250w vs 400w HPS?

Y

Yetirat

Active Member
Hi all,

I am growing 2 plants at the moment and am getting ready to flower. Just looking to find out how much difference there really is between a 250 watt and a 400 watt HPS?

In price there is almost no difference and obviously the 400 watt will use more electricity, but how much real difference will their be in yield?
 
jcream

jcream

Active Member
hey man you could go either way they both will probly produce desent buds with just 2 plants id go with the 400w its not to much more in cost or eletric and then wen ur ready to grow few more u dont have to goout and buy a new light u already have the 400w and itll give u better buds have a great day!!!!
 
panhead

panhead

Well-Known Member
When growing pot lighting is 90% of the battle to get the biggest buds,not just good or smokeable buds but big fat ass buds that make you smile every time you look at them all over the plant.

Aside from getting a larger light throw with the 400 watt vs the 250 watt you get increased lumens,the higher the lumen output the deeper into the grow the light will penetrate,the farther the light penetrates the larger the buds will grow every single time.

When you get proper light penetration with intense lumen output to the lower levels of the plants it turns what would end up being small light & fluffy buds into large rock hard nuggs that are as high in quality as the main cola of the plant.

Another aspect of the larger wattage lights is light intensity,lets say you start off with a 250 watt light, then after a few grows you decide that you want more light for added grow space so you add another 250 watt light to the grow op,even though the two lights combigned wattage would be 500 watts they would not match the light intensity from a single 400 watt light,lumens do not stack up like alot of people think they do,the light intensity is the lights ability to deeply penetrate the canopy & remain at effective output levels at all areas of the grow including the lower levels.

Aside from getting larger denser buds with the more powerfull lights there are other benifits as well,one benifit is again focused on the lower portions of the plant only this time its the leaf surface area,by being able to bring effective levels of light to the lower leaves it allows them to do their job properly & send more energy to the plant through photosynthesis,if these lower leaves are not getting enough light they end up doing the plant very little good & die off much quicker than what they should.

For maximum plant health through out the durration of the grow you want the plant to retain as many sun leaves as possible,once the plants are in heavy bud afer a month or so of 12/12 is when the plant needs all the sun leaves it can get,when the plants start to reach full maturity its natural for the sun leaves to be eaten alive by the plant & die off,you want as many healthy sun leaves as possible when the plant reaches the point where it is in heavy bud so those leaves can fuel the plant,having intense light penetration reach the lower sun leaves will allow them to live longer & continue to help pack on bud weight.

I know it was a long answer but i hate short answers because they dont explain much,your yeilds will be a pretty large increase over the 250 watt light,i'd estimate a full 20% increase in yeild.
 
South Texas

South Texas

Well-Known Member
What the Plant really needs is what it had for millions of year. Pure sunlight, which puts out 72,000 to 90,000 lumen. So, take that as a rule of thumb.
 
B

brainfade

Active Member
I started my first indoor grow with a 150hps for flowering doing good for 2 girls but wish I'd gotten the 400 instead . I'm looking at getting a 400 now and I bought the 150 in december. my wife is a little upset bout the need for more light.I had some set backs from stress but my girls out grew my light. hope this helps in your choice.
 
Y

Yetirat

Active Member
Wow...thanks Guys.

Panhead thanks for the long answer, much appreciated. So I guess it will be the 400w I go for then!
 
noltnercr03

noltnercr03

Well-Known Member
400 watt is perfect because after your first grow you may want to go up in size of grow room so i would get the 400 plus i use a 400
 
ThE sAtIvA hIgH

ThE sAtIvA hIgH

Well-Known Member
it depends on how big your grow space is really , both lights get hot and need decent ventilation , (you wouldnt think the extra 150w the 400 has would make it so much hotter but it does ), i personaly like the 250 as i can get it quite a bit closer to the plants , but yeah if youve got the room and decent ventilation /exhaust etc then go with the 400 or even 600 .
 
dvsmoi6

dvsmoi6

Active Member
can you post some pics of your grow room up. i'm going to be limited in space aswell and im doing research right now, so i guess i will need a 400w with cool tube right ? anyone else use HTG SUPPLy ?
 
dvsmoi6

dvsmoi6

Active Member
exactly, what are the DImensions, also u might want to check this little brother.

