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biotrucker
New Member
As taken from Wikipedia, a T8 flo tubes light efficency is 12 to 15% in relativity to the light of the sun.
A compact flo tube with ballast (aka energy saver bulbs) have an efficiency of 15 to 18%again in relativity to the light output of the sun.
A HPS bulb has a 12 to 22% efficiency. The higher wattage will have the higher efficiency if the conditons were the same (ie both have reflectors).
So an HPS bulb used inefficently would be worse than a flourescent bulb used correctly. Now, in a side by side controlled test HPS to Compact FLO whre conditons were optimal the HPS would do only 4% better than the FLO.
To me, the difference is negligablein my setup. However, in a different setup the HPS would win hands down. So it is again all about using the light efficently.
A High Pressure Sodium bulb when used correctly has only a 4% better light efficacy than that of a compact flo. It would be 7% better than a tube flo.
Taking flourescent compact light bulbs and attaching them to a reflective dome allows me to put them where ever I want and reflect the light between the branches. You cannot do that with an HPS light without using reflecting material.. It would be a lot more difficult to do that than in my setup.
As far as electricity goes, I am using far less electricty and using my light as efficently as possible. Therefore, my grow will be as good as someone else's HPS grow and will cost less.
You cannot dispute the science here!
I am using 5000 kelvin photography bulbs. The amount of sun light that reaches earth is also 5000 kelvin (according to wikipedia). I did have to add 2 more lamps to my original 6 to add light to the lower branches. They started getting stretchy when I started the flowering stage. I will add some pics soon.
A compact flo tube with ballast (aka energy saver bulbs) have an efficiency of 15 to 18%again in relativity to the light output of the sun.
A HPS bulb has a 12 to 22% efficiency. The higher wattage will have the higher efficiency if the conditons were the same (ie both have reflectors).
So an HPS bulb used inefficently would be worse than a flourescent bulb used correctly. Now, in a side by side controlled test HPS to Compact FLO whre conditons were optimal the HPS would do only 4% better than the FLO.
To me, the difference is negligablein my setup. However, in a different setup the HPS would win hands down. So it is again all about using the light efficently.
A High Pressure Sodium bulb when used correctly has only a 4% better light efficacy than that of a compact flo. It would be 7% better than a tube flo.
Taking flourescent compact light bulbs and attaching them to a reflective dome allows me to put them where ever I want and reflect the light between the branches. You cannot do that with an HPS light without using reflecting material.. It would be a lot more difficult to do that than in my setup.
As far as electricity goes, I am using far less electricty and using my light as efficently as possible. Therefore, my grow will be as good as someone else's HPS grow and will cost less.
You cannot dispute the science here!
I am using 5000 kelvin photography bulbs. The amount of sun light that reaches earth is also 5000 kelvin (according to wikipedia). I did have to add 2 more lamps to my original 6 to add light to the lower branches. They started getting stretchy when I started the flowering stage. I will add some pics soon.