Growing Op: Lighting

Lighting is the all-important factor when it comes to growing, and there are many questions that come along with it. 
HPS bulbs or CFL bulbs?
How much wattage do I need?
16/8 or 24/0 light cycle?
If your new to this I'm sure most of this doesn't make sense to you, so let me start with the first question, what type of light bulb to use.

HPS lights, or high pressure sodium lights are known to be the best for growing, and come in a variety of wattage's. A few of these, or even one 1000 watt bulb placed above your plants will provide sufficient light for vegetative growth. The con of these lights is the high cost to run and purchase them.

---

CFL lights, or compact fluorescent lamps, are extremely common lights, used in most homes and sold in any store that supplies light bulbs. They're also very cheap, both to purchase and run. The problem is the relatively low wattage they produce, and therefore should be used as extra light for the sides of plants, in addition with an HPS.
These lights can be used alone however, you will need a few of them at least.

---

Incandescent bulbs should not be used, 90% of the energy put into them produces heat instead light. 

In my opinion, depending on your set-up, I would suggest a 1000w HPS light with a few 32w CFLs for places the HPS can't reach.