bwanabud
Hiding in a tree
You are operating under the assumption that HPS is hotter than CFL but that is not correct. There is no getting around that fact...and they are going to cost about twice as much to run every single month. Yes you can do a grow with CFLs, but HPS is going to give you way more bud way cheaper. You are going to spend twice as much on electricity to run CFLs over HPS and probably get 1/2 as much bud. And it is a mistake to believe that a bunch of CFLs are cooler or safer than a HPS. How hot is it going to be when you get 11-12 42W cfls in a 2 x 3 space?
Remember that anyone can make anything look like they want to make it look on You Tube. I can point out downright fraud on there.
It all gets down to the lumens. Lumen for lumen, cfls will run hotter, will cost about twice as much in electricity, will produce less bud, the bud will be less dense and airier, and the potency may also go down. Four bulbs is only going to work if they are large wattage bulbs like a 125W. And 4 125W clfs are NOT going to be cooler, regardless of what you believe. Add up how many CFLs you are going to need--do not scrimp on lumens! You want a minimum of 3000 lumens per sq ft for vegging and 5000 for flowering.
:yeahthat: I'm glad you said it, no one listens to me THG
I'm looking in metal halide and hps. Just need a light that will fit into a small space.
Look at the HPS lites with a multi-output selector, the ballast is adjustable from 50%/75%/100%....you can use the lower settings in vegging.