I know there are some varying opinions about when to turn light on full output. It is practically endless question. Some have more than one lamp and switch them when going to bloom. Some have even adjustable ballasts (HPS) or driver (LED).
So let’s do a poll…
And of course share your opinions!
0 voters
Neither. I use the potentiometer when the plants are wee babies. And when they get about 2 or 3 nodes itll go to max.
Yeah, I have lights on full power from pretty early on in veg. I don’t have a device, so I probably can’t optimize the timing as well as you. That’s pretty cool.
I’ve heard of reducing light intensity during last two weeks of flower to increase oil production and preserve terpenes. Makes sense that it emulates the natural change of seasons, from bright summer to the lower light intensity of autumn. But I have no experience with this, nor do I know anyone who’s tried it. But I do like extended darkness before harvest, like 36-72 hours of darkness.
So you technically reduce your Daily Light Integral (DLI) when you flower?
exact same thing here.
my veg light dims but my flowering lights do not! Full power to the warp drive Scotty! 
I turn em up the last few weeks of veg (right now running at 75%) and then about 2 weeks before flower I turn em up to 100%. Then the last couple weeks of flowering I’ll turn down to 75% to encourage ripening and also to save some $$
I have dimmable ballasts which I have never dimmed.(HPS&MH)
I run them full blast only.
I run 3 315 watt ceramic metal halide’s in veg and 4 315 watt cmh’ s plus 1 600 watt hps in bloom. I also introduce 30 minutes of far red 630-650 led during the last 30 minutes of the light cycle each day. It allows the plants to essentially fall sleep faster. A Dutch grow trick. At any rate my cmh ballasts are not dimmable. So straight to ramming speed!
I intensify lighting when the sprouts are very young. At first trying not to burn them, and moving it closer to try to minimize stretch.
I pop them into flower at 600W.
my LED is dimmable from like 260-700 watts or so so i’m slowly ramping up during the stretch. i’m on day 20 and at 550w. looks like i’m getting bleaching tho so idk if i can go higher but it might also be from spraying method1 with the lights on again. i left em off for an hour after but idk
I just go full power from when the clone or seedling goes into the flower tent.
Lit more then a week after flip. Just when plants are about to begin stretching. I feel like waiting gets the plant to position itself to get maximum amount of light.
I Start on 125w cfl First 2 weeks. Then 250w for another week and then to the main flowering tent Under the max led Light.