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Tel: 0117 971 3000  info@greenshorticulture.co.uk


CFL Lights

  • The recent additional addition of this low energy technology has meant an even greater flexibility for indoor horticultural enthusiasts, particularly those operating on a smaller budget or with less room to spare. The benefits of these lamps is their comparatively low electricity usage when compared to HID lighting, as well as much lower levels of heat being generated as a by-product.
  • This means that they are ideal for use with younger plants, seedlings and cuttings as they can be positioned just a few centimetres away from the top of the plant without the risk of scorching or heat stress. It is during this early vegetative stage that these lights are particularly useful. The compromise with using these lamps is the reduced output when compared to the HID lights – where a 250W CFL is putting out around 12,500 lumens...
  •  a 250W HID lamp has an output of around 30,000 lumens, but again with the energy efficient option you are saving money on both electricity and initial payment as these lights are self ballasted and produce much less heat so extraction is not such a concern. While we still recommend using a small fan to allow airflow for the plants, a minimal amount will suffice. 
  • To really get the best out of this technology you need to use a reflector with the lamp as due to the slightly lower output it is worth making the most out of every bit of available light. There are a range of reflectors on offer, from the budget reflectors through to the high output model, but if you are working to a tight budget there is always the option of a simple lead that can be used to hang the lamp vertically. 
  • This is also a great way of using the lights as a supplemental light source as it enables the lamp to be positioned just below the top canopy of leaves and deliver extra light to parts of the plant that are normally hidden from the main source. CFL light bulbs or lamps are available in either blue spectrum which is 6400 on the Kelvin scale and is used for increasing vegetative growth, or red spectrum which is 2700 on the Kelvin scale...
  • and can be used during the flowering and fruiting stages. Although these spectrums can be compared to the blue of the metal halide or the red of the high pressure sodium, as mentioned the output will be significantly lower and using red spectrum CFLs alone will not measure up in terms of yield.
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