for most species...long-term, all-year, the basic answer is no

if you intend on using it as a supplement during the winter, probably yes

There are many factors in the success of growing plants well indoors. You must have adequate lighting, soil, moisture, humidity, fertilizer, air circulation, etc. Indoors all year, the margin for error is much less than if your plants receive a proper summer vacation outdoors.

But there's no real harm in trying and learning from the experience.

I used HID lights one year. They work okay... the 1000 watt ones are the best. They still tend to get pests really bad. In MY experience, anything less is useless, unless you are doing understorey tropicals. But hey, like xerophyte says, no harm in trying!

I grow tropical plants inside from Oct thru May using two 1000 watt metal halide HID lights and misters. They do amazingly well and bloom even without the addition of HPS bulbs. Spider mites and mealy bugs can be a problem especially if they aren't kept in humid enough conditions.
Karyn

Thanks for all the advice. I went to a 'hydroponic' plant shop to see what they had. This dude says I should be ok with a fizture that has 4 '40 watt full spectrum' 48 inch flourescent tubes. Does that sound bogus? It's like 200$.
thanks

4 x 40W does not come close to the light output of a 1000W HID lamp. Again, if you are looking to just keep plants going through a dreary winter, it will be fine. If you intend on growing plants all year, the results will be disappointing.

I bought my HID set ups at AFC Greenhouses. I think each one was about $310 with a timer.
Karyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Grow Lights

Someone was trying to sell you something... UNFORTUNATELY, it's one of those situations that you can't do it cheaply... I was able to find a HID light on sale, from a company going out of business, but I've never seen the good ones for less than $300.
Remember, your electric bill will jump considerably, if you give them enough light. I betcha Karyn's bill jumped by around $100 a month. This is how they catch marijuana growers. Just to let you know. :o) Karyn, did you have fans too? With all that humidity, I've heard of drywall getting mushy and falling down.

Heathen I was surprised that the electric bill didn't go up that much, maybe $50/mo. I have the lights running between 14-16 hrs a day. They also generate a good deal of heat but that's a plus because the stone floors keep the room unusually cool. With the HID lights running I don't need to bother with space heaters. The room that they are in has a window that faces the street. You don't know how many people slow down when they drive or walk by and see the intense light coming from the room. lol I'm so used to visits from the county's finest at our greenhouse (commercial sized) and planes flying very low over our farm, let them pay me a visit. I do have a number of fans running and don't have a problem with excessive moisture. It's just the opposite. Even with misters going it's still pretty dry from the gas heat. We even have a humidifer built into the ventillation system and it's still dry when the heat is running. I hate everything about the winter!!!!
Karyn

Oh that's right you're a professional. :o) In the house I used the Light in, the window didn't point directly to the street, thank goodness! :D but the winter time is the only time we have humidity, so I didn't do the misters, and it kept the room at around %70 humidity.
This year, they busted a LOT of pot houses and showed the stuff on tv... I was like MY GOD, look at that! sometimes 50 lights!!! (think $300 a light) one had this set up, where the plants were on this like plant Ferris wheel with the light on the inside.
I just wanted the money they spent on all that get up!

please correct me if i get this wrong, but if you run (2) 1000 watt lamps for 14 hours a day, you are using 28 kilowatts a day. times 31 days equals= 868 kilowatts a month. @ .11 cents a kilowatt hour this is roughly $95 a month. This is usually a low end ballpark figure, because in some places, like where i live, the electric company starts to charge an even higher rate after so many kilowatts used each month per household. Although i have used hids as well and it was well worth the rates. considering it costs me about $70 to eat out for dinner for my family, cutting out one dine out every month almost makes up for it! I agree with karen... buy the 1K lamp.

I have a 1000W HID that runs for about 11 hrs a day in the winter, my electric bills have not been noticeably higher than before I started using the light...I guess it depends, I already have tons of recessed lighting and other stuff in the house so adding 1000W just makes a small dent into the overall electrical usage.

Around here, I don't have this, but you can apply for this flat rate, where your bills may be higher during the off months but it evens out during the high electricity usage time, which is usually in the summer here. That would be ideal, at least for the bill part. If you are a higher electricity user, unlike my single self at the time, it may be less noticeable.

Don't do the budget billing if you normally have high monthly electric bills. You'll freak when they reconcile at the end of a fiscal year. Our average winter bill is about $350 and summer is double that. We were stuck with a $3500 bill for the difference!!!!!!!!
Karyn

I have used the $12 48" 2 tueb shop lights with regular fluorescent tubes and a $10 timer for years with excellent results. I set the timer for 16 hours on and 8 off. Works like a charm. Have gotten everything under the sun to grow and bloom well with this set up.

I have 3 of them hanging in my plant room from the ceiling.

Boca Joe