# Standard HPS vs EYE Hortilux enhanced bulb



## stangsmoker (Jan 3, 2008)

Hey everyone this is my first post on this site and i have to say this is one of my favorite sites. The people on here are very knowledgeable and dont just talk alot of $hit. 

Anyway my question is there really a difference between a standard hps, and the EYE hortilux bulbs? its time to flower and i can get a standard for about half the price of the EYE, but if the benifits make up for the cost i will def buy hte EYE. Any info would be much appreciated.


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## fdd2blk (Jan 3, 2008)

i use the hortilux but i veg with it for a week or two also. i've never tried anything else.


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## scias (Jan 3, 2008)

Go for enhanced HPS if possible. It throws out a higher CRI and Lumens. If it's 2x the cost, however, its not worth the expense.


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## potroast (Jan 4, 2008)

I use the Hortilux, not only because of more lumens than a standard, but more of the lumens are PAR, what the plants need.

Yeah, it's twice as much cost, but my plants are worth it. 

HTH


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## stangsmoker (Jan 5, 2008)

Thanks guys i decided to order 2 of the EYE hortilux yesterday. As you said potroast plants are def worth the extra expense.


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## potroast (Jan 6, 2008)

I just bought some too. I found them for 70 bux each for both the 600 and 1k. That's the lowest price I've ever found.

HTH


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## MagusALL (Jan 6, 2008)

stangsmoker said:


> Hey everyone this is my first post on this site and i have to say this is one of my favorite sites. The people on here are very knowledgeable and dont just talk alot of $hit.
> 
> Anyway my question is there really a difference between a standard hps, and the EYE hortilux bulbs? its time to flower and i can get a standard for about half the price of the EYE, but if the benifits make up for the cost i will def buy hte EYE. Any info would be much appreciated.


i take offense to this post. i talk a lot of shit.


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## MagusALL (Jan 6, 2008)

60 each? where?


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## ronbud1963 (Jan 6, 2008)

Ive always used the eye bulb;i think they are worth it.If you want a knock off for the 600,go to Maryland hydro,look up enhanced spectrum,600 watt for $30.00 us,i believe there just as good for 1/2 the price.Good Luck!Stay Safe!


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## NorthwestBuds (Jan 6, 2008)

I used to use the Philips Son Agro before I switched to the Eye Hortilux. I could not believe how much Bluer and Brighter the Eye lamp was. My plants are growing like monsters.


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## bKonz (Jan 6, 2008)

Another +1 for the EYE bulb from me. I love mine.


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## potroast (Jan 7, 2008)

I checked prices at online hydro sites, and since EYE Lighting is in Ohio, I checked a hydro shop in Ohio and, sure enough, the lowest price. Shipping was another 30, but still a lot cheaper than I can buy locally.

HTH


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## HondaVixen (Mar 5, 2010)

I know this is a really old post, but I have a similar question... I'm looking at a HPS Super Bulb that puts out 91,000 lumens, and an Eye hortilux hps bulb that puts out 85,000 lumens (600w) The Super bulb is $60 cheaper than the hortilux..worth it or no?


Also what is 'CRI', also when it is said "but more of the lumens are PAR, what the plants need." what is 'PAR'


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## Shrubs First (Mar 5, 2010)

HondaVixen said:


> I know this is a really old post, but I have a similar question... I'm looking at a HPS Super Bulb that puts out 91,000 lumens, and an Eye hortilux hps bulb that puts out 85,000 lumens (600w) The Super bulb is $60 cheaper than the hortilux..worth it or no?
> 
> 
> Also what is 'CRI', also when it is said "but more of the lumens are PAR, what the plants need." what is 'PAR'


Photosynthetic Active Radiation, it is what the plants absorb. And HPS happens to
be in the worst spectrums in terms of PAR

CRI is color render index, it is basically the company trying to show you how close
their spectrum is to the sun. It's bullshit.


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## ledgrowing (Mar 5, 2010)

dony buy eye hotilux way to much money and not the best


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## NavySupra (Mar 5, 2010)

I am completely hooked on philips CMH lamps in the 400w size. I have a cabinet grow, that will be upgraded to the same area but 2x 400w CMH's. Following is the spectrum comparison between the two.

Lumins is method of measuring light intensity as humans see it, and it is not an accurate means to evaluate lamps for growing with. It is good for comparing relative output and efficiency at different wattages. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the 400w CMH that replaces the 400w HPS does have lower lumin output than an HPS, but it doesn't take any more than basic math to figure out where all that energy goes when you look at the spectrograph. I would agree the the "visable" output does seem to be slighly less than an HPS. There are lots of pictures floating around here of CMH lighting above plants and quite a few posts about it if you want to learn more.



Shrubs First said:


> CRI is color render index, it is basically the company trying to show you how close
> their spectrum is to the sun. It's bullshit.


I do not completely agree with this explanation of CRI. The color rendering index is used to rate a lamps ability to correctly "render" color. The CRI is the percentage of the color palate that appears correct according to a laboratory set calibration.


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## Ole Budheavy (Mar 6, 2010)

If you really want vegetative performance, go for the metal halide version called the Hortilux Blue. The other manufacturers have similar MH's that throw enhanced spectrums. Its pretty expensive, but if you consider that a fucking quarter oz of good smoke is worth $100 on average, that puts the expense into perspective. 

If you're gonna grow more than a few plants, enhanced spectrum bulbs will inevitably increase the quality and thus the value your herb.


