Question
I recently bought a Sylvania SuperSaver (Soft White) energy efficent CFL that uses 40 watts and has an light output of 2600 lumens. I know you mainly recommend cool white and daylight bulbs , but I could only find them in 24 watt and a light output of 1500 lumens and I wanted to get the brightest CFL that I could find, so did I make a mistake or will the increase of light intesity of the 40 watts be as benificial or not ? Also, does it matter if the bulb is placed base up or base down? Thanks!

Answer
Hi Tim,

You did good!  Soft white is the same as cool white.  As long as the actual output is 40 watts or more, the CFL is fine.  This will allow you to keep the light source 8-12 inches above the plant to avoid overheating the plant. Otherwise, with lower wattage CFL, you'll need to move the lights closer and risk burning the plants.  As for bulb angle, you'll get better light footprint if the bulb is on the side (base to the side) rather than either base up or base down.

Good growing!
Jacob Farin