Lumens yes, but not in relation to PAR and depth of canopy penetration. Yes they are economical in the lumens per watt. If I am growing trees for mothers and have the room a MH would be a better option. I use T-5 HO. I am not saying that T-5, T-8, T-12 in NO, HO, or VHO dont have a place in growing. Its just a matter of what you need, the space you have to work with, and possible heat issues. Honestly I am surprised VHO is not used that much in growing pot. My guess is that VHO looses the heat battle if your ballast is on your light setup. They make nice high current(400+watts) VHO ballast that can be mounted remotely.