Hi Erica

I have 3 double tube, T8 that I bought them last year from HD. And I installed 6500k daylight (combinations) in them.

I paid ~ $13 for the unit and ~ $8 for 2 bulbs. Total cost per unit =~ $22. The brand name is "Commercial Electric". This was the most economical approach.

How much can you grow under it?
Lets do a math. @ About 12" from floor ( or shelf bottom ) it can cover about 1ft by 4ft area = 4 sqr-ft. Say you are using 4" by 4" pots. In this case you can have 3 rows of 12 pots = 36.
Double the units you can accommodate 72 . BUT when you repot into bigger pots , 6" (round or square + air space =~ 8")
then each unit can accommodate about 12 to 18 plant. With 2 units you can do close to 30 + pots .With 3 of them I can handle about 40 to 50 tomatoes and peppers.

The cost of 3 fixture that runs about $75 is very economical, providing roughly 12 sqr-ft of grow area.

When my seedling are small I just use one unit. When I add tomatoes, I use 2 units. When I repot into bigger pots, I use all 3.

Electric Consumption: 2 x 37w = 72w/hr : On 16 hr = 1.15kw/day ;; = 35 kw/mo. ... for 2.5 monthes >>> 88kw/unit.

Plus, the heat is not wasted. It heats the space/air.

Seysonn

Good maths Seysonn. I use the exact same setup except adding a couple more lights recently. I pulled one of them off the ceiling of my workshop though, so it didn't count in initial costs. ;-)

I like the idea of LEDs for long life and low usage costs, but wonder about the upfront costs (haven't priced them) and as mentioned, loss of useful heat. Also the color temperature range... close to Daylight/6500?

This post was edited by mecdave on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 8:40

Last season I had two four strip fixtures (8 bulbs total) that had alternating 5000K and 6500K T8s. They were lined up right next to each other and height adjustable.

I started with 3" starter pots and 2 trays held 18 pots each. At that point I only needed one of the light strips (with 4 bulbs). Then I transplanted them when they got bigger and roots were filling in, to 4" square pots that were taller as well. This caused me to have 4 trays with either 8 to 10 pots in them (36 total). This is when I added the 2nd light strip. Light coverage was perfect IMO.

So if you are using 3 double tubes (6 bulbs), technically you should be able to raise .75 x 36 plants = 27 to full maturity, ready to be planted outside. They will out grow the space after about 3.5 to 4 months get crowded before you transplant outside, but will do well. I would say the plants were around 8 -10" tall and crowding each other. If you plan to keep growing inside as it looks like you do, I cannot give you any more confident info.

btw, when I say full maturity I mean, plenty mature enough to be ready for the outdoors.

Good luck.

This post was edited by kclost on Fri, Jan 2, 15 at 8:21

Hi Dave,
The make that I have purchased is pretty reasonable ( I use Philips 6500k daylight and daylight deluxe . They work fine. No need to use the so-called "grow lights" at extra expense. Last year I had near perfect pepper and tomato seedlings/plants.

The lights are not putting out a lot of heat. 37w/hr per bulb ? .

Seysonn

Yeah, good point about them being height adjustable. You want the lights to be only an inch or two above the plants. The chain that comes with the lights is only about 6 inches per side, so I buy another 2ft per side to use instead. This allows me to get them down low for growing, then to raise them up temporarily for watering, ect.

@ Seysonn: Oh I'm very happy with the setup we're both using, was just wondering about the advantages and disadvantages of LEDs that the op was considering.

That is something I haven't researched yet and honestly have no plans to go to anytime soon. Let the costs and lighting quality improve before going that route, imo. That's why I stocked up on incandescents for around the house. ;-)

Excellent info. Thanks so much guys. The unit I was considering was $40 and I think 3700 lumens. Seysonn's suggestion sounds much more economical. I can basically get 2 setups, with more lumens, for almost the same price as one LED unit. Fantastic!

Erica: Unless you plan on growing(and fruiting) past the seedling stage, LED's aren't necessary. And as mentioned, the normal shoplights described above do provide a bit of warmth almost perfect for pepper seedlings. I go the penny pinching route also -- 1 fixture, 2 T8 tubes, 6500K daylight

Kevin

Kevin -- Absolutely. I already have a sticky note with the info from Cyrus. I'd rather save the extra money to buy seeds, instead of lights. Lol.

Erica,

I'll go one better, like Kevin alluded to, the reds of the spectrum are needed for fruiting, but i have found my seedlings grow faster under the cool whites... John

John -- Thanks! I'll be sure and look for those.

I am using 6500k - daylight and daylight deluxe .
This kind of light is on the blue side of the spectrum, also called "cool" light. Here is a description that I got:

The most important blue wavelengths are from 430 to 450 nm. This part of the spectrum is also known as cool light. These wavelengths encourage vegetative growth through strong root growth and intense photosynthesis. Blue light is often used alone during the early phases of plant growth, such as starting seedlings, when flowering is not desired..

That is what I want : seeding stage growth. I do not want them to flower.

