Are you saying here that incandescents are better than the sun for flowering?

I'm simply saying that incandescents provide relatively more red wavelengths in their spectra than the sun does. Check the graphs - It's science and whatnot. *wink* If I could grow outdoors, I would. The sun is the ultimate all-in-one. But for indoor growing, we have to take the best synthetic options for the plants' needs and for our own purposes.

Please, do the experiment.

I'll tell ya what - If I get the bag seed to sprout, I'll definitely do Plant 1 on solely CFL, and Plant 2 on CFL & incandescent.

I might even do it with the good seeds for the betterment of all grow-kind.

If I have the spare bucks, I'll even do Plant 3 on CFL & HPS.

If I had unlimited funds, I'd also do Plant 4 on MH, Plant 5 on MH & incandescent, Plant 6 on MH & HPS, etc.



So I think it's pretty obvious that incandescents are inferior to flourescents in intensity and efficiency so why would anyone use them?


You ask me: Why would anyone use incandescents over CFL?

ANSWER: For flowering. CLF does not provide as much of the red waves which are proven to be beneficial during flowering.

I ask you: Why not use some incandescents (rather than solely CFL) to give your plants more of the red light they need during flowering and achieve more yield?

I absolutely agree that incandescents are crap for vegetative growth. It's like trying to make a souffle in an Easy Bake Oven. That CFL are more energy-efficient than incandescents is a given. And if you have to choose ONE type of bulb to use throughout, CFL is the way to go. More red than MH, more blue than HPS. (see graphs) I'm certainly not arguing for sole use of incandescents throughout!


All of the info quoted in your post about the effects of red light & heat apply to HPS AND incandescents. They are both used for their red wavelenghts during flowering, because it is proven that red is good for flowering.

HPS does have advantages over incandescent - The bulbs last longer, and are said to be even more energy-efficient than CFL. And in a situation where one bulb serves several plants, and/or the grower is growing a large crop, I expect that HPS has it all over incandescents.

So why would anyone use incandescents over HPS?

For my purposes, with 1 light per plant, 4-plant crop, in a small space, incandescents offer distinct advantages over HPS:

1) They put out less heat, so they can be placed closer to the plants - and, in an enclosed space, they have less effect on the ambient temperature.
2) They can be used in the same fixture as the CFL, so I don't need to buy a HPS-specific fixture, which saves money and allows for easier switching back & forth.
3) They are cheap and easy to get.