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by ahupp 3425 days ago
LEDs are significantly more efficient than CFL. Is there something about the spectrum plants needs that requires CFL?
2 comments

Not in general. They are both around 60 lm/W. Of course there are exceptions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_efficacy#Lighting_eff...
60 lm/W is very low these days. Commercially available screw-base A21 bulbs like Cree's "100W replacement daylight" (17,000 lumens at 15W) are up over 110 lm/W. You can get that for $14 at Home Depot.

http://creebulb.com/100-watt-replacement-daylight

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-100W-Equivalent-Daylight-500...

It depends on the quality of the LED and what it's designed for. Some deliver better spectrum response for plants and for different parts of their life-cycle. Vegetative and flowering stages may require slightly different optimal amounts of energy at particular wavelengths but it's not strictly necessary. A good LED lamp designed for growing should be more than adequate, then tend to have fill-ins for the wavelengths needed.