18 hours of light starting in January and running to June 1st,then just use natural light. the Light bulb needs to be on that long,don't just think the light from the sun is enough to save on electric. . I liked to have mine see the natural sunrise so my bulbs came on about 1/2 hr after sunrise and went out 18 hrs later letting the birds have dark in the loft till sunrise. By June 1st you should be done. just loft fly till the 5th flight has dropped then slow and easy road work till June 1st. That gives you 4 weeks to push them till July 1st race.
Just what I do,others may not agree, but works for me