newbie needs help with hypothetical system
 

hello,
if I wanted to grow in a small space a few pepper or tomato plants, what type of lighting should I consider? there is so much info on lighting, I specifically would like an inexpensive system for a few plants, which could last their whole life (meaning that I would not like to buy different lights for different stages of growth). if you could give me suggestions on lighting type including wattage I would appreciate it, thank you :)

Best grow lights
 

If space and cost are your biggest factors and for the type of plants you are looking to grow it seems that narrow spectrum fluorescents are the best all around bulbs for you to use, results have shown that these bulbs are the best all around bulbs for growing, fruiting, and flowering. I personal haven’t used them, but from my research, in your position I would try them. Has anyone else used them or would like to comment.

I'm not sure what you call a small space if you are considering tomato's and peppers as small space crops. Florescent may be your best bet in your case, but the light source needs to be real close to the foliage. The Lumen level (intensity) drops significantly the farther it's away from the plants. It is a good thing that florescent don't put out much heat. But with plants about or more than 3 feet tall, I'm not sure if one bank (two tubes) of florescent lights will give good results.

In a crop cycle from seed to fruit, HID lamps are the most economical. Electricity cost makes lamp cost seem irrelevant.

florecent lights
 

it doesn't take much light to grow and the type is not that important. there is lots of info out there saying one thing and another but i can assure you some cheap 32 watt 4ft tubes will grow your peppers just fine. Just be healthy when you prepare them and use your vaporizer.

What if u surround the plants with vertical fluorescent lights? Does that hurt them? Seems like plants that grow that high a long vertical light right next to the plant do well

Verticle
 

I do all my lights vertically. if you go to you tube and put in watercatwn6535nd my videos will come up and you can see my green room.

Hey watercatwn6535nd,
when I read that post I thought of your setup. I tried searching all your past posts for some pictures of your grow room that showed the lights, but couldn't find them. I was going to post a link to the thread with the pics. I guess they were in videos and not posted pics, that's why I couldn't find them. How's the greenhouse construction going? Anything growing in it yet?