In article ,
Kalisto wrote:
Hi
just wondering, can i use a normal Halogen Lamp to help my plant grow...
I'm in Sweden and its dark most of the day in winter.. do i need a special
lamp or will a high intensity halogen do the trick.

I don't need the plant to grow super fast, just survive it through the
winter.

Halogen lights are too hot and will dry out or burn your plants.
Fluorescents are the way to go -- they emit mostly light rather
than heat, so are more economical as well. You can use pretty much
any normal sort of tube -- cool white, warm white, daylight, etc.
Here in North America, 4 foot (~120cm) fixtures and tubes are the
cheapest.

If it's just one plant, you might want to use a 15 or 20 watt compact
fluorescent in an adjustable desk lamp.

Remember the inverse square law: twice the distance from the source,
light is 1/4 as intense. Also, while there are a lot of refinements
to growing plants under artificial light, overall, quantity is more
important than quality (i.e. optimal wavelength distribution) so for
your purposes, a simple solution should be more than adequate. A
longer exposure at a lower intensity equals a shorter exposure at
greater intensity -- and unless you are trying to trigger flowering,
for most plants 24-hour light is not a problem.