Heat: low 70s with cfls. what about hps?

hey, im looking at buying a hps. i have a cfl grow thats nearly finished at the moment. the temps are low 70s.

if i switch to hps then how much hotter are the temps going to get? i dont wanna go above 85 really.

air conditioning isnt an option and it will probably be a shed grow.

stick with cfls... hps generates at least 3-6 times more heat... air cooled shades will be a bonus, as will the onset of winter.. but if you want to stay in control with minimal expenditures, i'd stick with cfls...

well im selling my cfls so gonna have to go with hps. plus id like to try hps for bigger yields.

i never thought about winter. suppose that will lower some temps. also got 2 fans that i can run. hopefully i can keep temps around 70 - 85

Extraction and Inlet will be you main priority when running HPS/HID lighting.

You must ensure that you can exhaust/remove much of the warming air in you grow environment without build up. Air cooled tubes with minimal turns, bends and kinks in your ducting will account for half of this. The other half will entail adequate air inlets around your growing environment to balance the vacuum created by your kick ass extractor. Employing these kind of fundamentals will almost assure you of stable temperatures within the range required for optimal yields.

smokeh said:

well im selling my cfls so gonna have to go with hps. plus id like to try hps for bigger yields.

i never thought about winter. suppose that will lower some temps. also got 2 fans that i can run. hopefully i can keep temps around 70 - 85

Click to expand...

i am no expert, but sounds like you wont be able to get one of the bigger, 400+ watt, hps lights.

home.grower said:

stick with cfls... hps generates at least 3-6 times more heat... air cooled shades will be a bonus, as will the onset of winter.. but if you want to stay in control with minimal expenditures, i'd stick with cfls...

Click to expand...

I beg to differ!! A single 150hps bulb that has 16000 lumens can put out less heat that the equivalant of say 6 42 watters. Maybe not less but damn sure not too much more!!!!!

jimdandy said:

I beg to differ!! A single 150hps bulb that has 16000 lumens can put out less heat that the equivalant of say 6 42 watters. Maybe not less but damn sure not too much more!!!!!

Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I guess I'm too used to running multiple 600s.

I did an expeiment with cfl's at the start of my current grow. I have 3 plants and I was using 5 bulbs. The plants were small and 5 was enough at the minute. But the trick I have learned with cfl's is that you need to keep those fuckers at least 3 inches from the plant to maximize growth potential. Now as the plants start growing and you split the sockets and add more bulbs, not only will the heat increase, but the number of fucking cords gets crazy, also you must adjust the lights daily. It can be tedious, and the bulbs and splitters will add up in price.

I guarantee you you can get a 150hps or 250 setup for around 100 dollars. The ones I see lately have aircooled hood options. ( see ebay) Any good grow is gonna need circulation so I would say exhaust your hood and room with one fan and your heat problems will be gone, and you will get more bang for the buck.

By the way I put my cfl's away for flower and pulled out my 400hps. But this is just my 2 cents!!!

well if thats the case then i will have to use ventilation. now my question would be..

well, im growing in a shed. so i need intake and exhaust. really, id only have to make 2 holes as i wouldnt need ductwork, would i?

sorry for being a noob on this but the grow faq doesnt really cover this kinda thing.

home.grower said:

I stand corrected. I guess I'm too used to running multiple 600s.

Click to expand...

Wow multiple 600's!! Good for you!! I wish I could do that. But since I am growing for personal use and challenged for space, and stealth is a must, have to keep it small dude!! So we are presented with these problems of heat, noise, light leaks and all that kind of shit. But to each his own.

jimdandy said:

I beg to differ!! A single 150hps bulb that has 16000 lumens can put out less heat that the equivalant of say 6 42 watters. Maybe not less but damn sure not too much more!!!!!

Click to expand...

rep+ for jimdandy. I imagine the poster doesn't have a huge grow requiring 400+watts of HID because they're most of the way through flowering with CFL's only. I'm certainly impressed with what CFL's can do, but the facts are A) They are less efficient watt to lumen wise than HPS B)They put out more heat per watt. becasue they are small and you use many of them, the heat is spread over a larger area, so in small grows this can be advantageous. BUT, with a single 150 or even 250 HPS, the heat is all concentrated from one area, SOOOO if you can remove the heat near the source before if sets into the grow room, you are in a better place temp wise than with CFL's. This is what I didn't understand until I saw first hand the difference!

175W MH FTW! Beats CFL's and T5's any day in lumens and actually runs pretty darn cool compared to cramming 8-10 bulbs in a veg box.