So, after a light frost, I decided to bring my plants inside to hopefully finish off the season and get some ripe peppers. The main problem is that I don't have an area that gets a lot of light that I can put 16 potted plants in hehe. So for now they are in my shop with the heat on. My question is: I bought some florescent bulbs to keep them going based on what I have read on here. There is some conflicting and some confusing info though, mostly regarding lumens wattage. Or maybe just confusing to me. Anyway, after some research I bought some 6500k bulbs to simulate the suns light, they are 100w equivalent, 1450 lumens. What matters the most out of all that, the lumens, wattage or color temp? I going to pick up some cheap clip on lights so I can put them anywhere until most of the peppers are ripe, then I plan to try to overwinter (once pepper guru puts up hi tutorial hehe). I'm just looking for a little clarification, if anyone can help. Thanks much.
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lighting Grow lights
- Thread starter ta2edfreak
- Start date
From my own bit of experience, the color temp and lumens is what is important. Even though usually higher lumen value usually relates to a higher wattage with the floro lights. I think most people use a combination of both ends of the spectrum for fruiting. I will leave the specifics on the color temps to the more experienced growers.
And watts------
The Number of Watts needs is based on the grow area size. So the first thing you need to do is figure out what kind of square footage you are dealing with. Measure the length and width of the actual plant area to be covered (not the area of the whole room). Multiply length by width to obtain the square footage. Now, here is the part where opinions is going to differ. And because watts from a CFL don’t translate perfectly to the Watts from a HID system.
But any way here is a “Watt” rule of thumb:
For Growth, you will want to try and achieve at least 30 to 40 watts per square foot. Let’s say you are growing area is 4 ft x 4ft =16sq ft --- So the Watts needed are 16sq ft X 30 = 480watts needed for the low end and 16 X 40 = 640 watts for the high end. So 5 to 6 100 watt CFL bulbs would do, or a single 600 watt HID system. (I have heard of some people that think 50 watts per sq ft is needed)
Over wintering you can get by with a lot less.
Remember this is just a rough guide line and but I do hope this sheds some light on the subject.
Martin
The Number of Watts needs is based on the grow area size. So the first thing you need to do is figure out what kind of square footage you are dealing with. Measure the length and width of the actual plant area to be covered (not the area of the whole room). Multiply length by width to obtain the square footage. Now, here is the part where opinions is going to differ. And because watts from a CFL don’t translate perfectly to the Watts from a HID system.
But any way here is a “Watt” rule of thumb:
For Growth, you will want to try and achieve at least 30 to 40 watts per square foot. Let’s say you are growing area is 4 ft x 4ft =16sq ft --- So the Watts needed are 16sq ft X 30 = 480watts needed for the low end and 16 X 40 = 640 watts for the high end. So 5 to 6 100 watt CFL bulbs would do, or a single 600 watt HID system. (I have heard of some people that think 50 watts per sq ft is needed)
Over wintering you can get by with a lot less.
Remember this is just a rough guide line and but I do hope this sheds some light on the subject.
Martin
I think that's a pretty decent rule of thumb XLNA. I find your numbers to even be fairly close even for an LED build; 30w per square foot would be pretty good, 40 would be awesome. 20 MINIMUM and that's if you do everything right.
I used to use 6 x 100w T5 bulbs to light up my 6'x2' aquarium (12 sqft), and that's right at the 600w you suggest for 14sqft. I was getting really good PAR out of that setup using individual reflectors on the bulbs. Don't recall exactly but it was able to push over 1000 PAR under the surface of the water, so definitely enough without the water. I did supplement that setup with a few LEDs for 'shimmer' but most PAR came from the T5s.
technically they were 80w bulbs being overdriven by icecap 660 ballasts to 100w. You get higher efficiency though if you do not overdrive em.
If just using regular CFLs without a reflector, it's important to put as much white or reflective material around the bulb and plant since alot of light will be wasted by default. maybe even a simple plywood pendant painted white that's big enough to house a few bulbs, I bet it would increase output at least 25%
I used to use 6 x 100w T5 bulbs to light up my 6'x2' aquarium (12 sqft), and that's right at the 600w you suggest for 14sqft. I was getting really good PAR out of that setup using individual reflectors on the bulbs. Don't recall exactly but it was able to push over 1000 PAR under the surface of the water, so definitely enough without the water. I did supplement that setup with a few LEDs for 'shimmer' but most PAR came from the T5s.
technically they were 80w bulbs being overdriven by icecap 660 ballasts to 100w. You get higher efficiency though if you do not overdrive em.
If just using regular CFLs without a reflector, it's important to put as much white or reflective material around the bulb and plant since alot of light will be wasted by default. maybe even a simple plywood pendant painted white that's big enough to house a few bulbs, I bet it would increase output at least 25%
Your not going to get much with your current setup. You can keep them alive and a some peppers may rippen, but you need a LOT more light to grow fruit. If you want to enjoy a thriving pepper farm inside pick up some HID equipment and a fan. If they are already grown just go with a HPS bulb which focuses on fruiting. I had that setup in a tiny closet and eventually the plants grew so big and wide I could only keep 2 plants, but wow those plants produced a ton of fruit and very quickly.
Here is an old pic of the basic setup of my plants at about 4 weeks old. By week 12 I had 2 plants and a ton of fruit that I grew all winter long without any problems.
