Johnboh
Active Member
So over the last few days I have been doing a little experiment with bulb temps.
heres the lowdown, I used a
70watt HPS light - this light i purchased at lowes. Its an outdoor securtity lamp. I removed the lamp, bulb and ballast from its case.
I removed the photocell from the power system. I also re-wired the lamp to ballast so I could make it remote. (THIS IS KEY)
next up is a 40watt 2700k cfl. this bulb like every other cfl on the market has a built in ballast. this means most of radiant heat from comes right from the bulb area.
On too the grow.
I have the 70w hps hanging 1.5 inches from the top of a papaya plant, which is about 7 inches tall
I have the 40w cfl hanging 1.5 inches over a blue dot plant. this plant is about 8 inches tall. 5 days younger than the papaya
both plants are in 2 gallon pots with the top brimm or ring cut off. pots are nestled right next to each other, have a 10" fan circulating about 15 inches away from the plants.
i have been recording the temps once an hour threwout the light cycle. i have a little hygrometer soil level in both pots. heres the kicker, you ready for this.
avg temp of the cfl = 86f
avg temp of the hps = 79f
these temps were recorded over a three day period. each day was just like the last day. ambient temps threwout the days were equal. kinda hard to believe for this area of new england.
so in conclusion a low watt hps with a remote ballast will produce less heat than a cfl. while tripling the lumen per watt ratio!
so this means i am getting rid of all of my cfls and will be customizing my little grow box to handle more hps systems along with side supplemental lighting to help offset the small size of the grow box.
heres the lowdown, I used a
70watt HPS light - this light i purchased at lowes. Its an outdoor securtity lamp. I removed the lamp, bulb and ballast from its case.
I removed the photocell from the power system. I also re-wired the lamp to ballast so I could make it remote. (THIS IS KEY)
next up is a 40watt 2700k cfl. this bulb like every other cfl on the market has a built in ballast. this means most of radiant heat from comes right from the bulb area.
On too the grow.
I have the 70w hps hanging 1.5 inches from the top of a papaya plant, which is about 7 inches tall
I have the 40w cfl hanging 1.5 inches over a blue dot plant. this plant is about 8 inches tall. 5 days younger than the papaya
both plants are in 2 gallon pots with the top brimm or ring cut off. pots are nestled right next to each other, have a 10" fan circulating about 15 inches away from the plants.
i have been recording the temps once an hour threwout the light cycle. i have a little hygrometer soil level in both pots. heres the kicker, you ready for this.
avg temp of the cfl = 86f
avg temp of the hps = 79f
these temps were recorded over a three day period. each day was just like the last day. ambient temps threwout the days were equal. kinda hard to believe for this area of new england.
so in conclusion a low watt hps with a remote ballast will produce less heat than a cfl. while tripling the lumen per watt ratio!
so this means i am getting rid of all of my cfls and will be customizing my little grow box to handle more hps systems along with side supplemental lighting to help offset the small size of the grow box.