I felt inspired tonight 
So I wrote a little overview on lights, mainly for the clueless as current growers are probably well aware of the different lights out there. I hope this helps someone out, I feel somewhat indebted to the growing community....
I often hear/read the question, 'What kind of lights should I get for my growroom'? It's a question that's hard to answer, there are alot of variables in the equation so to speak. It really depends on your grow style, your space, your temps, and personal preferance. Some growers just prefer certain lights because they have experience with them, or they best suit their needs. So before you ask that question consider all the things that may help make the decision for you, your space, temps, and style.
The best lights you can get are, without much argument HIDs, or High Intensity Disharge lights, these include Metal Hallide and High Pressure Sodium among others. These lights have unrivaled intensity and penetration, but they do have they're drawbacks. HIDs are infamous for the huge amounts of heat they generate, which can quickly overheat a growroom if not properly ventilated or cooled. The difference between the two comes down to spectrum, the colour of the light being emitted. Metal Hallide or MH is commonly used as a vegetative light, the blue-ish spectrum promotes fast vegetative growth by mimicking a summer's day. High Pressure Sodium, or HPS is at the other end...flowering, with a much more red-ish glow HPS simulates an autumn's day, the plant's natural flowering season.
Next in line are fluorescents, but these are also split into their own groups and have their own uses. Generally speaking the best of the fluoros are HO T5s which mean High Output, T5 is just the model of bulb. There are also T8s and T12s, neither of which have much penetrating power but certainly hold their place in the veg or clone room. They can also be used fo flowering under the right conditions. Fluoros have the advantage of being able to stay relatively close to the plants, therefor allowing for maximized coverage. Amazing results have been acheived with fluorescent bulbs, a testament to the grower's ingenuity.
Compact Fluorescents, or CFLs...I mention these seperate as they are a little different than regular fluoros in use. CFLs for example screw into any regular light socket, there is no need for ballasts or big fixtures. They are very cheap in comparison, you could easily get 400w of CFLs for under $150, but they to have they're drawbacks. These have the least intensity/penetration of the three mentioned light types, and often don't have spectrums ideal for plant growth. However, there are bulbs out there that can be used for veg and flower, you just have to know what you're looking for.
LEDs are the up-and-comers to the grow world, but they are insanely expensive for what they are at this point...no more discussion on this until it becomes a relevent topic.
Please feel free to ask anything more specific, I just didn't want to type forever
So I wrote a little overview on lights, mainly for the clueless as current growers are probably well aware of the different lights out there. I hope this helps someone out, I feel somewhat indebted to the growing community....I often hear/read the question, 'What kind of lights should I get for my growroom'? It's a question that's hard to answer, there are alot of variables in the equation so to speak. It really depends on your grow style, your space, your temps, and personal preferance. Some growers just prefer certain lights because they have experience with them, or they best suit their needs. So before you ask that question consider all the things that may help make the decision for you, your space, temps, and style.
The best lights you can get are, without much argument HIDs, or High Intensity Disharge lights, these include Metal Hallide and High Pressure Sodium among others. These lights have unrivaled intensity and penetration, but they do have they're drawbacks. HIDs are infamous for the huge amounts of heat they generate, which can quickly overheat a growroom if not properly ventilated or cooled. The difference between the two comes down to spectrum, the colour of the light being emitted. Metal Hallide or MH is commonly used as a vegetative light, the blue-ish spectrum promotes fast vegetative growth by mimicking a summer's day. High Pressure Sodium, or HPS is at the other end...flowering, with a much more red-ish glow HPS simulates an autumn's day, the plant's natural flowering season.
Next in line are fluorescents, but these are also split into their own groups and have their own uses. Generally speaking the best of the fluoros are HO T5s which mean High Output, T5 is just the model of bulb. There are also T8s and T12s, neither of which have much penetrating power but certainly hold their place in the veg or clone room. They can also be used fo flowering under the right conditions. Fluoros have the advantage of being able to stay relatively close to the plants, therefor allowing for maximized coverage. Amazing results have been acheived with fluorescent bulbs, a testament to the grower's ingenuity.
Compact Fluorescents, or CFLs...I mention these seperate as they are a little different than regular fluoros in use. CFLs for example screw into any regular light socket, there is no need for ballasts or big fixtures. They are very cheap in comparison, you could easily get 400w of CFLs for under $150, but they to have they're drawbacks. These have the least intensity/penetration of the three mentioned light types, and often don't have spectrums ideal for plant growth. However, there are bulbs out there that can be used for veg and flower, you just have to know what you're looking for.
LEDs are the up-and-comers to the grow world, but they are insanely expensive for what they are at this point...no more discussion on this until it becomes a relevent topic.
Please feel free to ask anything more specific, I just didn't want to type forever
mind you i can only take a few at a time, but, im thinking about making my own led board