I'm looking for best results, and I'm not to smart when it comes to this lighting stuff. I'm not sure on the exact space I'm going to grow, so I have no dimensions at this time. I just know I want to grow at least 10 plants & under $1,000-$900 in lighting. Anyone able to shed some "light" on this?
I'm an outdoor only grower however I'll throw in my 2 cents. You're going to need a ballast to run each of your lights and they will probably cost more than the bulb themselves. Use reflective hoods...uhh... know the difference between HPS and MH lights...shouldn't have to go over that this is all basic I'm probably not helping lol... http://forum.grasscity.com/lighting/263178-all-about-lighting.html
Good, okay sorry your question was initially vague to me. Basically maximize your wattage/sqft without losing control of temps or getting railed in the nuts with your electricity bill. I read somewhere that using 600w hps lights is more efficient than using 1000 watts because 1k watts puts out a higher ratio of heat/lumens. I don't have the source for this though so take it with a grain of salt. I would like somebody to verify that. HPS >efficiency MH especially in flower The sweet smell of ten plants will need some kind of filter unless you're cool with your city block smelling dank.
If I have my thoughts right, I'll probably end up using 2 600watt lights wattage/sqft . I'm doing to DWC my plants, starting with 10 Fem Jock Horror AutoFlowers. 10 Fem Urban Poison afterwards ^_^ Do you have any idea on the best bulbs,ballasts,relectors,ect?
Some pretty intense lighting, just make sure your temps don't get too high hehe. I have no idea about the quality of specific lights, ballasts etc as I'm only experienced in the great outdoors. Here's some of my budshots this season lol. Bagseed with miracle grow.
LUMENS LUMENS LUMENS!!! Fig out the room your gonna grow in and dived the sq ft by how many lumens your light puts out. Shoot for 10,000 lumens during flower every sq ft. For veg you need only around 2,500-3000 per sq ft. My area is 6x4 with a 1000 watt on a 4 ft track. Uses 195000 lumens and gives me 8,125. Close enough to 10 for me. 10000 is optimal.
Another option you could look at could be doing two 600 watt lights. The 600 watt lights are a little bit more efficient than the 1000 watt lights when it comes to lumen output. Also having more than one light will allow you to have your plants closer to the light. With a single light you are trying to cover a larger area with just that one light which means some plants might be further away.