CFL v HID 4x4 setup

[Pipsqueek]

Hi,
my setup for a personal medical setup is a 4x4x7 grow tent in the bedroom.
I have a 4x4 flood and drain table, Vortex 440CFM fan sucking through an air cooled hood and scrubber to outside the house.
I have 2 6 inch passive vents into the tent from the bedroom.
I have left the vents passive to allow the tent to always be in negative pressure, leaks in pressure will therefore always be into the tent mitigating any leaked smells into the room.
I have a 1000watt digital ballast switchable from 600 watts up and 1000 watt lamps.
Even at 600 watt settings I am getting temperatures up into the mid nineties on test runs.
Installing a portable aircon is not that easy as they are big items and also expensive.

I have read that 5000 lumens per sq ft is an ideal setup so CFL lighting could be an option for temp control but I would need a huge amount of them.

Any ideas on this?

Pipsqueek Reviewed by Pipsqueek on 07-11-2012. CFL v HID 4x4 setup Hi, my setup for a personal medical setup is a 4x4x7 grow tent in the bedroom. I have a 4x4 flood and drain table, Vortex 440CFM fan sucking through an air cooled hood and scrubber to outside the house. I have 2 6 inch passive vents into the tent from the bedroom. I have left the vents passive to allow the tent to always be in negative pressure, leaks in pressure will therefore always be into the tent mitigating any leaked smells into the room. I have a 1000watt digital ballast switchable Rating: 5

[Mainely Growing Weed]

I'm running 600 watts in a 4x8x7 and I have heat issues as well I think you went overboard on your light

[Pipsqueek]

I think you went overboard on your light

Not something you hear on most forums

[PhatJay]

I have read that 5000 lumens per sq ft is an ideal setup so CFL lighting could be an option for temp control but I would need a huge amount of them.

Any ideas on this?

I would go HID. The initial cost of CFL hardware and the increased running costs make CFL unsuitable for most flowering applications imo. If you have temp issues it would be more effective to spend money on better induction and extraction for your HID lighting system (air cooled reflector hood etc...).

Or you could go LED.

[Pipsqueek]

I set up an extra cooling intake by drawing cooled air from my bedroom AC floor vent, I have a heat pump fitted to the house.
The temp was still too high.
I have to agree that 1000 watts seems too much for a 4x4 grow tent so I will try a 600 watt setup.
From what I am reading the 600 watt systems get a better lumens to watts ratio, ie much more efficiency.
I should also get anywhere between 80,000 to 100,000 lumens from the bulbs which should be more than enough for 16 sq ft of grow.
Savings on energy will be a bonus as well.