation:

[jethroqwalrustitty]

probably a good idea, the results always seem to be better

[F420]

HPS is far better than a fluro. it has a better spectrum and higher par watts.

you also need extraction to provide high levels of fresh air for the plants.

[Tom]

Saving power in the grow room usually costs you in yield and/or quality as well, the best way I have found to use fluoro's to save money is to fit them around the house, it's not uncommon to save hundreds of watts each evening that way, even more if you have kids. ::

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Try a couple of 130w Spectrums, one in marine blue 14000k and one in flowering 2700k, or even a third. These are essentiall compact fluoros but at 130w instead of 18-20, and can put out about 12000 lumens, which is quite respectable.

 

Regardless of heat, which fluoros don't produce very much of at all, you'll need some ventilation to ensure that humidity levels are kept under control, and that the plants have fresh air with co2. You can always add co2 with other methods, but these are usually either expensive or inefficient. So get yaself a small extraction fan and you'd be able to keep the plants happy and have a much cooler running GR.

 

A 400w HPS unit will always outperform these though, you'd need about 4 of the spectrums to meet them lumen for lumen, and you'd end up using more power, at 510w.

 

Mind you, a 400w HPS system typically uses about 2.2 amps, which when you apply OHMS law, Amps x volts = watts you end up with about 528 watts. Where'd the other 128 come from? The ballast.

 

So it may work out similarly, but you'd have a cooler room, with a more varied spectra, (using different varieties of the spectrums, say two marines, one daylight 6400k and one flowering, switching to two flowering in the bloom period) and a more even lighting spread. You'd also need more powerpoints though, and it would cost a lot more to set up.

 

Hope that helps.

[bluntman_77]

i used a 130w spectrum fluro for veg and it was pretty damn good !

 

but you would need atleast 4 for flowering to put on some serious yeild and it would be difficult due to the lack of light penetration of the flueros . youd have to do a scrog type setup .

 

but they are cool so while you need ventilation you dont need as much .