16k lumens HPS vs. CFL

Budda_Luva

Well-Known Member
well would more wattage = more intense light and penetraitable and hey ceestyle keep me posted on ur research thread there the shit
 

ceestyle

Well-Known Member
Yes, for the same type of bulb. Just a simple case to illustrate what I'm saying:

Imagine you have two plants. In case, you have an HID above and in between the two plants. In another, you have three CFLs that have the same total light output as the HID. One in center, two to the sides.

HID

-----O-----
-----------
--/\----/\--
-/--\--/--\-
/----\/----\

CFL

o----o----o
--/\----/\--
-/--\--/--\-
/----\/----\

What do you call better penetration? The area in the center may be penetrated better by the HID, but the foliage on the outsides of both plants would be much better covered by the CFLs.

Again, you have to look at each situation to determine what is going to work best.
 

Budda_Luva

Well-Known Member
since the HIDA light is in the middle doesnt most of it pentrating power go vertically as ur research shows or is that where the lil reflector u ha don top of u HPS come in???
 

ceestyle

Well-Known Member
since the HIDA light is in the middle doesnt most of it pentrating power go vertically as ur research shows or is that where the lil reflector u ha don top of u HPS come in???
Exactly, but you can see where the other sides of the plants would be shaded from the tops, especially over a larger canopy. A CFL directly above them, while weaker, would still reach the lower foliage.
 

Budda_Luva

Well-Known Member
OOOOO perfect setup but i kinda think this would be a better growbox for one plant only so the HID light would go directly to the main cola if its not fimmed or topped but maybe topped to the light would go directly to the 2 main colas instead of juss the main one wouldnt that result in more yield than juss one main cola or no???
 

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
I like the idea of combining CFL's and HID's...

That's what I am doing... in a very small scale...

Gypsy...:joint::peace:
 

GetHighLikePlanes

Active Member
Hey ceestyle!
Great information! What would be the best CFL setup for a room that is 4.5' wide 6' deep and 6' high? For instance how many compact fluorescent lights and what wattage would I need for vegging and flowering with only a CFL with 4 plants? Since the sun provides plants with a dual spectrum of light should I be using red and blue spectrum CFLs? If so how many of each and at what stage? Thanks!
 

TexasWild

Well-Known Member
Is that a ballasted hps or is that one that will work in any house hold socket! I would love to add two to my cfl grow as I am just entering flowering but I don't want to have to run more power. Do you know how many amps a 150w hps will pull?
 

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
TexasWild said:
Is that a ballasted hps or is that one that will work in any house hold socket!
All HIDs (MH, HPS, MV...etc...) NEED THE CORRECT BALLAST...

There is no HPS that will work in your house hold socket...

The smaller HPS wattages, have the "MEDIUM" style socket and will fit, but not work...

At best you burn the bulb... the worst starts with a fire...

A 150 HPS needs a 150 HPS ballast

a 250 HPS needs a 250 HPS ballast and so on...

TexasWild said:
I would love to add two to my cfl grow as I am just entering flowering but I don't want to have to run more power.
150 watts of HPS will kick ass when compared to 150 watt of CFL...

But that is just MY opinion... go with what you know...

TexasWild said:
Do you know how many amps a 150w hps will pull?
I do not, I am sorry... but I am sure you could google it real quick...

Hope I helped...

Gypsy...:leaf:
 

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
Do you know how many amps a 150w hps will pull?
Well here is a quote from the internet machine... I did not check his math or his theory... take it with a grain of salt...

" Here is the formula for calculating Amps.
A = W / V (watts divided by volts).
Calculating Amps. Calculate the amperage of a 600 watt light bulb that is running on a 120 volt circuit. A= 600/120 or 5 amps ...

150w/120v = 1.25 Amps
400w/120v = 3.33 Amps.
400w/240v = 1.67 Amps
1000w/240 = 4.167 Amps..."
 

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
I don't see how this is a comparison. What a meter says as far as lumens per foot does not mean a whole lot compared to yield.

Given 16k lumens of cfl's vs 16k lumens of hps which grew more bud?