make sure you have 2000(bare min) to 3000(at best) per sq ft. At 15sq ft you should shooting for 45,000 lumens. Going by actual watage those 26w cfl's depending on what light spectrum lets use the 5000k one and they produce 1725 lumens each so you would be talking 26 of those cfls. You can use higher wattage cfl's the 42w ones are 2800 lumens so your still talking 16 of those bulbs. The low wattage cfls are very cheap and if your talking a small amount of SQFT then by all means use them, I personally wouldnt have 26 differant light sockets wired up no matter how perfect the wireing job is done besides the fact that 26 of those bulbs uses 754watts of energy. Higher wattage cfls will also work however they get alot more pricey the higher the wattage. Here are some spec's you might find handy
26w cfl=1725 lumens, 86.34 LPW(lumen per watt) $1.50 to $2.50 ea
42w cfl=2800 lumens, 66.6 LPW $7 to $10
54w per (each 4ft bulb) T5= 5000 lumens, 92.59 LPW ($150 to $300 depending on # of bulbs and size)
65w cfl= 4000 lumens, 61.53 LPW $15 to $20 ea
85w cfl= 5000 lumens, 58.82 LPW $20 to $25 ea
150w cfl = 8200 lumens, 54 LPW $35 to $50 ea
200w cfl = 1000 lumens, 50 LPW $45 to $50 ea
150w hps= 16,000 lumens, 106 LPW $70 to $90
250w hps= 25,600 lumens, 102 LPW $100 to $175
400w hps=50,000 lumens 125 LPW $250 to $350
600w hps = 90,000 lumens, 150 LPW $300 to $400
1000w hps = 140,000 lumens. 140 LPW $300 to $500 ea

When i first saw this, i knew it would become invaluable info.
 
Bigdog1980

Bigdog1980

Well-Known Member
panhead said:
When growing pot lighting is 90% of the battle to get the biggest buds,not just good or smokeable buds but big fat ass buds that make you smile every time you look at them all over the plant.

Aside from getting a larger light throw with the 400 watt vs the 250 watt you get increased lumens,the higher the lumen output the deeper into the grow the light will penetrate,the farther the light penetrates the larger the buds will grow every single time.

When you get proper light penetration with intense lumen output to the lower levels of the plants it turns what would end up being small light & fluffy buds into large rock hard nuggs that are as high in quality as the main cola of the plant.

Another aspect of the larger wattage lights is light intensity,lets say you start off with a 250 watt light, then after a few grows you decide that you want more light for added grow space so you add another 250 watt light to the grow op,even though the two lights combigned wattage would be 500 watts they would not match the light intensity from a single 400 watt light,lumens do not stack up like alot of people think they do,the light intensity is the lights ability to deeply penetrate the canopy & remain at effective output levels at all areas of the grow including the lower levels.

Aside from getting larger denser buds with the more powerfull lights there are other benifits as well,one benifit is again focused on the lower portions of the plant only this time its the leaf surface area,by being able to bring effective levels of light to the lower leaves it allows them to do their job properly & send more energy to the plant through photosynthesis,if these lower leaves are not getting enough light they end up doing the plant very little good & die off much quicker than what they should.

For maximum plant health through out the durration of the grow you want the plant to retain as many sun leaves as possible,once the plants are in heavy bud afer a month or so of 12/12 is when the plant needs all the sun leaves it can get,when the plants start to reach full maturity its natural for the sun leaves to be eaten alive by the plant & die off,you want as many healthy sun leaves as possible when the plant reaches the point where it is in heavy bud so those leaves can fuel the plant,having intense light penetration reach the lower sun leaves will allow them to live longer & continue to help pack on bud weight.

I know it was a long answer but i hate short answers because they dont explain much,your yeilds will be a pretty large increase over the 250 watt light,i'd estimate a full 20% increase in yeild.
Click to expand...
I am running 2 x 250watt lights, I thought that would have been better than a 400. Guess I was wrong
 
Esrgood4u

Esrgood4u

Well-Known Member
Bigdog1980 said:
I am running 2 x 250watt lights, I thought that would have been better than a 400. Guess I was wrong
Click to expand...
Zombie thread.
In theory using 2 250 watt lights will give more light spread over a bigger area but will be less penetrative than a single 400.
More power = more intensive light = more yield.
 
smokebros

smokebros

Well-Known Member
Yetirat said:
Hi all,

I am growing 2 plants at the moment and am getting ready to flower. Just looking to find out how much difference there really is between a 250 watt and a 400 watt HPS?

In price there is almost no difference and obviously the 400 watt will use more electricity, but how much real difference will their be in yield?
Click to expand...
There's quite a bit of difference in the horsepower there. Think of it like the difference between a 4cyl and 6cyl vehicle.

400w HPS is a good setup. It's what I used in a 3x3 tent for a long time before bumping up to a 600w HPS.

Nowadays I've gone the LED route, but you can definitely grow some good herb with HPS.

If you can keep the environment in check, then always go for the bigger light. 400 > 250 HPS all day.
 
smokebros

smokebros

Well-Known Member
As far as cost for use, here's what I found online using 12kwh as a standard measurement.

12 hrs per day - 400W HPS = $17.50 per month
12 hrs per day - 250W HPS = $11.00 per month

Assuming we're just talking 12/12 lighting, you're looking at about $78 per year difference in operating costs.

I can guarantee the 400W HPS is going to return you more than $78 of herb over the 250W in a one year span. So go 400!
 
Bigdog1980

Bigdog1980

Well-Known Member
Esrgood4u said:
Zombie thread.
In theory using 2 250 watt lights will give more light spread over a bigger area but will be less penetrative than a single 400.
More power = more intensive light = more yield.
Click to expand...
I don't have a big area my tent is only 2.5ft square x 6ft. So think I'll swap my 2 x 250 watt for a 400 after this harvest. Got a 4 clone scrogg half way through the 3rd week of flower.
 
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