Seysonn

I'm actually using a 50/50 mix of 4100k cool white and 6500k daylight Phillips tubes. I didn't know better when I started out with 4100ks last year, so have just mixed in the 6500ks as I've expanded.

It's worked out well. The ornamentals I started in Oct have grown fast, green, and many have pods already. Will be posting photos this weekend.

This post was edited by mecdave on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 17:22

And my lighting info to bring to HD grows! I had to look that one up, Cyrus. I hadn't heard of nm before.

Hell, you started in Oct, Dave! I thought I was going to be on the ball this year and get started in Jan, but it looks like I'm running behind again.

@Erica: Ha yeah, I jumped into bonsai in a big way a few months back. I'm hoping to have a decent collection of bonchi ornamentals for sale by this spring.

I've given a few away as Xmas presents already and they've been a big hit. Now I'm seeding for pods to supplement the bonchi sales at the farmer's market.

Will 5000k bulbs work? I built a cfl fixture and all I could find were those in daylight.

This post was edited by SoCarRob on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 19:36

Not an expert here - but I did some reading and apparently from abt. 4000k up is good (higher=better). If you combine your 5000k with higher it should work well.

LED tubes are described as much longer lasting (up to 80,000hrs+), but I couldn't find any below $20/tube - if bought in bulk. Single was min. $28/pc (this is in Canada, I am sure they are less in USA).

I am using mix of shop lights & CFL's - these are 6500k. I was able to get 6 CFL bulbs, 100W each/6500k for approx. $12. Plants under this set up started growing new leaves rapidly.
I should point out I never grew hot peppers from seeds yet (but planning on now, lol). I had only 1 hot pepper plant last year I purchased + few ornamentals (I think they are called Christmas lights?) that I am trying to overwinter. I pruned the roots & stems & re-potted, so far so good (approx.5 weeks).
I keep other plants under same light set up incl. succulents.

Rina

This post was edited by rina_ on Wed, Dec 31, 14 at 18:20

Ok. Here s what I think.

As those "k" numbers (Kelvin), you are approaching the "blue" end of spectrum. So then mixing 4100k, 5000k with 6500k would work ok. Some do that.
So I think you are O'right , Dave.

Seysonn

Erica: your zone calls for starting chinense varieties about now and annuums in about a month.

Great thing about peppers is if it's still too cold when you normally would transplant, you can just pot up. Of course that takes away space under the lights, but with a 12 week old chinense, it should have enough foliage to move to a warm window. Also, what varieties are you planning on growing? I might have some to send.

Everybody getting excited?!

Kevin

P.S. Happy New Year, Everybody!!!!

Kevin -- Great to know that I'm not behind on getting started! I'm aiming to grow a little bit of everything from sweet to super hot. I'm hoping to do 50 or so varieties this year, maybe more if I can figure out space. If only I could add a greenhouse to the top of my house! =P

I know I'm excited! More and more seeds are germinating every day. I'm quite surprised at the percentage rates, some are germinating at 100% from the seed swap. I'm definitely going to have to top them to keep the growth in check. I wasn't expecting so many to germinate on the first go round.

As far as being excited, I'm super excited. Between the peppers I got last year from LeafEricson and the ones this year from the swap, as well as all the fantastic trades I've done, I've got some amazing varieties. (John -- I came across info on the Parviflorum today. Looks like a good one!) A great big thanks to all you pepper-heads for sharing your bounty (and all your knowledge)!

Erica, the setup that we use here is a 4', 2 tube shop light unit, with one 5k bulb and a 4300 bulb, to give the plants as wide a spectrum as I can.

Bulbs last a long time, usually a couple of growing seasons, so overall cost is minimal.

Duane

Duane -- Thank for the info on how long the bulbs last. I was actually curious about that.

Erica, thanks for this thread, now I know exactly what I'm going to go buy. T8 - 6500k. Awesome answer to the burning question!

Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the invaluable info.

I went and got one of my set-ups today. I ended up with a 4', 2-bulb, T8 fixture with 2 daylight deluxe (6500k) bulbs. Hope that's ok on the bulbs. I know that Cyrus suggested one daylight and one daylight deluxe, but I was only able to find the deluxe.

Hi Erica, Good start and good timing. One unit should be enough to get you going for a good while.

I also started with one unit , then second and then the 3rd.
As I quoted a source before, for the purpose of just growing seedling 6500k (blue cool spectrum) lights are better choices. But if some one wants to grow under light permanently, then its a different issue.

OK every body, let the games begin and the seeds germinate !

Seysonn

The one fixture should be good for a 4x1wx2h space. Aka 2 1020 nursery trays. Aka 36 3" pots/solo cups. Daylight and cool white are best so good job on color, u don't need to mix.

Yay! Hopefully within the next couple days I'll be able to get my peppers started. I'm super excited.

I believe that the 5000k and 6500K combination will work the best, as in my experience the foilage is subjected to more of what is happening outside. Very little time is needed to get them adjusted to the sunlight, IMO and experience.

The wind however is another story...

I just wanted to thank everyone again for the lighting help. I got 70 varieties started today and put under the lights. So exciting!

Erica,

You don't need the lights till they break the ground