Yet ANOTHER lame CFL/HPS comparison question thread

Deep in the tropics, my 400W HPS would not work w/o air conditioning. Room temps rise 10 degrees or so sending readings up to and even above the 95F mark - EVEN with extreme airflow of 2000+cfm. Plus the noise of the fans were intolerable.

Fortunately, I get a stealthy 4 hours of strong sun to add to my indoor grow. So I put my HPS away, and flowered out with 4 hours of sun plus 8 hours of mid level CFLs.

My room is 3 X 3 X 9. For my next grow I'm thinking:

4 * 42W CFL (top) = 168W and 11,200 lumens
2* 32W CFL (center) = 64W and 3,800 lumens

Total = 232W @ 15,000 lumens (for 4 medium sized plants w LST)

The problem is, even with this set-up, temps become marginal, but containable at 90F max at the worst time of the day

Is it not true that watt for watt, HPS is cooler and puts out better flowering spectrum with better penetration than CFLs?

If that is true, then would this make more sense:

1 * 150W (remote ballast) HPS @ 16,000 lumens

Is that not less watts, less heat, more lumens? Also less wires, remote ballast, better flower spectrum?

They're not expensive. What's the big deal? Some of my favorite growers on here insist on CFL and T5. Is the 150W HPS not technically not more efficient? Less heat?

Yes the HPS is more efficient.
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I started with CFL and T5 then moved up to a 150w HPS. Yield is better. Plant growth is fuller/bigger.

p.s. are you running your lights at night? that'll help with the temps. not for everyone but it works for me.

Thanks, and yeah, going dark at 11:00am.

300 watts of cfl will likely put off more heat than a hps. with screw in cfl you cannot remote mount the ballast so that can be a problem.

small hps's dont really put off t hat much heat and if you remote the ballast you are doing even better.

if you decide cfl maybe downsize your grow and think about growing perpetual lollipops as opposed to growing one monster plant at a time like you would under a big light.

anything can be made to work, you just need to adjust your growing strategy to fit your lighting requirements

well, im not sure its anything else than what fits.

how big is the footprint of a 150hps? i use 4x49w t5. which gives me 4x1, i had plenty of "sidewise" space.

i have rather limited height, i think to get the same from hps, i´d have to have 2 hps (of coz i would get a lot more then though )

i use a few computerfans, i sleep next to the grow, i can barely hear it. the temps at the bulbs are 75F.

the plants can be touching the bulbs for at least 6 hours, without a schorch.

i probably will one day get myself a hps, but it wont be in the house i live in now.

on the other hand, i just took a few plants out from under the t5 and put in a smaller chamber with 5x23w cfl (arranged in a star, with 2 aluminum reflectors (DIY big time))

im not sure at all the plants need all that much in veg, because those plants seem to grow just as fast. and the difference in lightlevels is at least 4 times as much.

now i havent had a successful grow since christmas, both been sick and various problems have arisen, but the one time lol that box was in "proper" use, half of that chamber was in use (so it has never been properly used! ) and that half chamber kept me supplied for 2 months and i smoke 1-3 g a day.

and that was with me cutting off buds about a month before they were ready, actually continually cutting for the 2 months they were budding. (the nl/bb responded very well with that)

(yes i do alot of grow no no´s )

the point of this is.

yup, i bet you can get alot more with hps but fluos have come along way baby (well, hps is rated for 140lm/w although ive actually only seen those numbers at places that sell them and cannabis sites, "normal" growers usually say about 20-30lm/w less. t5 are 97lm/w,the four footers, 2 footers are 107lm/w, the spectrum of hps is better though, quite abit of the light on the fluo bulbs is wasted on green, although you can get better bulbs, according to one site, alot better,so its a question whether hps is actually that much superior, all considered, though its no debate that it is better)

so if you have fluo or have to use those, dont be discouraged, it wont be any waste of time using them.

you can get a 70w hps for 47 bucks at Home depot, or 42w cfl for about 9 bucks a piece, sometimes 9 bucks for a 2 pack if they are on sale.

if you are super handy you can seperate a cfl from its ballast, but its a pain in the ass.

cool thing about cfl is the warranty. 9 years i think it is, and they will trade them out at the store. also if one cfl goes out then ur whole grow doesnt sit in darkness all night as it would with a single HID lamp.

like i said anything can work. its all up to what you got and your budget. whatever is best for you is whats best. dont worry about keeping up with the jones'es just do your own thing and dial in your grow as you go, itll all work out.

I wouldn't even bother with a 70w HPS.

Search online for a 150w HPS and you'll be able to find a 150w HPS for around the same price and that includes shipping!

I got my 150w from e-conolights.com they are security lights. They also got a 400w MH for like $120 us.

that all depends on your space... theres a guy on ebay selling security lights for about 45 bucks each shipped to your door. pretty good price for a little 150 hps.

i have no idea where i came up with a 70w hps, his space is 3x3x9. i dont see how you couldnt run a 400w in there with 2000cfm of cooling. you were either extracting air too fast for any heat to exchange, or extracting it incorrectly. i ran a 400w in a 2x2x5 box with 250cfm and absolutely zero problems. sounds like u need an air cooled hood to me.

anything smaller than 250 wont really have much a problem with heat. just keep a fan on it.


150w hps security light on ebay for 37 bucks shipped right now, sun system 150 hps all n 1 hood for 85.

the deals are out there to be had.