Sure a single light source won't give the even lumens across the grow a number of light sources will but what has this post proven? I don't get it.
 

ceestyle

Well-Known Member
I don't see how this is a comparison. What a meter says as far as lumens per foot does not mean a whole lot compared to yield.

Given 16k lumens of cfl's vs 16k lumens of hps which grew more bud?

Sure a single light source won't give the even lumens across the grow a number of light sources will but what has this post proven? I don't get it.
Rated lumens don't necessarily translate to high - or consistently high - light intensity across your canopy. Knowing the effective intensity and how it is distributed is as important as knowing how much light there is.
 

ceestyle

Well-Known Member
Well here is a quote from the internet machine... I did not check his math or his theory... take it with a grain of salt...

" Here is the formula for calculating Amps.
A = W / V (watts divided by volts).
Calculating Amps. Calculate the amperage of a 600 watt light bulb that is running on a 120 volt circuit. A= 600/120 or 5 amps ...

150w/120v = 1.25 Amps
400w/120v = 3.33 Amps.
400w/240v = 1.67 Amps
1000w/240 = 4.167 Amps..."
That is approximately correct, but your mileage may vary. They tend to pull a little more or less.

The definition of power is:

Power (Watts) = Current (Amperes) x Voltage (Volts)
P=IV

The other useful relationship is Ohm's law, relating voltage across a resistive load and the current running through it:

Voltage (Volts) = Current (Amperes) x Resistance (Ohms)
V=IR

To calculate the current your bulb - or anything for that matter - will draw, you can take either the resistance or the rated power and convert using the above equations. There is some other more complicated shit involving the true load when you're using an AC current, but the above is a first-order approximation.
 

CannabisError

Active Member
this thread has been a good read. i was just wondering...

do you think your plants would of started to toast if you had a blower attached to the HPS?

in my old closet setup i had a 1000w HPS about 4 inches from the tops of my crop and never really had a problem.

my friend now is thinking of doing a small garden in his spare closet but is not going to be able to afford to run a HPS system, so he wants to go with a bunch of CFL's. hes aiming for the same output as say a 600w HPS would put out. was wondering if you had a suggestion or two about it?

thanks
 

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
Please do test penetration. But first I beg you to completely reconisder your reflector and the distance you list for running that 150 hps. (And the cfl's too)
You are listing them all too far away. You need a good fan blowing right on the bulbs, both types, and both can be dropped within 2" of the tops of the plants. That is the plot you need.

I would never never never never run my 150's as far away as you are. You don't need a cooltube to get it within 4", just a decent fan on it, and preferrably remote ballast but even that is not necessary.

Great work though. Great....
 

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
this thread has been a good read. i was just wondering...

do you think your plants would of started to toast if you had a blower attached to the HPS?

in my old closet setup i had a 1000w HPS about 4 inches from the tops of my crop and never really had a problem.

my friend now is thinking of doing a small garden in his spare closet but is not going to be able to afford to run a HPS system, so he wants to go with a bunch of CFL's. hes aiming for the same output as say a 600w HPS would put out. was wondering if you had a suggestion or two about it?

thanks
This is not possible. A 1000w hps 4" from plants is a plant that's on fire.
Trying to match enough cfl's to equal a 600w hps is also a very very bad idea it would take so many and burn double if not more of the wattage. It would not be cheaper.

Tell your friend to buy a couple of these:
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1096767

But not to overdo it. If you're spending $120 or more you could just buy one 400 or 600.
 

bhorny

Active Member
Shown below are the intensity maps at the heights indicated on the plots, as measured by the vertical distance from the top of the meter to the edge of the spiral tube (~4,7, and 9"). Note that the vertical color scales are not the same on the first plot as the second two. Purple is 300-400 klux in the first and 150-200 klux in the second.



HPS Illumination:

Shown below are the intensity maps at the heights indicated on the plots (~7,9, and 10.5"), as measured by the vertical distance from the top of the meter to the filament:

I wanted to know if there was anymore information like this for lights exceeding 150W. 400W to be specific....
 
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