Erinmore69
New Member
Just to clear up a misconception.... When the Mfg rates a fixture or lamp at a specific wattage, they are referring to the amount of consumption of the electricity that the unit will use. A 250 CFL and a 250W MH both have the same amount of current and voltage consumption totaling roughly 250 watt, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the output of the light in terms of flux, lumens PAR or whatever method you chose to measure the amount of light generated. It also has very little to do with the heat it generates.
If a CFL is rated at 250W, it has a rate of efficiency and will generate lumens, (Lux whatever)
Likewise the 250W MH fixture has an efficiency rate for generating the Lumens.
The heat generated is a byproduct of the production of the photons (Lumens) and is not related to the wattage rating of the fixture. It can be said that the wattage of the fixture or lamp is a good indication of how hot it will get, but it is not a reliable indicator, as compared earlier in the thread between MH and CFL.
That being said, I've been building my own LED fixtures, and still use the wattage rating of LED @ 12V like it is compared to a 120volt setup, and really, even I am mistaken in this using this as a measure of lighting ability. Its just an old habit.
I've literally installed and repaired hundreds of LED light fixures and over the course of my life as industrial electrician have probably installed several thousand MH/HPS lights..
I'm purchasing a Luxmeter shortly after I do some more research on it so I can do the metric conversions in my head and then I'll be able to get a better comparison and accuracy of the differences between MH/HPS and LED.. ( I'm old, still use imperial most of the time)
Just my 2 cents trying to be helpful..
Blessings on your House!
If a CFL is rated at 250W, it has a rate of efficiency and will generate lumens, (Lux whatever)
Likewise the 250W MH fixture has an efficiency rate for generating the Lumens.
The heat generated is a byproduct of the production of the photons (Lumens) and is not related to the wattage rating of the fixture. It can be said that the wattage of the fixture or lamp is a good indication of how hot it will get, but it is not a reliable indicator, as compared earlier in the thread between MH and CFL.
That being said, I've been building my own LED fixtures, and still use the wattage rating of LED @ 12V like it is compared to a 120volt setup, and really, even I am mistaken in this using this as a measure of lighting ability. Its just an old habit.
I've literally installed and repaired hundreds of LED light fixures and over the course of my life as industrial electrician have probably installed several thousand MH/HPS lights..
I'm purchasing a Luxmeter shortly after I do some more research on it so I can do the metric conversions in my head and then I'll be able to get a better comparison and accuracy of the differences between MH/HPS and LED.. ( I'm old, still use imperial most of the time)
Just my 2 cents trying to be helpful..
Blessings on your House!
