by Jorge Cervantes
CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps)
Grow clones, seedlings, and vegetative plants with CFLs. Keep CFLs close to flowering plants so they develop big, tight buds.
Wattages available: 26-200, in lengths from 6-20 inches.
Brilliance: CFLs produce very bright light with relatively low wattage. The best values are 55-65 watt bulbs. these bulbs are bright and inexpensive. Smaller wattages are less bright and very low wattage. Larger wattages are bright but more expensive.
Spectrum: The color spectrum is delivered at 2700K (warm white) to 5000K (cool white) in a selection of bulbs. Warm white CFLs (2700K) have more red in the spectrum and can be used in conjunction with cool white lamps to avoid internodal stretching during flowering.
Life of bulb: Rated t 8000-15,000 hours. Most growers replace bulbs after 1 to 1.5 years of operation at 18 hours per day. Take lamp and ballast to a specialty recycling center for electronic devices.