Here is an old pic of the basic setup of my plants at about 4 weeks old. By week 12 I had 2 plants and a ton of fruit that I grew all winter long without any problems.
While its probably safe to assume his CFLs will not grow as well as your HPS... how can you say he 'won't get much' without knowing how many 100w CFLs he even bought? If he had 6 of em, and did a little work to reflect the light, I think that would be plenty of light.
But you might be right that it could be lacking a little in red, which could encourage vegetative growth over flowering. I am really curious how much this matters. Have to admit I don't have enough experience to know as I am a coral dude mostly.
T5s can get similiar spectrum as HPS no problem if you mix the right bulbs.
But you might be right that it could be lacking a little in red, which could encourage vegetative growth over flowering. I am really curious how much this matters. Have to admit I don't have enough experience to know as I am a coral dude mostly.
T5s can get similiar spectrum as HPS no problem if you mix the right bulbs.
And to Ictus's Point:
On the following link although they are both t5 Highput Bulbs's, You would use the first Sylvania 6500k for Growth and the 2nd Sylvania 3000k bulb for Flowering or Fruiting.
btw 1000blubs.com is in Dallas (Garland) for my localgrowing friends.
T5 Bulb Comparision
Martin
Well, I have 4 bulbs and the walls and floors are white but I was really just looking to tide them over until I could get set to overwinter them. I'm not looking to grow more vegetation or get more flower production, just ripen the few pods that are left and make sure they are healthy enough to survive trimming for overwinter. I don't have the space for continued growing while indoors but all the comments will help when I focus on them for next season. Thanks.
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
all good advice here....however, the one thing that is missing is the basic rule of thumb...if you want to grow peppers inside to maturity and fruit, you need about 3000 lumens/sq foot...remember, watts is just the "power" rating of the light telling you how much electricity they burn...you can have a 40 watt flurescent shop light bulb and a 42 watt CFL and the CFL will outperform the shoplight by far...I can't speak to MH and HPS setups since I don't have any, but from what I have read, they are the best for inside grows...
Red light (low end of the spcetrum) is for flowering and blue light (high end of the spectrum) is for vegetative growth...just like the illegal cash crops some people grow...google "light spectrum for plant growth" and the results will show you graphs of what light the plants use for chlorophyl A and B production...
I use a mixture of 2700K and 6500K 150 Watt Eq. CFL bulbs...I have 18 of them in a 4 X 4 grow box and that does the trick...that produces a little over 50,000 lumens total...
Red light (low end of the spcetrum) is for flowering and blue light (high end of the spectrum) is for vegetative growth...just like the illegal cash crops some people grow...google "light spectrum for plant growth" and the results will show you graphs of what light the plants use for chlorophyl A and B production...
I use a mixture of 2700K and 6500K 150 Watt Eq. CFL bulbs...I have 18 of them in a 4 X 4 grow box and that does the trick...that produces a little over 50,000 lumens total...
AJ,
Wow that is a ton of lights. LOL I had to read and reread your post several times. I was thinking 18 of the long tube 150 watt CFL’s - Holy &hi#. ------ I kept missing the “eq” (equivalent) part.
Have you ever considered a MH/HPS system?
Assuming that that each of your CFL’s are using about 40 watts per Bulb (18 bulbs*40=720 total watts) and each watt on the CFL produces 70 lumens, (720 watts * 70 = 50,400 lumens)
IMO your current use of 720 watts for 50k Lumens is right on the edge of considering switching to a 600 watt MH/HPS system.
A 600 watt MH (Metal Halide Bulb) for Growth - would produce about 60,000 lumens, or 100 lumens for each watt. And the HPS (High Pressure Sodium Bulb) for the Fruiting would produce almost 90,000 Lumens. 150 lumens for each watt.
Of course it depends on what the purpose of your lighting system is. But you might be at the point where it might make sense for you. Especially if you ever decided to expand your grow area from the 4 x4 to something larger. Of course they do run hotter than the CFL’s. I am not sure we need all that extra heat but some of the boys up North may during the winter.
Hey it Friday and I am Just one man thinking out loud.
Everyone enjoy their weekend.
Martin
Wow that is a ton of lights. LOL I had to read and reread your post several times. I was thinking 18 of the long tube 150 watt CFL’s - Holy &hi#. ------ I kept missing the “eq” (equivalent) part.
Have you ever considered a MH/HPS system?
Assuming that that each of your CFL’s are using about 40 watts per Bulb (18 bulbs*40=720 total watts) and each watt on the CFL produces 70 lumens, (720 watts * 70 = 50,400 lumens)
IMO your current use of 720 watts for 50k Lumens is right on the edge of considering switching to a 600 watt MH/HPS system.
A 600 watt MH (Metal Halide Bulb) for Growth - would produce about 60,000 lumens, or 100 lumens for each watt. And the HPS (High Pressure Sodium Bulb) for the Fruiting would produce almost 90,000 Lumens. 150 lumens for each watt.
Of course it depends on what the purpose of your lighting system is. But you might be at the point where it might make sense for you. Especially if you ever decided to expand your grow area from the 4 x4 to something larger. Of course they do run hotter than the CFL’s. I am not sure we need all that extra heat but some of the boys up North may during the winter.
Hey it Friday and I am Just one man thinking out loud.
Everyone enjoy their weekend.
Martin