Lighting Buying and building a 1000 watt hps
- Thread starter jremines
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Hey brother I got your PM and I'm going to post up some of your space requirements here in case anyone else wants to chime in:
A 4 foot by 8 foot area is 32 square feet.
A general rule of thumb (not set in stone, just something to shoot for) is around 50 watts per square foot with HPS/MH (some do less, some do more.)
1000 watts divided by 32 square feet = 31.25 watts per square foot.
1000 watts in a 4 x 4 area (16 square feet) is 62.5 watts per square foot.
As for whether it's cheaper to buy separate? In my opinion, I think that's better answered by your electrical skills, ability to get the parts for cheaper, not having customer service available and relying on individual part warranties. Plus, what's your time worth to you? A few minutes on Amazon or an online retailer can have a fully functioning quality assurance tested warrantied light that's been product tested shipped to your door. Boom. Done.
Most magnetic/electronic ballasts I've seen are switchable (my 1000W magnetic has a physical HPS/MH toggle switch on it.) I have two electronic 400W ballasts that do not need to be toggled (you can swap out MH and HPS freely.) Many of the electronic ballasts that you find on the market are also dimmable, give you 100%, 75%, and 50% power options. That can be huge depending on your environment/situation.
You can either buy MH and HPS separately, or you can buy dual spectrum bulbs that cover the wide spectrum from start to finish (more expensive.)
Hope that helps answer your question bro! Maybe someone that does DWC could better answer your requirements in that regard (I'm a soil guy myself.)
A 4 foot by 8 foot area is 32 square feet.
A general rule of thumb (not set in stone, just something to shoot for) is around 50 watts per square foot with HPS/MH (some do less, some do more.)
1000 watts divided by 32 square feet = 31.25 watts per square foot.
1000 watts in a 4 x 4 area (16 square feet) is 62.5 watts per square foot.
As for whether it's cheaper to buy separate? In my opinion, I think that's better answered by your electrical skills, ability to get the parts for cheaper, not having customer service available and relying on individual part warranties. Plus, what's your time worth to you? A few minutes on Amazon or an online retailer can have a fully functioning quality assurance tested warrantied light that's been product tested shipped to your door. Boom. Done.
Most magnetic/electronic ballasts I've seen are switchable (my 1000W magnetic has a physical HPS/MH toggle switch on it.) I have two electronic 400W ballasts that do not need to be toggled (you can swap out MH and HPS freely.) Many of the electronic ballasts that you find on the market are also dimmable, give you 100%, 75%, and 50% power options. That can be huge depending on your environment/situation.
You can either buy MH and HPS separately, or you can buy dual spectrum bulbs that cover the wide spectrum from start to finish (more expensive.)
Hope that helps answer your question bro! Maybe someone that does DWC could better answer your requirements in that regard (I'm a soil guy myself.)
I think the root of his question is buy a kit, or buy components. IMO kits are generally much cheaper than buying each piece. I've seen ballasts go for as much as the same unit in a kit! I bought my kit new,from ebay. I got a 600 watt MH setup with a basic batwing reflector for $139.00 shipped. A 1000 watt unit can be had for around $199.00. If going for a better hood, skip the cooltubes, they reflect light in a poor pattern, get a 6 or 8" ventilated hood with the glass plate in the bottom, its well worth the price.
