Watts per sq ft. How many watts in your grow space

[Blu_tri]

This is the same tent, but 6 days later. You see the vigorous growth that can be achieved using auto cobs. No magic potions are needed.

 

[elcoloan]

I grow in a 2x2x4 tent with 60 Watts of a 3500K Autocob or 60 Watts of a "Fullspec" QB-style light, so 15 wpsqf. I use coco and megacrop nutes.

Can't really say about autos... but with photos I get satisfying results with those numbers while I believe I have more to learn about light distance and growing in general. I do also believe a bit more light would provide more bud. I have friends that reach 20-30 wpsqf with 3500K Autocobs and they get bigger buds from same clones I've used in my tent and with same nutes and grow methods, but quality in terms of flavors and effects are equal... so I'm fine not getting the huge buds and higher yields as long as effects and flavors are excellent and I get lots of trichomes.

 

[Dabber]

Im still at awe of the results form just 9.6 watts per sq.ft Double Grape

 

[GeorgeCloney]

I'm running 2 Mars Hydro's TS1000 in a 2x4..each drawing 150w at the plug.
So thats 300watts ÷ 8sq.ft.
Which is about 37 watts/ft.
But that means nothing.

What counts is the PAR at the canopy.

 

[Marshydro]

I'm running 2 Mars Hydro's TS1000 in a 2x4..each drawing 150w at the plug.
So thats 300watts ÷ 8sq.ft.
Which is about 37 watts/ft.
But that means nothing.

What counts is the PAR at the canopy.

It depends how close you place your lighting height, :smoking:

Recommended Hanging Distance Above Plants

Seedling: 24'' Germination: 24''-30'' Veg: 18''-24'' Flower: 12''-18''

Recommended Lighting Time

Veg: 18/6(on/off) or 20/4(on/off) Flower: 12/12(on/off)

 

[Chronic_passion]

Is this watts of light only?
I always calculate my whole system:
8 x Growmau5 V2 pucs
1 x RVK extraction fan
2 x 180w oil rads
1 x HR15 humidifier
1 x Air pump
2 x INKBIRD controllers
1 x fan
2 x IP cameras
1 x Pulse One
All running comes in at 677W at the wall in a 4 x 4 tent (16'²)

So I guess I'm running 42.3W/²ft

Hmm.... now I'm wondering what my potential grams per Watt should be...
Taking averages from previous runs and assuming 6 plants complete (which they haven't in the past), I've averaged 77g dried and cured per plant. So...
6 x 77 = 462g
677W / 462g = 1.465g/W

I'm quite happy with that. Only problem is it's rare for all 6 to complete so to be realistic I'd chop that in half. Lol

 

[BigSm0]

Yes I understand, don't doubt it. What we discuss is how many watts we waste on electricity cause we are not allowed to grow a field cause if we did grow a field, yield per plant would be less important than yield per field. See where I am going?
We all grow the plant in sub-optimal environment cause we can't grow a field on mars yet and the sun is the best light cause it's no fuzz and free. Production cost and labour intensity per weight of resin is the boring measurement. Indoor we can't compete with sun and field so what we really discuss is how to grow an optimal grow in a sub-optimal environment by cranking up all the parameters to life on mars. Let's do it, I am all in but make no mistake, we are just cranking it like potheads and yet we don't know enough. Will the medicine be better if it's dry and hot or dry and cold, maybe moist and cold or moist, cold and low light intensity?
We don't know yet cause the knowledge is lost and we must find it again, let's do that by messing with all the variables and smoke the dope!

I do agree. The one downside of outdoors is the changes in weather. Not many places in the world that gives us optimal conditions 365 days a year. In the meantime we are stuck trying to get as close as possible

As mentioned in another post it’s basically a recipe. No right or wrong way to make cornbread. I used to love to tinker and the science behind it all until I realized the more I read and tried to change the more I went backwards. If anyone needs a good recipe I got one.
One AutoCob per plant. Breathable pot, soil and add 1/2 the recommended amount of greenleaf nutrients. Now I’m not saying someone can’t put together a better recipe or that this is even the best recipe but I am saying it can grow the best. That’s undisputed. There are way to many variables to nail down the perfect grow setup, schedule, equipment. We can surly try and come as close to perfect as we can.
As far as the dli debate it can also get to technical. There isn’t a predetermined right or wrong but over the years and thousands of grows that followed these footsteps I’d say for a fact it’s working and doing better than I ever hoped for. The numbers don’t lie and if you believe the amount of light the plant gets per day is valuable you can absolute run less wattage on autos being that they require longer hours compared to photos. Less wattage for more hours or more wattage for less hours is the real purpose of this. In lighting most are convinced autos and photos have the same needs and that’s where these light fits in. I feel strongly that the AutoCob being smaller in overall size has many benefits other lights don’t. I also know for a fact that less wattage on all types of canna has massive benefits. Taking the two and fine tuning it to your space was at one time a one of a kind idea. If a particular grower likes more light then another you can adjust it yourself vs being limited by the lights design. Also as far as ppfd numbers go the light can be raised or lowered individually giving you the ability to adjust the power over each plant individually.

