I was wondering if it was better to use a few big CFLs over lots of small ones for example . 15 26w vs 3 100w. I have 3 100 watt 2700k cfls that i am using for flowering. but i think i may be better off returning the large ones in favor of the small ones that i can place in clusters arround the plants. P.S. I vegged with 15 26w 6500k cfl's thanks.
You have 3 100w cfls. One of them breaks down. You just lost 1/3 of the total amount of money you paid for the lamps and 33% of your lumens coverage. You have 15 26w cfls. One of them breaks down. You just lost 1/15 of the total amount of money you paid for the lamps and 7% of your lumens coverage. It's just logistics...
On the flip side keeping 15 26w CFLs positioned close to the plant is a lot harder then positioning just three. Just keep an extra bulb on hand for when the inevitable happens. GL!