Happy Tuesday 420,
I recently made an upgrade to my grow with a Mars 600 LED panel, I'm looking to make my lighting much more efficient. This panel only draws 272 watts from wall.
The LED replaced a 12 bulb CFL fixture which did well to get my plant to mid-flower, heavy supplemental lighting is needed. As time passed I realized I was adding more and more light and getting more heat and less efficiency. It got very crowded in the cab and had become a PITA to do just about anything in there with 12 sq. feet and a 4 ft. ceiling.
My goal is to remove the all CFLs from the cab. The CFLs will be used to veg clones and seedlings in another area, they did a damn good job with my plants and kept them short when I needed them to be short. The main reasons for the switch is because I have to run A/C all day due to daytime heat and the heat generated from the lighting at night. Finding the right formula for adequate cooling during lights on cycle has proven to be elusive still. Ambient temps fall throughout the night, and by early morning the A/C will turn off and the temps in the cab will dangerously go up. So I end up turn A/C down further and temps are in the high 60s to low 70s all night. Without A/C temps would be 95F+ even with the exhaust fan at full throttle with lights on. So my logic is if I must run A/C all day I might as well get better lighting. I can take advantage of this cooling inefficiency by adding more intense lighting, but within reason. I am limited by a 15 amp line and adding anything more than a couple 70 or 100 watt hps bulbs/ballast would put me close or even at 12 amps which is the limit. Removing the remaining CFL and T5s and adding for example two-70 hps bulbs give me back 128 watts to use for clones and vegging small plants in waiting for flower. Also read that the high surface heat of the bulbs can help lower humidity as well, then I can avoid buying a dehumidifier. Is this logic legit, or am I sounding like the noob I really am lol. Either way some much needed advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I recently made an upgrade to my grow with a Mars 600 LED panel, I'm looking to make my lighting much more efficient. This panel only draws 272 watts from wall.
My goal is to remove the all CFLs from the cab. The CFLs will be used to veg clones and seedlings in another area, they did a damn good job with my plants and kept them short when I needed them to be short. The main reasons for the switch is because I have to run A/C all day due to daytime heat and the heat generated from the lighting at night. Finding the right formula for adequate cooling during lights on cycle has proven to be elusive still. Ambient temps fall throughout the night, and by early morning the A/C will turn off and the temps in the cab will dangerously go up. So I end up turn A/C down further and temps are in the high 60s to low 70s all night. Without A/C temps would be 95F+ even with the exhaust fan at full throttle with lights on. So my logic is if I must run A/C all day I might as well get better lighting. I can take advantage of this cooling inefficiency by adding more intense lighting, but within reason. I am limited by a 15 amp line and adding anything more than a couple 70 or 100 watt hps bulbs/ballast would put me close or even at 12 amps which is the limit. Removing the remaining CFL and T5s and adding for example two-70 hps bulbs give me back 128 watts to use for clones and vegging small plants in waiting for flower. Also read that the high surface heat of the bulbs can help lower humidity as well, then I can avoid buying a dehumidifier. Is this logic legit, or am I sounding like the noob I really am lol. Either way some much needed advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
