CFL’s Vs HPS….. The list can go on for days. Here are just a few I can think of off the top of my head with out writing something that will take 20 mins to read.
Plants really thrive on Lumens. A 250 watt HPS will have up to 28.500 lumens, With CFLs 250 watts can have up to 15,000. (
http://www.specialty-lights.com/9920.html Vs.
http://www.beanworthy.com/Feliz-250-Watt-CFL-Grow-Light/A/B003JJL8SW.htm ) Lumens are what really penetrait the plants canopy and help you grow a faster and a bigger yield once said and done.
The point to growing with CFL’s in my opinion is the fact you use less power, you need less other items for cooling the grow area from heat that is normaly associated with HPS. With CFLs you can grow in a smaller space. ( i.e. PC case grows, card bored box ect ect ) Also I feel CFL’s are best for growing if you are only looking to grow for your own personal smoke. Only reason being the flowering time can take an extra week or two longer. ( if a strain takes 6-8 weeks from the start of flower, with cfls it can take 8-10)
You said you are thinking of going with 4 plants. I feel that would be the maximum number to try and grow with a CFL only grow. You will need bulbs for the top ( the cfl link above ) with reflectors. ( 90% of cfl light comes from the side, not the tip ) then I would sugest hanging some down around the sides of the plant so you get more penetraition into the canopy. Also with there are 2 types of bulbs needed ( revert to this link for more info on that
https://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/107992-tutorial-growing-cfls.html ) one type for veg one type for flowering. Some will argue if you need to do this or not. Some will argue only replace a few of the bulbs with the 2700 lumen bulb. To each their own. I still feel growing with CFLs is still an art on to its self. A lot is trial by error. I would sugest growing one pant first and then once you see how that turned out. Then try for more plants. No reason to waist all your seeds and not get a good yield.
If there is anyone else that can add to this it would be great, if I am wrong on anything please post about it. No one is ever perfect or knows everything. Im just trying to give a few pro’s and cons of each type of bulb.
