thinking of upgrading from cfl to hps..

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by eaglebeak, Sep 5, 2013.

  1. Hi guys, i'm currently running a single 130w cfl in a cabinet that measures 18x16x23h and am thinking about upgrading to a 250w hps.

    I'm just curious as to how close I can allow my plants to one of these bulbs. At the moment I grow 12/12 from seed and lst, so my plants stay very short.

    So yeah, just trying to work out whether i'm gonna have the vertical space for it.
    I think if I can keep the light about 6" away I should be fine, but is this too close?

    Thanks for reading.
     
  2. 250w puts out a lot of unwanted heat, and although the light color is just great for budding Canna, the red of the light fill be forcing the plant to stretch, I'd go T5 4ft long 4 tube rack, little heat, easier to operate, or a large mixed kelvin CFL
     
  3. Thanks for the quick response mate. yeah heat would be another concern. I am running a 2700k cfl, so may try a mixed spectrum one instead.

    Any other opinions most welcome.
     
  4. Can anyone please let me know if i have enough lights to complete my grow thanks in advance...



    http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1245419-Do-you-guys-think-my-grow-will-complete-with-current-setup?



    Sent from my LG-L38C using Grasscity Forum mobile app

     
  5. I think 250W HPS is too much for that small of a space.   150W would be a much better size for the space and you'll still see a huge improvement vs the CFL.
     
    Lots of people veg with HPS.  While it's not ideal, it's still better than CFL.
     
  6.  
     
    How is he going to fit a 4' fixture in his 2' cabinet?
     
  7. Thank you mate, the exact sorry of info I was looking for. I'll look into 150s. Adding more fans is no problem.

    Sent from my GT-S5360T using Grasscity Forum mobile app

     
  8. Unlike floros/LED/induction, MH/HPS spend a large portion of the electricity they consume in waste heat. Something to keep in mind. e.g. 250 watts of LED has very little heat dissipation versus 250 HPS and thus the energy cost savings. Likely you would only need to use 150 LED Watts to get similar performance. Some would say less, but we have been halving the wattage and getting good results with only some minor supplementation.
     
  9.  
    That's not true at all.
     
    150 ACTUAL power consumed by LED, HID, or CFL all produce very close to the same amount of heat.
     
    The only reason a 150W LED light puts off less heat than a 150W HID is because the HID is actually a 150W fixture whereas the LED fixtures are all way over rated when it comes to wattage.
     
    Don't trust me?  Look into the physics.  At the end of the day - almost all of the energy you feed into your grow room turns into heat.  Even if the fixture is more efficient - that additional light creates heat when it's absorbed by a surface.  Only a tiny fraction of the energy is converted into chemical energy by your plants. 
     
  10. #10 canadian69, Sep 19, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 24, 2013
    I believe you misread my post. Above is dead wrong, since the poster has not corrected their error, please note that HID lamps put out tones more heat than alternative lighting.
     
  11. New additions....

    http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1245419-Do-you-guys-think-my-grow-will-complete-with-current-setup?

    Sent from my LG-L38C using Grasscity Forum mobile app

     
  12. I would go with an all CFL grow.  If you're gonna go with HPS, do have it air cooled with ducting.  If you have that, you should be able to get some hard nugs...CFL they'll be airy but you might get a decent harvest if you have a shit ton of 300w CFL's in there.
     

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