Larger CFL grows?

[GDK]

Do they exist? My buddy wants to switch his 1200 watts of hps for 900 watts of cfl lighting. Hes running SOG in a organic soilbed, and hes convinced that he can pull almost the same weight. I doubt it, but i still wanna see him do it....so do any of yall grow with cfl´s in the larger wattage dept.? Links would be appreciated too.....


Stay Safe

 

[cork144]

larger the cfls go the less lumens per watt they emmit, he should prob try pl-l lighting.

 

[fsaebud]

i think your friend is a little crazy if he thinks he can yield near the same with 300 less watts. maby with a higher yielding strain or suplemental co2.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=78046&highlight=cfl+club
(start here there are some big cfl grows in that thread)

i currently have 440 watts of pl-l cfl's in half a cabinet size space but i am sure that is nothing compared to allot of other peoples clf grows. and i haven't ever used any type of HID but am looking into CMH's for a future grow space in the fall. i will link my grow up when its finished here in a week or two and repost it for you to see what i am talking about with the pl-l types they are definately the way to go if you are considering a large CFL type grow i love mine just wish i had more space for an HID with some more power and better spectrum.

 

[EmeraldHaze]

i think your friend is a little crazy if he thinks he can yield near the same with 300 less watts.

I agree with fsaebud; not only is he going to have less watts and less efficient lights, but CFLs in general cannot compare to HID lighting.

On top of all that, he'd have to remember that the CFLs need to be very close (within inches) of his plant matter; he can't have it further away like his 900w of HID lighting must be.

Maybe in a ScrOG style grow, but there's really no way that you can compare 600w CFL with 900w HPS...

 

[GDK]

Thanks guys...thats what i told him as well.

Stay Safe

 

[irie4i]

Here's the big problem.

With 8 bulbs I run roughly 330watts. At the moment, with a clone(not seedling) the cab is intensly hot. The problem isn't air movement, or circulation, intake/exhaust, or any of those things. The problem(inherit in my hydro system) is that the bulbs are physically so close to the growing medium it's a huge pain in the ass to keep cool. With 3 times the watt's I can't imagine what kind of circulation and air cooling methods you'd have to use. Installing CPU fans or 4" ducting over 2 lightbulbs at a time(directly ontop) with some kind of glass "bottom" MIGHT be enough to keep any room running that many CFL bulbs at once reasonably cool. Problems are pretty easy late in growth(expecially SOG or SCROG style) since your canopy is relativly even and the bulb is physically far enough away from your grow medium that you only have to worry about temps on your cola site(easier than a full medium imo)

So here's the thing, you CAN do it; so why not try?