Everything for you here is about cost and maximizing your dollar to get the largest system possible to grow food for your family.Originally Posted by Corey B
T12 bulbs and fixtures are the cheapest. Both badflash and I have used the 4 foot 2 bulb shop light fixtures with bulbs and it works very well. I have used 40 watt bulbs with 5 fixtures to get great growth from a 2 foot x 4 foot area. I was growing peppers. Lettuce may have a lower light requirement. Keep in mind these are not particularly high Calorie vegetables. Anyway, that gives you 400 Watts and 32,000 Lumens (for reference only) per 2' x 4' area. I have tried using the 32 Watt bulbs because I was trying to be cheap, but I set up 2 side-by-side systems with the same everything except the lights and the plant growth was noticeably different.
The 40 Watt bulbs are $1.50 a piece locally for me and the fixture is $10. I used simple 1x3 white lumber and some screws that go through metal sheeting to plump it all together. A few hooks and chains to hang it. It comes with some hooks and chains, but you may need extra depending on your setup. Total cost should be around $65 for a 2' x 4' area. If you can beat that cost, please share!