Hello brandonbelew,
I'm sorry, I Just needed to make a major correction to my last post. I could have just edited the post, but it's a major correction. I said that 6 T5's (52 watts each) would use 150 watts of electricity. But in reality 6x52 is over 300 watts. Double what I said in my last post. A typical 4 foot T5 bulb is rated at 52 watts (32 watts for a foot long T8). So a 4 foot long twin T5 bulb fixture uses 104 watts. Times 3= 312 watts. The rest of what I said remains the same. In fact you could use two 100 watt HID
bulbs, and still use 1/3 less electricity.
Here is an electricity cost calculator so you can calculate the monthly costs:
http://www.handymath.com/cgi-bin/ele...i?submit=Entry
All you need is to find out is how much you pay per kilowatt hour, and that will be on your electric bill. Make sure to include the surcharges. The national average is 10 cents per kilowatt hour. Then fill in the wattage used, and how long it will be on per day. Then multiply the daily cost by 30 for the monthly cost.
Calculating at the national average of 10 cents per kilowatt hour
312 watts, on for 18 hours a day= $0.56 per day
$0.56 per day x30 days= $16.80 per month
A 150 watt HID light will provide better light intensity for the same space (4 foot x 4 foot space, about 2 feet above the plants), but even calculating for two 100 watt bulbs (200 watts) you still save $6 in electricity a month.
200 watts, on for 18 hours a day= $0.36 per day
$0.36 per day x30 days= $10.80 per month.
That's a what I mean when I said "watt for watt HID lighting will give you better coverage, and better results/light intensity for fruiting plants"
P.S.
I'm not trying to change your mind or plans. I just wanted to correct my earlier statement, and provide some elaboration on calculating electrical costs while I'm at it.