Ive got 2 125 watt CFLs, I bought from the internet - good ones that say "No heat output so your plants can get closer to the light". Well im growing in a small cupboard and its getting soooo hot my plants are almost dying if I leave them for too long... Any ideas? Chrisfranklin6002@yahoo.co.uk
get a fan. If there's no airflow in there then those CFLs are going to slowly raise the temperature, especially in a small space.
Yeah, their self ballasted to the light isn't so hot, but the ballast gets warm and the glass on it is hot although it still lets you get pretty close to the plant. You'll find a small clip fan just circulating the air in there will help. Consider an air intake or something also.
I had this problem with my grow in the beginning, I got an in-line extractor fan which gave a great air flow and now my temps are always just right.
I'd have to agree with all the above suggestions and maybe offer that you should open the door a crack or so during the light cycle to help dissipate some of the heat. Otherwise you will keep having problems. On a side note, though a fan is a must for air circulation, with my own experience, I noticed that the fan itself also generated a good deal of heat (it's inside my grow box). Opening the door a crack will allow some of that extra heat to escape, though I really wouldn't know whether to suggest having the fan blowing ~out~ to vent the heat, or have it blowing the cool air ~in~. Ideally, you'd have an intake fan and a exhaust fan, but from the sounds of it, your space is pretty limited, so just do the best with what you've got, but by all means get some air circulation in there somehow. Oh, and with your higher temps and air circulation your plants will dry out exponentially faster so make sure you keep them watered adequately without drowning them out. Light, air and water - the basics for most life forms! Good luck!