Nope, you’re thinking in voltage. With fluorescent tubes, you must think in current. Anything you plug into mains power must be a constant-voltage device.

How do you match a lightbulb with a ballast?


Quote from Youtube video: You should always use the correct ballast with the correct. Light ballasts are specifically designed for each water to fluorescent or HID light bulb.

How many watts does a fluorescent ballast use?





Standard ballasts consist of a core and coil assembly. On a typical fixture with two 4 foot 40 watt T-12 fluorescent lamps, the ballast consumes about 13 to 16 watts of electricity. Thus the total consumption of the two lamps plus the ballast is about 93 to 96 watts.

Can I use a T8 ballast with T5 bulbs?

A T8 ballast is generally not compatible with a T5 linear fluorescent lamp. These are ratings used to describe the shape and size of fluorescent light bulbs. The pin sockets will only line up and complete a circuit in a correctly sized ballast. The exact design of each ballast differs across manufacturers.

Can I use T5 HO bulbs in a T5 fixture?

NO YOU CAN NOT! A t5 bulb is 28w, a t5ho bulb is 54w. Just because it can light the bulb doesn’t mean its wise to do, or even safe to do. What will happen is this: Extra heat and ballast lifespan greatly reduced.

Can I use a different ballast?

When considering a ballast for your lamp, make sure they have corresponding ANSI (American National Standards Institute) codes. Matching ANSI codes guarantees that the ballast you chose can be used with your lamp. However, ballasts are often compatible with more than one lamp, and vice versa.

How do I know if a ballast is compatible?





You can determine whether you have a compatible fixture in seconds. Simply turn the light on, then take a photo of the fixture using your smartphone or digital camera. If there are no dark bands on the resulting image, you have an electronic ballast that will work with direct drop-in LED tubes.

How does ballast factor affect wattage?

In general, the lower the ballast factor, the less wattage your system will draw. In the automotive world, the ballast factor might be similar to comparing the size of three different four-cylinder engines. In general, a small engine will give you the most fuel efficiency and the least power.

Do ballasts draw power?

Newer electronic ballasts don’t draw energy unless a load is present.

Which bulb consumes less power?

LEDs use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

How many watts is a T5 HO bulb?



T5 lamps are available for standard output and high output. The wattages for standard T5 lamps are 14, 21, 28, and 35 watts. The high-output T5 (T5 HO) lamps are available in 24, 39, 54, and 80 watts (49-watt T5 HO lamps are also available from GE Lighting).

What does T5 HO mean?

high output

“HO” stands for high output. T5 HO lamps deliver more light than standard T5 lamps and are available in higher wattages. HO lamps have the same diameter and length as standard T5 lamps.

Can you flower with a T5?



Yes, you can use a T5 fluorescent light to flower a pot plant. The benefits of using this type of lighting is the lack of heat that they generate. Because they’re not super-warm, you can place your plant tops within just a few inches of the light.

How close should T5 lights be to seedlings?

When it comes to hanging your T5 grow lights, you’ll want to hang them around 12 to 18 inches above your plants. Unlike HIDs that you’d need to hang 18 to 20 inches above plants, and LEDs that need 20 to 24 inches of space above plants, T5s don’t have the same intensity as other lights.

Are T5 lights full spectrum?

Barrina T5 Grow Lights, Full Spectrum, 2ft 80W (8 x 10W, 500W Equivalent), LED Grow Light Bulbs, Plant Lights for Indoor Plants, Greenhouse, Plug and Play, 8-Pack.

Do T5 lights use a lot of electricity?

Energy. A four-lamp bay using high output T5 lamps uses 220 watts of power including the power used for the ballast; a six-lamp T5 bay uses approximately 342 watts of electricity. Four-lamp T5 bays use about 6,840 kilowatts (kW) of electricity per hour, with six lamp bays consuming about 10,260 kW per hour.

Is LED more efficient than T5?



LEDs also offer increased light efficiency when dimmed as opposed to T5 fixtures and usually produce more lumens per watt in general, which decreases energy usage and thus, energy costs. A lower wattage of LED luminaire will usually be just as efficient, sometimes more, as a higher wattage T5 lamp.

Is T5 better than LED?

The main advantage of LED over T5 lights is that it is more efficient, which will save cost (bulbs & power) in the long run. Designs are often more sleek. Picking a commercial LED light for a planted aquarium that works well can be tricky.

How much does a 1000 watt LED grow light cost to run?

The Answer. A 1000 watt Led grow light, running 18 hours a day over a 30-day period at a cost of 14.21 cents per kWh will set you back $76,24. Running grow lights can be expensive.

What yields more HPS or LEDs?

LEDs are far more efficient than HID lighting. Pound-for-pound — or rather kilowatt-for-kilowatt — they produce more light than HPS fixtures. The diodes of an LED fixture are inherently superior at converting electricity into light.

Do LED grow lights work as good as HPS?



LED grow lights are more energy efficient. They produce the same amount of light as HPS lights but consume substantially less energy. LED grow lights do not produce as much heat as HPS lights, avoiding the need for additional ventilation or airflow systems.