blackberry
Active Member
I was thinkin about hanging 6k or 7k watts of lights in a house. What is too much? how much could I hang?
How many Lights to Hang?
- Thread starter blackberry
- Start date
We need more details. What is the size of the grow room? Also how many plants are you trying to grow and how spaced out are you going to do? I have a closet with 12 lights in it running 19,200 lumens and 1,200 watts and that seems to be a very lot of lite for me. I am wanting to do 5-10 plants in a small space. Not sure if my setup is proper I am waiting on a answer to that question myself. Looking around the forums you might find a bit more information but from what im reading the more light the better and the more bud it produces.. anyone correct me if im wronge.
sk3tch3
Well-Known Member
Rockclimber Builds an 8000 Watt Grow - The Garden's Cure
this guy was pullin almost 10 elbows a month with 6 thousies
this guy was pullin almost 10 elbows a month with 6 thousies
sk3tch3
Well-Known Member
i have 140,000 lumens with 1-1000watt light. you are ripping yourself off buddy. 12/12 i pay 100$ a month in extra electricity. think effeciency.
I dont pay the light bill.. xD err electricity bill.. so yeah for me its nearly pure profit.. xD also my timer says it only supports 120v and if thats true then all my lights would be running on 120 vols and not effect the bill.. im not sure how it all works.. but thats a bit odd to me..
also im using energy savers.. there only using 26w each so 26*12=312.. which is the equiv to using about (5.2) 60 watt light bulbs... right? or am i horribly off? I do not know how the bill works. I have heard volts, ive heard wats. hell ive even heard amps.. but no clue.. I also replaced my other lights in my room with these enegey savers.. so hopefully that helps.. they all say 120v each tho and if it was voltage alone.. they shoudl have no difference in bill.. so obviously watts are included some how.. xD
oh sorry for going off subject.. i suggest at least (2) 26w lights worth per plant.. from what I am reading.
also im using energy savers.. there only using 26w each so 26*12=312.. which is the equiv to using about (5.2) 60 watt light bulbs... right? or am i horribly off? I do not know how the bill works. I have heard volts, ive heard wats. hell ive even heard amps.. but no clue.. I also replaced my other lights in my room with these enegey savers.. so hopefully that helps.. they all say 120v each tho and if it was voltage alone.. they shoudl have no difference in bill.. so obviously watts are included some how.. xD
oh sorry for going off subject.. i suggest at least (2) 26w lights worth per plant.. from what I am reading.
mogie
Well-Known Member
A very general rule of thumb is that your garden needs 50 watts of HID lighting per square foot of illuminated area. This rule ignores the shape of your garden, so the following is really a better guide:
A 250 watt HID will illuminate a 2' x 2' garden.
A 400 watt HID will illuminate a 3' x 3' garden.
A 600 watt HID will illuminate a 3.5' x 3.5' garden.
A 1000 watt HID will illuminate a 4' x 4' garden.
From Jackerspackle, here's a different take on watts-per-square-foot/meter (WPSF).
WPSF assumes that the bulb's intensity is equal over the entire grow area.. in other words each square foot/meter receives the same number of lumens. But in reality light diminishes rapidly the farther you go from the bulb (1/4 the intensity for each doubling of the distance). So each bulb has a limited range, beyond which you do not have good growth.
For example, a growspace that's 2 x 10 feet would require 1000 watts if you go by the 50 WPSF guideline that's commonly mentioned.. But a 1000 watt bulb only covers an area about 5 feet across - meaning the edges of your garden will be dark.. A better choice in this case would be three 400s or two 600s.
Another problem with WPSF is it assumes all bulbs have the same intensity. But 1000 watts of HPS is not the same as 1000 watts of fluorescents or (yuk) incandescents. Fluorescents have their lumens spread out over a long tube and are therefore dim.. incandescents have the wrong color spectrum and are also dim.
Nor is a 1000 HPS the same as four 250 HPSs.. 250s don't have anywhere near the intensity needed to penetrate thick canopy or tall, bushy plants. (Don't even think about growing meter-tall plants with a 250.)
I could go on, but here's a basic guideline for lighting a growspace for good growth using common HIDs:
WATTAGE -- COVERAGE
1000 watt - 4 to 5 feet across (1.3 to 1.5 meters)
600 watt - 3.5 feet (1 meter)
400 watt - 2.5 possibly 3 feet (.8 to .9 m)
250 watt - 2 feet (.6-.7 m)
175 watt - small, less than 2 feet
These numbers assume you have a good reflector around your bulb and also reflective wall coverings. You can increase the figures a bit if using multiple bulbs, due to their overlapping effect. You can also increase coverage using a light mover...
I know this won't put to rest the old WPSF idea, but i hope it shed some light on the subject. -~
A 250 watt HID will illuminate a 2' x 2' garden.
A 400 watt HID will illuminate a 3' x 3' garden.
A 600 watt HID will illuminate a 3.5' x 3.5' garden.
A 1000 watt HID will illuminate a 4' x 4' garden.
From Jackerspackle, here's a different take on watts-per-square-foot/meter (WPSF).
WPSF assumes that the bulb's intensity is equal over the entire grow area.. in other words each square foot/meter receives the same number of lumens. But in reality light diminishes rapidly the farther you go from the bulb (1/4 the intensity for each doubling of the distance). So each bulb has a limited range, beyond which you do not have good growth.
For example, a growspace that's 2 x 10 feet would require 1000 watts if you go by the 50 WPSF guideline that's commonly mentioned.. But a 1000 watt bulb only covers an area about 5 feet across - meaning the edges of your garden will be dark.. A better choice in this case would be three 400s or two 600s.
