indoor lighting

[badflash]

The amount of mercury in a single bulb is tiny. The energy savings of a FL bulb over incandescent lamps is huge. On an environmental impact basis the mercury burden is way tiny compared to the impact of the energy.

As to LED's, they are years off being cost effective. They also do not last anyway near as long as they advertise, especially in a damp environment.

Get a stainless steel fixture, locate sources for cheap replacement ballasts and sockets, and go for fluorescents. CFL just don't have the area coverage.

[brent]

Good thing I have time to figure it all out. I can start the plants under regular floresents like I always do. I will figure the rest out by mid september when I bring them inside.

[badflash]

There is all sorts of discussions about the color of lighting that is best. Daylight bulbs have a lot of blue in them, while grow lights have more red. Green is mostly wasted as plants reflect that color. Standard soft white bulbs are more yellow. I've tried them all and daylights work the best for me.

[jackalope]

As far as which florescent bulb to use, I bought "Sunshine" bulbs by Sylvania, I didn't see any great improvement over the "Daylight" bulbs that badflash mentioned. The "Sunshine" bulbs are about $6.00 each, and the "Daylight" are usually only a buck or two.

The amount of mercury in a single bulb is tiny. On an environmental impact basis the mercury burden is way tiny compared to the impact of the energy.

Isn't 30,000 lbs. per year quite a large impact on the environment? If it was safe, the gov't wouldn't have outlawed it's use in thermometers, switches, etc. but somehow it's now OK to use it in lightbulbs - so much for the EPA being there for our protection. The only thing they are protecting is Big Corporations!

Reason for concern: Mercury content

All fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, which makes their safe disposal an important issue for both public health and the environment.

In April 2007, members of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association committed to reducing the amount of mercury in CFLs. Effective April 15, 2007, participating manufacturers agreed to these voluntary mercury limits:

* 5 milligrams (mg) per unit for CFLs smaller than 25 watts.
* 6 mg per unit for 25-40 watt CFLs.
<snip>
Manufacturer profile
Three manufacturers dominate the CFL market in the United States: General Electric, Osram Sylvania, and Philips Lighting. Most CFLs sold in the U.S. are assembled in China.

Clik
Did you know that it's considered hazardous waste? If a CFL breaks in an office in an industrial firm, it has to be cleaned up by a haz-mat team, but the EPA says that if it breaks in our home, it's no big deal ...... IOW it doesn't matter if it kills someone in the home.

Proper Disposal - What It Means And Where To Take CFLs When They Burn Out
Business and other non-residential generated mercury lights are subject to state hazardous waste laws and regulations that prohibit their disposal in the solid waste stream. CFLs and other fluorescent lighting generated by residents are exempt from these disposal restrictions.

Clik

[badflash]

I've been using FL bulbs for much longer than it has been fashionable. I have yet to break one. The amount of mercury in a single bulb is very small and poses no hazard. If you are a klutz and break them all the time, the effect could be cumulative, just like eating fish that are ocean caught. All things are relative and I'm not going to stop eating fish just because they contain a little mercury. The benefits out weigh the costs.

As to the government, you think they are here to help us? NOT! They are here to help themselves. It is too tough to police individuals, far easier to shake down industries. I work at a Nuke plant, remember? Talk about silly. If my car drips a little oil on the pavement at the plant it also has to be cleaned up by the hazmat team. That hardly makes a little oil leak dangerous just because the EPA requires a ridiculous response.

We have limits on how much radioactivity we can release to the environment. If I were to get a thyroid treatment, come into work, and use the toilet, the alarms would go off and the entire sewer system at the site would have to be pumped out and disposed of as radioactive waste. It I just go home and flush it down the toilet, no big deal.

As far as bulbs go, dispose of them responsibly. My town has a recycling program that recovers the stuff and keeps it out of the landfills.

[urbanfarmer]

All the T12 bulbs I have had are very sturdy and cheap (around $1 a bulb).

The CFL bulbs are the ones that seem to explode from the inside due to prolonged use. However, the only ones I have seen do this are the Walmart brand (or was it Sams). I bought a bunch of these 3 years ago, and as they come to the end of their life cycle they tend to explode. I have seen 3 of the 12 I have do this while some are still going strong.

[rfeiller]

I can remember as a kid playing with mercury, all of us did. We collected it, I had a vile full of it.
Was that a good thing? probably not.
The biggest joke going today is electric cars. We can not do what we want to achieve without compromises. The color spectrum makes all the difference in the veggie, flowering, and fruit or seed stages. Basic FL can't achieve those results

[brent]

So, is there a florecent that will work from start to finish, or will I need to change at the bloom stage?

[badflash]

I've never changed colors. Seems to me the sun always looks about the same. You might need to monkey with day/night times in some species.

[rfeiller]

Big gap between keeping them alive and optimal results, it's whatever meets your needs. All the professional research is available on the web. There is a huge cost difference in purchase price between professional lighting set ups, not to mention utility cost, and get by setups. this is the major consideration. When you ask what is needed to produce product it is a huge gap between they are alive and they are really productive.
Is an $800.00 1000 what HD light fixture with the $80 monthly utility bill, justified to grow a dozen heads of lettuce, heck no. Only if you grow expensive plants. Japan is the exception out of necessity and their desire to always produce the best quality possible.