What light system for few large plants?

We are about to grow 18 plants under cal prop 215 with 3 recommendations, well within the law, but have never grown before. I've been reading about light requirements the last few weeks and taken in tons of info. However, we have a large space for growing, approximately 10' by 20', which seems huge for only 18 plants. Is it possible to grow very large plants indoors to maximize yield?Based on square footage seems we'd need to run 8 x 1000's, but that seems ridiculous for only 18 plants. I guess my question for anyone who can help, is what would be the best light system to maximize yield on an indoor grow with plenty of space but a limited number of plants and minimize energy usage? Thanks in advance for any help.

How much ceiling height do you have? You need to adjust the light height as the plants grow up to 4-5ft tall or more. Plus, there's heat control issues...in the summer time. You need to stay at 70-85 degrees at the top of the plants.

I would recommend only two 1000 watt lights: until you get your growing system/growing knowledge; worked out...IMO.

If you wanted 18 flowering females...you might have to veg 30 or more seedlings...(unless you use clones or fem seeds)...and separate the males.

I grew 13 females with one 400 watt HID light, in a closet once...but, that another story...:stoned:

without more details it'd be hard to give you a definitive answer although a
light mover might be something you should consider.

We have about 7 feet of ceiling height, and we would be using clones. Also, we are planning on building a grow room within the room to maximize control over the environment, setting up A/C with an auto thermostat for temp issues. However, still brand new, so I'm SURE there will be many bugs to work out. Thanks for the advice, any thing else you can offer would be helpful.

if your talking about 10x20 and your gonna use like all of it? well then id say do the 8 1000w's if your really gonna need that much but thats like 16 pounds a harvest with a good strain, id go with the above recommended, get 2 1000w hps's, and then also get 2 1000w mh conversion bulbs, use the metal halides on 18/6 until plants are ~3 feet high, then switch to the hps on 12/12 until trichomes are to your liking, get a gigantic canfan with a big filter to stay off the radar, and cool tube those 1000w's with it also:thumbsup:

high man, here's a link to a guy who constructed a room within a room and
who tackled many of the problems you will be dealing with, hopefully, his op
will help provide some inspiration.

12 Bucket DWC - 2000w - Romulan & Bubbakush - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

I suggest you start small (one 400-watt , or 1000-watt lamp), and get your feet wet first ... if a total novice, use bagseeds, don't spend your money on seeds, until you've knocked down a couple grows ... I've been growing for myself, for over 40 years, and just bought my first 1000-watt lamp, a couple days ago ... I used a LOT of flourescents, until I got my first 400-watt HPS a few years ago :D ... it did the job :thumbsup: ... good luck, good growing :smokin: