im going to start growing in my closet, which has plenty of room for one plant. so heres what i plan to do. im gonna start my veg stage with a flouresent and then later move it into the closet for the flowering. I wanna use a 400watt sodium light but im afraid of the energy. if i run my computer with a 550watt power supply all day and then when its in the flowering i stop running my computer and just use my laptop. would there be any difference in power, cause if my math is correct i would be using less energy then running my computer. i just dont wanna get screwed because of power spikes or whatever. do you think ill be ok or should i invest in a generator?
Congrats my friend!! Welcome to the world of growing! You may have a 550W PSU in your box, but it is not actually consuming (or delivering) that wattage.. more likely around ~300W if you have a high end system. The 550W is just what the supply can deliver at maximum output. Your best bet is to change out five 100W incandescent bulbs with 23W (100W equiv) CFL bulbs in your house.. that WOULD actually save you around ~400W of power. You are taking 500W of incandescents and replacing it with 115W. Thats a big savings. If you are THAT concerned about power usage, you should just consider going 100% CFL for your grow operation..a lot of people are doing that these days and apparently getting good results. Check out some of the CFL threads on here. Any more questions? Feel free to ask! You are at home with us ~Experimentalist
I recommend making use of the "Search" feature of these forums. Here are a few from a quick search: http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/277638-first-grow-cfl-closet-small-hid-pics-updates.html http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/250345-first-grow-cfl-style.html http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-journals/241407-first-cfl-grow-but-not-first-grow-far.html I hope that helps! ~Experimentalist
I agree with everyone, but with all the news with the Police using fly buys using equipment to detect high levels of heat. I use LED's and CFL's. The prices have come down dramactically. I bought mine from a non-tradtional website just bc I have a tendency to be extremely careful. I went to http://www.expresslightbulbs.com/grow-light-c-132.html and found them to be reasonable. LED's are a bit more expensive. Also with LED's you really have to put them on top of the plant and with CFL's you need to put them a bit farther. Again, I have had very good success using both sources.
I presume that yes, there is.. unless you can match wattage, lumens, and the spectral output of the HPS with CFLs, which I believe you can do. CFL's are easier to purchase, easier to install, throw less heat, use less power, etc.. There are benefits and drawbacks for any lighting system vs another. ~Experimentalist
I guess... based on what I just told you... it would depend on how many CFLs and what you end up with for a light setup. How can I know what your potential yield will be if you dont even know what you're getting? I'd guess you could lose as much as half the yield or no loss whatsoever depending on what you decide to do. You could have a great light setup and not get shit all if you don't know how to grow. ~Experimentalist
i plan to have 3 23watt 6500k and one 2700k CFL i have a fan, plenty of room for one plant in my closet and i plan to do everything to the plant i can, such as adding nutrients and using specific water. with CFL do you leave the lights on 24/7 during both vegetative and flowering stages?