 

[Disburped]

I do agree. The one downside of outdoors is the changes in weather. Not many places in the world that gives us optimal conditions 365 days a year. In the meantime we are stuck trying to get as close as possible

View attachment 1158073

As mentioned in another post it’s basically a recipe. No right or wrong way to make cornbread. I used to love to tinker and the science behind it all until I realized the more I read and tried to change the more I went backwards. If anyone needs a good recipe I got one.
One AutoCob per plant. Breathable pot, soil and add 1/2 the recommended amount of greenleaf nutrients. Now I’m not saying someone can’t put together a better recipe or that this is even the best recipe but I am saying it can grow the best. That’s undisputed. There are way to many variables to nail down the perfect grow setup, schedule, equipment. We can surly try and come as close to perfect as we can.
As far as the dli debate it can also get to technical. There isn’t a predetermined right or wrong but over the years and thousands of grows that followed these footsteps I’d say for a fact it’s working and doing better than I ever hoped for. The numbers don’t lie and if you believe the amount of light the plant gets per day is valuable you can absolute run less wattage on autos being that they require longer hours compared to photos. Less wattage for more hours or more wattage for less hours is the real purpose of this. In lighting most are convinced autos and photos have the same needs and that’s where these light fits in. I feel strongly that the AutoCob being smaller in overall size has many benefits other lights don’t. I also know for a fact that less wattage on all types of canna has massive benefits. Taking the two and fine tuning it to your space was at one time a one of a kind idea. If a particular grower likes more light then another you can adjust it yourself vs being limited by the lights design. Also as far as ppfd numbers go the light can be raised or lowered individually giving you the ability to adjust the power over each plant individually.

That sunlight chart is off the rails or rather it is a snapshot somewhere in space and time cause it changes during the day and depends on place and month and that is just during our lifetime anyway. It will change again when the giant climate change comes or a vulcano erupts or whatever, it's just a useless chart for growing weed indoor. Autocob is brilliant though, simple, customizable and a spectrum that's nice to the eye. The optimal condition on earth 365 days a year is a greenhouse and that's how big pharma do it, sunlight combined with lights and total control of all the variables. Autocobs is a great light for growin indoor but we just can't go around the light in the sky when we talk about light. When the law change we will be growin fields of it and trade with it like a regular crop and tell the grandchildren about it, they will think it must have been weird to not put the autocob by the window. Let's not forget how weird all of this actually is
Btw that whole simple concept you have with lights and simple pot with half the dose of nutes, thumbs up to it man!

 

[Blu_tri]

That sunlight chart is off the rails or rather it is a snapshot somewhere in space and time cause it changes during the day and depends on place and month and that is just during our lifetime anyway. It will change again when the giant climate change comes or a vulcano erupts or whatever, it's just a useless chart for growing weed indoor. Autocob is brilliant though, simple, customizable and a spectrum that's nice to the eye. The optimal condition on earth 365 days a year is a greenhouse and that's how big pharma do it, sunlight combined with lights and total control of all the variables. Autocobs is a great light for growin indoor but we just can't go around the light in the sky when we talk about light. When the law change we will be growin fields of it and trade with it like a regular crop and tell the grandchildren about it, they will think it must have been weird to not put the autocob by the window. Let's not forget how weird all of this actually is
Btw that whole simple concept you have with lights and simple pot with half the dose of nutes, thumbs up to it man!

That’s just it. Plants don’t need optimum conditions. Rather it lights, nutrition (feed/Nutes/ organics) even weather or soil, It simply doesn’t matter. Plants have been around for millions of years. They grow on every continent. Adaptability is more than just a word to plants. The real question is, can your grow survive the conditions that you are providing? The answer for most of us is yes... they can. But..... and that’s a big but..... this doesn’t mean that these conditions are optimum. They simply work. Optimum conditions are characterized by vigorous growth, large well structured bud, and a beautiful terpene profile that your brain will never forget. Oh yeah, very clean smoke. Is your grow meeting this criteria? Probably not. And the reason your grow isn’t up to “par” is because most growers are only concerned with yield... myself included. When you follow the same protocol as everyone else with crappy bud, you get the same crappy bud as they do. ... so I’ll start with some real help for those who are truly interested in producing the type of bud that we all dreams of. The growing season of most plants is less than 2 months. That’s the approximately the middle of April to the middle of May. Temps will be mid 60’s - low 90’s. During this time most plants have vegged and produced fruit. Greens, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers... well you get it. Cannabis is no different. Neither is The auto flowers. Before you say.... my photos take 6+ months, think about it. Why do you think cloning works so well. ?? The time a plant spends dormant when temps rise close to 95f, until temps begin to fall, do not count for grow time. And is not needed. If you cannot provide ultimate conditions within this small window, your yields will suffer dramatically. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Photo or auto! If you use Cob or QB, or grow in soil or hydro. But who cares, I’m growing bud, and I’m smoking. It’s this attitude that keep us from seeing the true capabilities or our plants. All I can say is keep doing what you are doing. Pic this time 5 days instead of 7. (I couldn’t wait. ) And with problems. You can see what autos are capable of in a very short amount of time. I keep telling my ole lady to pass the blunt. She keeps telling me that there isn’t one burning.

 

[GeorgeCloney]

Kudos BluTri...
I grow for CBD...and like most med growers, I aim for quality first.
You're perfectly right about the variables.
Including pheno's ...some are reading this asking what the hell a pheno is.
And this is a sad reality.
We have all kinds of funky marketing names for cannabis.
When truth be told, there are a handful of landrace sativas and Indicas.
99% of everything else is a hybrid of one kind or another.
Now, mix that with Ruderalis which is my badass plant to grow.
It is the heart of ALL autos at the root level( no pun intended).
Again , most growers don't have a clue about what a Rudi is...let alone the pheno's of Ruderalis...
This is what I appeciate about this site.
Many are wood butchers..
Some are actual craftsmen in the art and science of growing POT.
Good writing Sir, as I hand you the pen back.