Grow Light Lamps

About

Grow lamps are consumables. Unlike an LED fixture, an HPS or MH lamp degrades from the day you switch it on – output falls steadily while the wattage draw stays the same. A lamp at eighteen months is costing you the same electricity for meaningfully less light. When to replace Lamp type Replace after Single-ended HPS Roughly 12 months, or 2-3 cycles Double-ended (DE) HPS Roughly 18 months - slower degradation Metal halide Roughly 12 months CDM / CMH Up to 2 years - the longest lived A lamp that still lights is not a lamp that still works. If it has done two full cycles, replacing it is usually cheaper than the yield you lose by not replacing it. Which spectrum HPS – red-heavy, the flowering standard for decades. Still the cheapest route to serious output. Metal halide – blue-heavy, for vegetative growth. Keeps plants compact rather than stretching. See MH lamps . Dual spectrum – a compromise that runs the whole cycle on one lamp. Convenient rather than optimal. CDM / CMH – ceramic discharge, a fuller and more natural spectrum with better colour rendering and long life. See 315W CDM lamps . Check the fitting before you order Single-ended lamps use an E40 screw fitting; double-ended use a K12x30 and need a DE reflector and a 400V ballast. They are not interchangeable. CDM uses PGZ18 or E40 depending on wattage. If you are unsure, tell us your ballast and reflector and we will match it – see ballasts and reflectors . Handling Never touch the glass with bare fingers – skin oil creates a hot spot and shortens lamp life or cracks the envelope. Use a cloth or gloves, and let a lamp cool fully before removing it. Related See HPS grow lights , all grow room lights , and LED grow lights if you are considering moving away from lamps entirely. Why buy lamps from The Hydro Bros? We are a hydroponics shop in Croydon with fresh stock rather than lamps that have sat in a warehouse for two years. Tell us your ballast and we will match the lamp. Discreet UK and European delivery, and