Lighting Question

[dc3]

Hi everyone
I had a question about light output and watts per gallon. I have a 24" incandescent hood with dual bulb holders - except I swapped in those new energy-saver bulbs - 23 w with an equivalent output of 100 w and 1600 lumens each. Does that mean I have 46 w at 2.3 wpg total or 200 w at 10 wpg? The holders say max 25w, so I am within the limits of that - but will be modifying cpu fans in the coming weeks. Did I find a loophole to let me buy plants out of "needs bright light" section?
DC

 

[George Farmer]

You have the equivalent of 200w incandescent, not fluorescent. Incandescent is very inefficient, as most of the power used is wasted in heat.

The wpg guide assumes good quality fluorescent light (T8, T5) with efficient reflectors. The energy-saving type fluorescents are ok but still not particularly effective as lots of light is lost through re-strike. This is light lost through it bouncing back and forth due to the bulb's shape.

So you have equivalent of 2wpg at very best.