So after spending almost $100 on a 125W CFL from a grow shop I decided to do some investigating at The Depot. I was looking at an entire wall of those little spiral lights, but I couldn't figure out if they were flouescent or not. Finally, in real small print, I found what I was looking for:

Flourescent light
27W
120V
2700K

They're also available in 5500K. These lights were around $5 each, which means I counld have purchased the same 100 Watts for $20 from Home Depot but spent $100 for one big, bulky light with an over sized mogel base!

Am I missing something? Aren't these inexpensive flourescent lights from The Depot the same as you'd buy from a grow shop? And is there any difference using 4 27W lights as oppossed to one 100w light?

Also, it seems to me that the smaller lights would be a lot easier to work with, easier to replace, easier to incorporate different spectrums, easier because they have the normal base that goes into any light fixture.

Sorry for the ranting, but I've been under the assumption that in order for a good grow you had to spend hundreds of dollars on lighting.

I'd love to hear some CFL success stories of growers who've used both HID and CFL's

I use CFLs to veg and HPS to flower. Works great for me. The fluorescent you bought disperses light more evenly while CFLs emit more light out of the sides rather than the ends. If you get the Y socket splitters, the bulbs sit at an angle and the sides face the plants more. Not to mention you can fit two into one socket.

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"Earth laughs in flowers." -Ralph Waldo Emerson