Sunday, December 1, 2013

Growing With T5 Light Bulbs - What You Should Know

Growing with T5 fluorescent grow light bulbs is not really an effective means of growing anything. Sure, you might be able to experience some growth and it can be an affordable alternative to HID lighting like high pressure sodium or metal halide. However, when you consider that one high pressure sodium bulb equal to 50,000 lumens compares to 10 T5 bulbs to create the same effect, it's easy to see how and why these lights aren't as effective as they could be. If you are just starting out in gardening and indoor growing, you need to start slow, as you would with anything. Take a shot and see how it goes. You are not going to invest in a lighting system like metal halide or high pressure sodium if you aren't sure how things are going to work out.This is one of the only reasons that T5 bulbs are still effective. For those people who aren't ready or willing to invest in the best of the best in grow light solutions because of the expense, the T5 fluorescent lamps can be a perfect choice for affordability, effectiveness, and a chance to see what you're capable of before you get started on something that costs more than you're able or prepared to spend on it. Having an indoor garden or getting into hydroponics can prove to be a great choice for your needs, but isn't going to be the most productive hobby for everyone. Before you waste your life savings investing in something that you might end up hating, try to invest in the cheaper lighting options like the T5 bulbs.If things work out and you want to get better lighting later on, you can always sell the T5 bulbs and their ballast to someone you know that can use them. That way, you're not losing out on your investment completely, and you're able to help someone else get into indoor growing like you are. Plus, if things don't work out, you didn't invest as much as you could have, and you can sell your equipment to recoup the majority of your losses, which you wouldn't be able to guarantee with HID lighting choices.The goal of T5 bulbs when they were created was to provide more illumination in a smaller, more compact package. The savings that were created with T5 lighting for businesses and consumers were amazing compared to T8 and T12 lighting. However, as far as grow lights are concerned, they were quickly showed up by metal halide and high pressure sodium. T5 fluorescent lights save more than 50% compared to older bulbs, and retain more output and color over their lifespan. All in all, they're a great choice for many applications, including the startup gardener who doesn't want to risk it all with high end lighting right away. When you're shopping for T5 fluorescent grow light bulbs, keep these things in mind and try to figure out what would be best for you.



Mark Hudson has been an indoor gardening hobbyist for over 10 years. To learn more about T5 bulbs, please visit http://www.lightbulbsurplus.com

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