Another problem with WPSF is it assumes all bulbs have the same intensity. But 1000 watts of HPS is not the same as 1000 watts of fluorescents or (yuk) incandescents. Fluorescents have their lumens spread out over a long tube and are therefore dim.. incandescents have the wrong color spectrum and are also dim.
Nor is a 1000 HPS the same as four 250 HPSs.. 250s don't have anywhere near the intensity needed to penetrate thick canopy or tall, bushy plants. (Don't even think about growing meter-tall plants with a 250.)
I could go on, but here's a basic guideline for lighting a growspace for good growth using common HIDs:
WATTAGE -- COVERAGE
1000 watt - 4 to 5 feet across (1.3 to 1.5 meters)
600 watt - 3.5 feet (1 meter)
400 watt - 2.5 possibly 3 feet (.8 to .9 m)
250 watt - 2 feet (.6-.7 m)
175 watt - small, less than 2 feet
These numbers assume you have a good reflector around your bulb and also reflective wall coverings. You can increase the figures a bit if using multiple bulbs, due to their overlapping effect. You can also increase coverage using a light mover...
I know this won't put to rest the old WPSF idea, but i hope it shed some light on the subject. -~
mogie
Well-Known Member
Lights
I strongly suggest using a combination of cool white and warm white florescent bulbs for growing your newly hatched plants. Place the lights about an inch away from the lights. Its ok if the plant grows into and touches the light a little since florescents don't get very hot. You will be fine. Just try to keep an average of one inch away. In less than a week you should see the roots working their way to the bottom of the cup. After this stage you can upgrade pots. I would suggest a gallon pot for your next transplant. You can continue using the florescent bulbs but they really don't put off enough light for fast growth. CXompact florescent bulbs (cfl's) work good too. You will want a bunch of them .
I like to use mh (metal halide) lights for my vegetative cycle. They emit a lot of the blue spectrum which the plant likes for root, stem and leaf growth. Depending on the size of your garden will determine what wattage you should use. I do it big so I use 1000 watt bulbs. They come in 250, 400 and 600 watts and a few others. Your plant will love this light.
Hps (high pressure sodium) bulbs are like mh lights but they put out a lot of red light. The plant likes this light when flowering. It also is a little bit brighter than a mh light of the same wattage. A 1000 watt mh puts out around 80,000 lumens and the hps put out about 125,000 lumens. And yes brighter is better. These lights are not cheap and if you can only afford one then just get the hps light.
The mh and hps lights (High intensity discharge) put out lots of heat. You will need a good ventilation system or a good a/c to keep the room from getting too hot. Some light hoods have built in vents you can hook up an a/c duct to exhaust the heat. Another thing that should be addressed here is a light mover. I talked my friend into buying one for his crop and he yielded 3 times more than normal. We use the light tracks that go back and forth across the room but they also make sun circles that twist in a circle. Either way you will get the whole crop good light instead of just a few plants directly under the light with a stationary light.
For a stationary light you will want to keep it at least 14-24 inches away from the tops of your plants. With a track you can lower the lights to 12 inches or less. With the hood we use we can touch the tops of the plants with the light hood without burning the plant. These cool tube hoods are not cheap but they seem superior to everything else I have used. See pic. But a good rule of thumb is to place your hand under the light and if it burns your hand it will burn your plant.
Here are some florescent tubes.
A metal halide bulb.
A high pressure sodium bulb.
The light mover.
A cool pic.
I strongly suggest using a combination of cool white and warm white florescent bulbs for growing your newly hatched plants. Place the lights about an inch away from the lights. Its ok if the plant grows into and touches the light a little since florescents don't get very hot. You will be fine. Just try to keep an average of one inch away. In less than a week you should see the roots working their way to the bottom of the cup. After this stage you can upgrade pots. I would suggest a gallon pot for your next transplant. You can continue using the florescent bulbs but they really don't put off enough light for fast growth. CXompact florescent bulbs (cfl's) work good too. You will want a bunch of them .
I like to use mh (metal halide) lights for my vegetative cycle. They emit a lot of the blue spectrum which the plant likes for root, stem and leaf growth. Depending on the size of your garden will determine what wattage you should use. I do it big so I use 1000 watt bulbs. They come in 250, 400 and 600 watts and a few others. Your plant will love this light.
Hps (high pressure sodium) bulbs are like mh lights but they put out a lot of red light. The plant likes this light when flowering. It also is a little bit brighter than a mh light of the same wattage. A 1000 watt mh puts out around 80,000 lumens and the hps put out about 125,000 lumens. And yes brighter is better. These lights are not cheap and if you can only afford one then just get the hps light.
The mh and hps lights (High intensity discharge) put out lots of heat. You will need a good ventilation system or a good a/c to keep the room from getting too hot. Some light hoods have built in vents you can hook up an a/c duct to exhaust the heat. Another thing that should be addressed here is a light mover. I talked my friend into buying one for his crop and he yielded 3 times more than normal. We use the light tracks that go back and forth across the room but they also make sun circles that twist in a circle. Either way you will get the whole crop good light instead of just a few plants directly under the light with a stationary light.
For a stationary light you will want to keep it at least 14-24 inches away from the tops of your plants. With a track you can lower the lights to 12 inches or less. With the hood we use we can touch the tops of the plants with the light hood without burning the plant. These cool tube hoods are not cheap but they seem superior to everything else I have used. See pic. But a good rule of thumb is to place your hand under the light and if it burns your hand it will burn your plant.
Here are some florescent tubes.
A metal halide bulb.
A high pressure sodium bulb.
The light mover.
A cool pic.
abudsmoker
Well-Known Member
you know @ 12/12 your talking 560 dollar bill per month just for the lights alone