TCO (Total cost of ownership) can get convoluted so it's good to figure it for your own costs and electric rate.
using the numbers so far in this thread
a T5 fixture is $60 and uses two bulbs (cost $10 each from Hydrofarms site) = (total initial cost $80) This produces 10,000 lumens (5000 per bulb) consuming 108 watts per hour (2 x 54W)
at 6 cents per kilowatt hour operating cost is $37.84 per year (lights on 16 hours per day x 365 days)
T12 shoplights are $18.00 per fixture (two bulbs)
each bulb produces 3200 lumens. 2 fixtures (cost $36) + 4 bulbs (cost $6.32 for a package of 2) = (total initial cost $42.32) produce 12,800 lumens. 40 watts per bulb x 4 consumes 120 watts per hour for an operating cost of $42.05 per year
The difference in replacement bulb cost more that offsets the higher operating cost per fixture (and you get more lumens total)
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