750 Watt Equivalent 5500k CFL

[naoki]

Beth, you should NOT use the bogus "equivalent wattage". You should look at the actual wattage. Your 150W "equivalent" is probably 42 actual W. Your 40W equivalent is probably around 10 actual W. After you add up the ACTUAL wattage, you can calculate

365 days * 12 hours/day * (total wattage)/1000

will give you kWh per year. Then you can multiply it by the energy cost of your place. This is approximate. For example, the kill-a-watt meter says the actual consumption of my 96W T5 HO (2', 4 bulbs from Hygrofarm) is 72W. I don't well about this, but I think the balast does influence the actual consumption.

[bethmarie]

Hi Naoki--the wattage I mention re: the CFLs I'm currently using are actual, not equivalent. Since actual watts are the important part, I didn't bother with 'equivalent' numbers when I posted about the lights on my orchids. Appreciate your input on this, though, as I am definitely in the learning stages about CFLs, cost, and efficiency.

[naoki]

Oh OK, I didn't see a 75W BlueMax bulb listed here,

BlueMax Full Spectrum Compact Fluorescent Lights

and the maximum size seems to be 50W, so I assumed that you are using the 20W (listed as 75W equivalent).

So you do already have those giant 150W CFL. The length of the bulb is close to 1-foot, right?

[Ray]

This is precisely the reason I have become so interested in LEDs.

Yes the purchase price is higher, but they have phenomenal life spans with no degradation in light output until the chip literally dies. Even though a fluorescent bulb continues to look "bright" for a long time, they really should be replaced annually.

[naoki]

I agree with Ray. Following Rob's (littlefrog) recommendation, I got 2x Sunshine Systems GlowPanel 45 LED Grow Light (28W) a couple weeks ago. This is not for high light plants, but it should be good for paphs/phals (it might work for high-light plants if you use 3 of them from the top and from 2 sides). I think white LEDs are about 10-20% energy saving over T8 (for a given amount of light). With Red/Blue LEDs, the energy saving should be even larger than the white LEDs. Compared to 2-bulb 32W T8, I save $40 in electricity and $5 for the replacement bulbs per year, so after 2.5 years, I recover the initial cost of LEDs. With regard to the longevity, I hope it will last at least a couple years even though it's exposed to high humidity (and warmer temp).

I like this unit because it's quiet due to passive cooling (my previous 90W LED was pretty noisy). Thank you, Rob, for recommending this!

One of the reasons to get this LED was to lower the temp inside of my small grow tent (4x2x5').

Was:
4-bulb 4' T5HO + 2-bulb 4' T8 --> inside temp 18F above ambient

Now:
3-bulb 4' T5HO + 28W LED --> 12F above ambient.

This 6F made a big difference on reltaive humidity (40% vs 70%), because automatic exhaust doesn't kick in any more. Plants should be happier and I don't have to water as frequently as I used to! I'll see how plants will grow under this, but Rob has been successfully using this for a while.

[bethmarie]

I like the sound of the LEDs, but my orchids are in my home office, and I don't think I could live with 15 hours a day of magenta light. I unscrewed all my bulbs (or unplugged in the case of the blue max) and I have a 55 watt, a 40 watt and a 70 watt. 2700, 5000 and 5900K, respectively. Had my numbers wrong before. I'd planned to add one more bulb to the under-lit end of the shelves. Was checking out the 750 W equiv. for that reason, but not sure I can accommodate a foot long bulb. The 55W is already quite large. When I'm rich, and have a room devoted to orchids, I'll spring for LEDs. And lots and lots of orchids

[Ray]

Beth,

Take a look at the Jungle Dawn bulbs and those I sell. They are less than 9" long, screw into a standard incandescent bulb socket, and produce white light, not red and blue.



I put one of mine over an African violet my wife put in a bathroom having little light, and the thing began growing new leaves within about 2 weeks - something it had not done in months.