i've been looking at prices for cfl bulbs around my area and its cheaper for me to get more watts if i use multiple small cfl bulbs (20-25watt) instead of buying the larger 40-100watt cfl bulbs. I'm just wondering is more light put out with a single large 100watt cfl compared to 4 25watt cfl bulbs?
If you have more smaller bulbs you can use the light more efficiently , with 100w the top cola will get the full effect of the light but due to the increasing distance from the light the lower canopy will get less. With 4 23w bulbs they can be arranged so the main cola gets enough light and the canopy will get lots as well. Also, if bad shit happens to a bulb, with one your screwed...4 your not. Plus you can mix and match veg and bloom bulbs if you have 4.
The bigger the cfl bulb the less efficient it is, you'll get more lumens using smaller (24-26w) bulbs.