Cfl vs hps

I'm looking for opinions on which I should go with. I'm used to using HPS but the energy savings of CFL sounds good. I don't want to sacrifice quality if I don't have to though. I'm reading mixed reviews about the differences and am seeing a wide range of opinions without any proof. Has anyone had a good experience with CFL's? Looking for dense buds and a good yield for 4 plants in a box 3x4x5. Thanks!

Heats biggest difference.if u can handle heat go hps.if its small grow area and nothing to control temps go cfl or led

I've grown with cfl'sand with a400watt mh/hps and in my experience it was about even. I do perfer the mh/hps to the cfl's because with the cfl's there were cords everywhere and adjusting the height was a pain in the ass. Also when I was using cfl's I wasgrowing in my bath tub in 3 5gal pots. Now that I think about it the yield is slightly more with the hps.I'm currently growing 4 Aurora Indica in 3 gal pots. Hope this helps you to decide. And like pphdave said heat is an issue. I didn'thave to vent when Iwas using cfl's.Just a fan.

My avatar was a CFL grow in a small 18x18x60 cabinet in a 5 gallon bucket.

True more wires to with cfls vs hps^^^

I would go with led over cfl.

I've had good experiences with cfls....I love my cfls....







Took me like 20 min to upload these pics from my kindle...enjoy..lol...now i'm going back to watching Breaking Bad!peace

I'd recommend LED lights......
low heat.... long life i would do some research

I got 3 oz from a 2 sq foot box with 350 watts of cfl. It can work but obviously hps is better. The heat was intense at the tops in that box, much lower with 400 watt hps and cool tube. And easier.

pghdave420 said:

Heats biggest difference.if u can handle heat go hps.if its small grow area and nothing to control temps go cfl or led

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Sums it up! Do not count on "dense buds and high yield with CLF,s, and do not get suckered in with cheap LED,s, the cheap ones suck and do not last.

Ya pretty sure I'm gonna go with HPS unless someone sends me some good pics of an awesome harvest from CFL...if that exists....

EfficientGrow said:

I'm looking for opinions on which I should go with. I'm used to using HPS but the energy savings of CFL sounds good. I don't want to sacrifice quality if I don't have to though. I'm reading mixed reviews about the differences and am seeing a wide range of opinions without any proof. Has anyone had a good experience with CFL's? Looking for dense buds and a good yield for 4 plants in a box 3x4x5. Thanks!

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What watt hid would you get?
You might need to keep a 400 watt hps about 8-10 inches away from the light to avoid bleaching.
My 600 watt hps has to be about 12" away from the plants or they bleach. Heat is not a problem.

It depends what you like. I think fluroscent lights produce a much better quality product then HPS and MH HIDs do. To, really see fluros at their best you have to pick individual plants that bud well, under that type of light.

EfficientGrow said:

I'm looking for opinions on which I should go with. I'm used to using HPS but the energy savings of CFL sounds good. I don't want to sacrifice quality if I don't have to though. I'm reading mixed reviews about the differences and am seeing a wide range of opinions without any proof. Has anyone had a good experience with CFL's? Looking for dense buds and a good yield for 4 plants in a box 3x4x5. Thanks!

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There is no energy savings using cfl's over hid lighting, Hid lighting provides substantially more lumens per watt than cfls. I also don't see how lets say 400 watts of hps will be any hotter than 400 watts of cfl when HID is more efficient.