HID in Cabinet- Wattage?

[Synapse]

Hello!

I'm currently planning a grow box and will be using a 72 in x 30 in steel storage cabinet. I'm thinking I can grow three AK-47 plants in there (reach 4-5 ft, will train)... does that sound about right?

Anyways my question is: If I'm wanting to grow 2-3 plants in that size of a cabinet, what wattage HID light should I get? Also, I noticed alot of people use 250 watt HID's which uses 6 KWH/ day. Is this a substantial increase for a 1300sq ft home? (I don't pay the power bill/have one handy to see what our average useage is)

Thank you SO much for any help you can offer!!!

[Al B. Fuct]

First of all, you don't want plants anywhere near 5ft tall. Artificial lighting can only penetrate foliage so deeply; a 1000HPS will give solid development about 36-40" down the plant. A 250 will do less than 1/4 of that depth. Short plants are the indoor grower's friend. You get short plants by giving very little vegging time before flowering, if any at all.

The rule-o-thumb for HPS is 50W/sq ft of lighted floor/tray/tablespace.

A 250 will use 6kWh/day only if on 24/7. While you may run a light 24/7 to veg some plants, you could veg with 18/6 light and save a little power. When flowering, it's only on 12h per day, meaning only 3kWh/day.

If your power cost is 10c/kWh, 6kWh/day will cost 60c. 3kWh/day of course will cost 30c.

[Synapse]

Originally Posted by Al B. Fuct

First of all, you don't want plants anywhere near 5ft tall. Artificial lighting can only penetrate foliage so deeply; a 1000HPS will give solid development about 36-40" down the plant. A 250 will do less than 1/4 of that depth. Short plants are the indoor grower's friend. You get short plants by giving very little vegging time before flowering, if any at all.

The rule-o-thumb for HPS is 50W/sq ft of lighted floor/tray/tablespace.

A 250 will use 6kWh/day only if on 24/7. While you may run a light 24/7 to veg some plants, you could veg with 18/6 light and save a little power. When flowering, it's only on 12h per day, meaning only 3kWh/day.

If your power cost is 10c/kWh, 6kWh/day will cost 60c. 3kWh/day of course will cost 30c.

Thanks a ton!

I guess I'll just go with a 150 watt HID then. And after thinking about it, 150 watts would just be like leaving 2.5 standard 60 watt light bulbs on all the time.

Can't wait to get started