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## NavySupra (Mar 6, 2010)

Today I chopped down my first fully flowered CMH plant. I love this lamp! Pictures will be posted in my CMH thread later today or tomorrow.


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## Shrubs First (Mar 6, 2010)

NavySupra said:


> I do not completely agree with this explanation of CRI. The color rendering index is used to rate a lamps ability to correctly "render" color. The CRI is the percentage of the color palate that appears correct according to a laboratory set calibration.


What are these graphs always compared to? The sun.

On a bulb package you will usually see one of these graphs with a number
that says CRI: 75 or CRI 85 or CRI 90, this is them trying to say their bulb
is 75% or 85% or 90% similar to the sun's spectrum.


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## Shrubs First (Mar 6, 2010)

PAR light and Nanometers are commonly misunderstood in relation to horticulture. 
The basic concept with PAR light is that plants only really need the peaks of
photosynthesis, or just the range of visible light that spans 400 and 700nm 
range (approx.) Nanometers are a measurement that scientists made up to
explain what they were seeing. The word nanometer literally refers to one 
billionth of a meter. Before that it was an Angstrom, and a millimicron, etc. 
In science, references for references are often found to be flawed. Both of these
terms (PAR and Nanometers) are man-made, and therefore subject to the 
knowledge and interpretation of those who made it. Plants just want what the
Sun has provided them for millions of years, what they need for their life processes. Humans cant selectively break the light that shines on the Earth into 
just what falls into a visible range. There are portions of Sunlight that we dont
see with our eyes, but that plants use in their own way. The plant efficiency
curve was historically used in horticulture, but is really for humans more than it
ever was for plants. People cant cherry-pick the light from the Sun and nature
doesnt have two brick walls that say 400 and 700 nanometers.


The plant sensitivity curve represents the traditional basis for PAR light. The idea
is that peaks of red and blues are enough for proper plant development. Plants 
want the Sun. Plants use all the light that they get from the Sun to make 
chlorophyll a and b, and provide the electron volts to the light harvesting
complexes in the leaf; aka Photosystem 1 and Photosystem 2. 

Light is a complex subject; light, light delivery, spectrum, frequency, and then
the photobiology, plant science, quantum physics and more. The complexities of
these disciplines only permit short explanation. Plants want the Sun, but the
Sun is twice the energy they need for maximum photosynthesis. Too much
light, too much heat, and too much humidity all inhibit the photosynthetic 
process  aka photo-inhibition. Light has properties of wavelengths, and long
wavelengths  wave physics and particle physics are a part of that. Each color
of light travels at its own speed, each carrying a certain number of electron
volts; theres more than one speed of light. Plants want all the colors all the 
time.

The relationship between frequency and wavelength are inversely related. The Sun is shining with full spectrum light, at a specific frequency. Higher frequency
electronics produce light thats closer to the Sun, but that man cant perfectly
replicate. The Sun shines in space in the Penta and Terra Hertz, but not all that 
is received on the Earth PAR light is an expression for the visible spectrum, but
is no reference for what plants want. Plants just care about the incident energy,
the electron volts, that can actually be delivered to the leaf, that the plant can 
actually assimilate for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis, for example, will stop on 
the leaf surface when Sunlight levels reach approx. 6500 FC. More light isnt 
always better. The Sun puts out approx. 10,000 FC; twice what they require for 
maximum photosynthesis. Plants have just adapted to those excess levels of 
natural Sunlight, to become the plants we see in Nature now.


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## NavySupra (Mar 7, 2010)

Shrubs First said:


> What are these graphs always compared to? The sun.
> 
> On a bulb package you will usually see one of these graphs with a number
> that says CRI: 75 or CRI 85 or CRI 90, this is them trying to say their bulb
> is 75% or 85% or 90% similar to the sun's spectrum.


The information you are providing is not correct to the best of my knowledge, a quick google search netted me this explaination.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Color+Rendering+Index



> The Color Rendering Index (CRI) (sometimes called Color Rendition Index), is a measure of the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects being lit by the source. It is a method devised by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). The best possible rendition of colors is specified by a CRI of one hundred, while the very poorest rendition is specified by a CRI of zero. For a source like a low-pressure sodium vapor lamp, which is monochromatic, the CRI is nearly zero, but for a source like an incandescent light bulb, which emits essentially black body radiation, it is nearly one hundred. The CRI is measured by comparing the color rendering of the test source to that of a "perfect" source which is generally a black body radiator, except for sources with color temperatures above 5000K, in which case a simulated daylight (e.g. D65) is used. For example, a standard "cool white" fluorescent lamp will have a CRI near 63. Newer "triphosphor" fluorescent lamps often claim a CRI of 80 to 90.
> 
> CRI is a quantitatively measurable index, not a subjective one. A reference source, such as black body radiation, is defined as having a CRI of 100 (this is why incandescent lamps have that rating, as they are, in effect, almost blackbody radiators), and the test source with the same color temperature is compared against this. Both sources are used to illuminate eight standard samples. The perceived colors under the reference and test illumination (measured in the CIE 1931 color space) are compared using a standard formula, and averaged over the number of samples taken (usually eight) to get the final CRI. Because eight samples are usually used, manufacturers use the prefix "octo-" on their high-CRI lamps.


Also, have you ever noticed that different environmental conditions will effect the light that reaches the surface of the planet?


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