For the full Transcript go to http://www.albertaurbangarden.ca/2014/11/16/cfl-and-florescent-lights-growing-indoors-cheap-easy-and-effective/
References are below
I chose to use CFL bulbs in my house for a number of reasons. Bulbs with excellent wavelengths for plant growth can easily found hardware stores so finding a specialty shop or ordering online is not necessary in most areas.
The light fixtures are either fairly cheap or the bulbs can be used in house hold fixtures. The fixtures for CFL are often long tubes allowing you to easily fit more plants under them. Having individual light gives me the flexibility to us what I need when I need it optimizing power consumption
They also don’t put off a tone of heat allowing you to operate more lights if you desire without having to worry about heat issues.
The initial investment is lower than the other lighting technologies for instance both of these combine cost me just over 50$. Because these set ups hold fewer watts of bulbs their power consumption is much lower. Even though some of the other technologies are more power efficient they typically come in single units that consume larger volumes of power. The lower energy output makes it much easier to start your seedlings and tender plants inside. Some of the larger systems can cause issues with your seedlings most often related to heat output.
One of the downfalls of using these CFL bulbs is you generally cant produce full size things like tomatoes and peppers. They will still fruit if you chose medium and small bodied fruit but not to the same density as the same plants outside or under the more costly systems.
If your looking for light systems for starting seedlings and lower energy plant growth inside during the winter I recommend simple CFL systems. With higher energy systems you can get closer to producing your favorite Tomato or Citrus tree inside during the LONG COLD WINTER
On the next episode in this series we are going to go through the basics of growing inside. Click here to go to the Indoor Growing Playlist.
Thank you for spending time with me today. I appreciate it very much! I hope you have a fantastic day!
A special thanks to Hydro-Lite in Edmonton
www.hydro-lite.com
Wavelengths
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavelength
Absorption for Photosynthesis
http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1668
Absorption Spectrum Chlorophyll A and B (Photo)
http://pinklightaeroponics.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Photosynthesis-Absorption-Spectrum.gif
Lumes vs Wavelength
http://www.sunmastergrowlamps.com/SunmLightandPlants.html
Kelvin Light Chart and Comparison between light technologies
http://theaquaponicsource.com/how-to-aquaponics/indoor-aquaponics-grow-lights/
Light Technology Comparison Chart
http://www.designrecycleinc.com/led%20comp%20chart.html
CFL Lights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp
History of HPS
http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/20thcent/invent20.htm
LED
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode
Philips LED Discovery
http://www.news.com.au/technology/philips-says-new-led-light-bulb-is-more-efficient-greener-than-fluorescent-lighs/story-e6frfro0-1226618661621
SunBlaster Wavelength Chart
http://sunblasterlighting.com/index.php
