Cool or warm and color temperature

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Plantcrazii Dallas, TX(Zone 8a) Jan 21, 2005

I was not sure where to post this, but I have a question understanding the difference between cool and warm florescent lighting. I usually buy the grow light bulbs for my 4' florescent fixtures, but I am not able to afford those right now. So I went to Walmart and found the different kind of bulbs. But they did not say, cool or warm, but instead told me the color temperature. How do I know what bulbs to buy? I do not know anything about color temperature. I already have the fixtures and am ready to put them up but I don't know which bulbs are cool and which ones are warm. I know that I need one of each in the fixtures but not sure what to buy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

JesseK

Post #1249513
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Prism Saint Peters, MO(Zone 6a) Jan 21, 2005

JesseK,
If you have a Home Depot or Lowe's near you, they have a chart above their bulbs that tell you which are which. I have stood in front of the signs for hours (not really, just seemed like it), trying to figure out which bulbs to buy.
Many people on Dave's use one of each in their fixtures. Soft white are the warm ones. I just use the cool ones, because I am starting seeds. Philips Daylight Deluxe & Cool White Plus are cool. I believe what you are looking for in the bulbs is higher lumens & maybe higher temperature. Someone can correct me, if that isn't right.
Daylight Deluxe has 2325 lumens & 6500k color temperature.
Cool White Plus has 3200 lumens & 4100 color temperature.
I got a box of 10 of Cool White Plus at Home Depot for $20. There are lots of choices & it gets very confusing sometimes.
I used these last year and they worked very well for seedlings. I don't use the warm ones very often so I'm not much help with them.
Sometimes the label says for warm glow in the kitchen or something to that effect, that might help you figure it out.
Also, the warm ones are on the pinkish side, but the cool ones are blueish.
Hope this has been some help to you.
Prism

Post #1250059
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Plantcrazii Dallas, TX(Zone 8a) Jan 22, 2005

Prism, thank you so much. And yes, you have helped me greatly. The infomation that you have given me is exactly what I needed. I now understand which ones that I need to buy. I will hopefully go get them tomorrow.

JesseK

Post #1251040
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