Well as far as CFLs go, I was growing and flowering in a closet which couldn't handle the heat of a HPS. So the CFLs were all I had and I needed a gazillion.
If we're just talkin about veg, the amount of light you need depends completely on what you've got goin on. If you're supporting a bunch of mothers and clones you'll need more. If you're looking for rapid veg growth you'll need more. If you're lookin to get it done, you've got 4-6 plants in pretty tight spacing I'd say you'd do the job easily with a couple hundred watts of blue cfls, and could even get by with less.
for flower - if you're worried about the spike in electricity from a 400w being detectible by the electric company, forget it. There are plenty of reasons you could use up that kind of electricity, shit you could add a few incandescent light bulbs around the house that add up to 400 watts.
If you cant afford the bill - get at least a 250 watt hps.
__________________ All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume |