What light for starting seeds?

Evening,

I've gone down the route of buying heirloom seeds this year (about 120 in soil) instead of buying grown on plants from the garden center, and a lot of these seeds need a temp of 25-32c to germinate, so I'm thinking a few cheap LEDs might be the way forward?

They'll be planted outside once grown on, hence the cheap part. I may throw a few extra plants under the lights too but they'll also end up outside.

23W spiral CFL one inch away, not LED. I made a fixture with about 10 of them. you only need them for the first 4 or 5 days

I love my T5s for starting seeds, you can start them with your lights high and drop it once they starting needing more light to start veg.

T5 is good, LEDs are good. Heat mats for bottom heat are good...

Which is the most cost effective for the heat it outputs.

Lights are not what sprout seeds. If you just want to sprout them they don't need light, they need a heat mat. You don't weven need that if your sprouting area is warm.

You didn't give enough info to be that helpful really. Where are you popping the seeds? In your home? Are you expecting the lamp to heat the soil? Is it going to be warm enough outside to move the plants our right away or you plan to keep them there or ? The type of lamp you buy is not that important. What you need is a game plan.

I admit, I forgot about heat mats...

Primary goal - sprouting.

I live in a sub-med area, so my temps are already hitting 20c+ outside (on good days). I just need a constant heat source for a few weeks to get everything popped. Once they're popped, then it'll be a mix of light source on bad days, and outside hardening up on good days (already hit 25c in the shade here late Feb)

They'll be sprouted in a spare attic bedroom. It's not heated, so ambient will be mid teens at best. This room has 4 windows, so good airflow if required.

Everything beyond this is sorted I grow enough veg every year that I eventually run out of people to give it too...that's after I've had my fill for eating and preserving.

Theirs a chart on the internet somewhere that gives the optimal spouting temps for most plants, I use a heat mat and LEDs , florescent tube and florescent bulb t5 and t8 . I like a solid seed tray quarter filled with perilite and a tray with holes stacked on top of that. Use a timer to control the heat mat unless you need it to run 100%. I have 100% success rate with tomato's, cabbage, pepper, and so many more.

T5's are excellent for starts.

T5 or LED or MH or HPS, been using a 50 watt MH and HPS for years for seedlings...

T5 for the number of seeds you are sprouting it will do well.