Illuminating your options!
Fluorescent lighting can be purchased inexpensively with single or multiple bulb options found in varying lengths. Low intensity lighting (such as this) or newer LED options are very efficient and emit less heat than their high-intensity counterparts. Self-ballasted fluorescent banks can be a great option to cover a large surface area of canopy growth. Bringing up seedlings and clones can be done cost effectively under systems such as these.
Flowering plant needs
If you are looking to grow anything past the vegetative state, or more than herbs or leafy greens, you will need to invest in a flowering light. These are often referred to as high intensity bulbs or blooming lights. Most often you will hear the terms HPS (High Pressure Sodium) and MH (Metal Halide). These bulbs primarily come in 400, 600, and 1000 watt options. However, these bulbs can be purchased at other wattages as well. The larger the wattage of the light you choose, the larger the plant that can be grown under it with the potential for higher yields.
These bulbs can also come in a wide range of colors, referred to in kelvin ratings. Any bulbs within the 5000K-6500K appear more blue and are usually used for the vegetative stage of a plant. Bulbs with a kelvin rating of 2000K-4000K appear more red and are typically used for the flowering stage of a plants’ life. Metal halides are more blue and high pressure sodiums more red – although there are speciality red metal halides and blue high pressure sodiums.
LED options
Newer LED options can also be used but due to the large rate of knock-offs it can be a challenge to navigate the market. Typically, LED options for herbs and greens are inexpensive, while flowering LED lights are still rather expensive. Most decent flowering LEDs range from $700 to $2000 on the high end. High Intensity lights (on the other hand) can be purchased for as inexpensively as $250 for the smaller wattage set-ups and $600 for larger wattage kits.
The rule-of-thumb is that the more expensive a bulb, the better the spectrum and the longer it will last. Most HPS lights and metal halides have a lifetime of about a year, with HPS lights on the higher end of that scale. The better brand bulbs will last about a month longer than the rest, which can mean another crop grown, making them more cost-efficient. Good brands to look for in lighting are Gavita, Hortilux, and Sun Master.
Come into the store or shop here online for a great selection of high intensity hydroponics lights!