MH and HPS lights, expensive electric bill

[Tupamaro]

I know lot of the people who have grown and have told me that there electric bill went up, of course because of the high watt of the MH and HPS lights. that's why i was thinking it be better for me to get flourescent lights, yet everyone on this board seems to say that it's worth it and you'll make your money back. and i was just wonder maybe you guys have some specail way, or special HID lights that use very less electricity. just very confused and wondering, thanks very much.

[the image reaper]

a 400-watt HPS light draws the same, or less, than a good color TV ... no big deal ... my lights, fans, etc., raise my electric bill $22/month ... :smokin:

[graph]

1000 watt HPS at 11 cents per kilowatt works out to about 20-30 bucks. I used to do the math, I'm getting lazier.

Hey, think about what you would yield at 1000 watts, and you won't give a second thought to the electric bill.

[hoodrider]

Just replace all your other lamps in the home with CFL's and turn of lights when you don't need them. Try to save as much energy as possible and a 150-250 watt light will make no change in energy use.

[Tupamaro]

alright,thanks a lot. where can i get an hps light. mostly on internet or can i get it at like home depot or somthing? also what is a good wattage range for 3 plants?

[Tupamaro]

also the HPS is for veg and MH for flowering, correct?

[MegaOctane12]

You have to keep in mind the quality of the light your buying. One type of HPS can require ALOT more electricty than an HPS bought at another store of the same wattage. You have to take into consideration the ballast, some give off more heat, some are deliberately designed to be cheaper running. Most people already know all this.

[Tupamaro]

well sorry i don't know that. is there any way to know which ones will be more cheaper running?

[MegaOctane12]

You have to read around alot on what are the most cost effective lighting systems. Expensive lights arn't always the most efficient because generally, the more powerful systems are bought by commercial growers who don't really have much concern over whether the light or ballast will be too loud or too hot, for example, because their dealing on an industrial scale, they'll have a big fuck off ventilation setup which will just 'take care of it'. Its different for a small hobby grower where these concerns are paramount. If I was you I would find the most talked about grow shop, or most commercially known grow shop and review what they have in relation to other websites and the thousands of ebay dealers. I've seen lights, well priced that offer 25% reduction on energy requirment whilst offering an increase in light output for a fraction of what just one HPS would cost at the very best quality. Check out Cannatronics, they specialise in low cost, high output, cheaper running lighting systems.

[Tupamaro]

alright, thanks a lot man. also is it the HPS or the MH that is better for flowering?

[hoodrider]

Just get an HPS they are more efficient and better for flowering. It's a better all around bulb. MH is less efficient and pretty much a waste of money. Either do HPS all the way through, or go fluros for veg then switch to HPS for flower.

[BukDatAss]

Hey I heard digital Ballasts can save money of the Bill

[stinkyattic]

Hey I heard digital Ballasts can save money of the Bill

That is one of the things they're designed for, but there have been a couple people on the board who reported that they aren't always dependable like the oldschool ballasts. I've never owned one so I don't know.

The flipfloppers are meant to save money if you have more than one lamp.

[Tupamaro]

now just wondering but do most HPS systems need ballasts?

[stinkyattic]

They all do. All HID-type lights and all flourescent lights need them. Screw-in type CFLs just have them built in small so you can't see them!

The more watts, the beefier the ballast.

[cannamail]

now just wondering but do most HPS systems need ballasts?

Yes they do:) The digital ballasts that have been mentioned above sound like they save money and give you more power from the bulb too but at the mo peeps are still reporting they give interference to radios and that for quite a distance so might lead to a bust. Theres plenty of suppliers doing standard hps though and yeah they'll give a better yield than fluoros so you'll get back what you put in there.:smokin:

[m.g.]

it's easy to figure the costs of electricity use by looking on your bill for cost/kwh (kilowatt hour). say you have a 1,000W lamp and it's on 18 hours/day. i check the bill and find it costs 10 cents/kh and mulitpily that by 18 (hours it is on) then times 30 (days/month).

iow, 0.10 X 18 = 1.8 (cost per day) and take that X 30 = $54.00/mo...the cost to run one 1kw light each month.

[crazywill]

Here's the math to find out the cost per kwh
Watts x Hours =Kwh per say 400 watt light times 18 hours = 72 kwh
On the electricty bill it will tell you the cost of kwh around .11 cent per kwh
so .11 cents times 72 kwhs = 792 times 30 days = 23.76 for a month.
I got this from wanta learn web site. hope it helps