all the bits and pieces add up with CFL.
here the 42w cfl are 9 bucks a pop. you are looking at about 12 bucks a piece after you get a holder, wire and tax. 10 of those is over 100 bucks, over 400watts and HALF the light output of a 400w HID light.
it takes 32 26w cfl's to roughly equate to a 400w hps. and thats assuming they are 1600lu a piece, which is rare for 2700k bulbs. even still you are looking at 80 or 90 bucks for bulbs, plus another 40 bucks for sockets and cords, you can use less sockets by using doublers, but they cost more than the cheapy plastic bulb bases.
of course now your 400w HID equivalent is pulling well over 800watts in cfl power trying to match the light output of the HPS. try cooling 800 watts of cfl's....good luck. |