Which Light to Choose for a Grow Tent - Discharge Lamps Part 1
Planning to start and not sure which light fits which tent? Is one enough for both growth and flowering? And what about so‑called dual lights? We will answer this and many other questions in the following articles.
The first criterion for choosing the power of a discharge lamp is the size of the space, often the grow tent, that you plan to use for cultivation.
- 250W discharge lamps are suitable for a tent approximately 60x60cm. 50x50cm can be taken as the minimum, and in a tent larger than 80x80cm 250W is too little and you're wasting space.
-400W discharge lamp is ideal in a tent around 80x80cm - in a tent under 70x70cm you'll already be struggling with the heat. There will be too few plants to make use of so much light. On the other hand, in a 100x100cm tent you will be eyeing a 600W lamp, and from a 120x120 tent 400W is unnecessarily small.
- 600W is the discharge lamp with the best price-performance ratio not only in terms of its own price/Watt output, but also because necessary accessories such as the ballast are not that much more expensive than weaker variants. This light is ideal for spaces around 100x100cm - 120x120cm. The size is sufficient for proper exhaust and plants can make use of all the light from the lamps. Also all accessories are usually limited for use with lamps up to 600W.
- 750W professional discharge lamps are usually used in special kits by US manufacturers. Tent size is similar to that for 600W lamps. They usually come as a kit with a ballast and reflector, and recommended tent sizes range between 100x100–130x130cm; in no case would I recommend using them in smaller spaces.
- 1000W are already professional discharge lamps and are suitable for experienced growers; the equipment is usually more expensive (but due to efficiency it can pay off in the long run, since you may need, for example, only one reflector, one wiring, one outlet for timers, etc.), because most common active components are manufactured with a limit of approx. 690W (3A at 230V for electricians). You need to be careful which components you use to ensure they are powerful enough. Regarding tents, we recommend them for tents from 140x140cm to approx. 160x160cm.
- 1200W - this is a 2x600W set, meaning you illuminate twice the area as with a 600W lamp, i.e. 200x100cm - 240x120cm.
- 2000W+ these are sets with multiple light sources, usually multiples of 600W or 1000W, and the area they can illuminate always scales with the number of sets used. ;-)
In the next part we will look at the differences between MH and HPS discharge lamps and you will also find a tip on how to get the most energy out of discharge lamps!