if I hang my light 24 inch from the plants as oppo...

your light puts out X photons per second... a higher height will spread it out more -- better coverage, more even, but less intense in any one spot. what the plant does depends on what's occuring before the switch, as it is all relative. Simply, yes... it will stretch "more" than before to reach light if you reduce intensity.... if it was very intense before with very short internodes, this may be a good thing. if the plant is already well-spaced out between nodes (aka internode), then it may not be a good thing. new equipment? so keep an eye on how the plant grows... adjust intensity, height or hours of use to affect change. *hours of use just have to fit parameters for vege or bloom phase with photoperiods. if you made a significant light upgrade, it's not hard to give too much light. if specs are accurate, look up DLI. with atmospheric CO2 and mostly uncontrolled environment, shoot for 35-42 DLI. this allows an apples to apples comparison of energy provided to plant -- regardless of hours of use per day. More is not always better... if near ceiling, more will cause problems... stunted, shitty plants... short internodes.. increased chance of microbial growth that you don't want. Good thing is it doesn't happen overnight... so just observe and react if growth nodes are extremeley tight.. that'll be first sign... if very intense you'll see plant droop or wilt for long periods of time before lights out. beyond that, you may even burn the leaves... but that's more extreme and can still have negative impacts without seeing damage or wilting.