how to keep Electricity down

[jawndoe]

The best way to save on electricity is to have a green house.

You can use opaque materials that still let in so much light that HIDs still can't compete.

[JamaicanHerbMan]

Jaimaican thanks i kinda thought they were almost the same thing but wasnt too sure...Iguess they also make E ballasts for 120v also but ill have to look around the local hydro shops in my city if i can save 10-15% on my bill for the ballast usage i should save around 6 bucks which is good.My total electic bill is around 100-110 a month with 2x1000hps and a family of 4 but thats with gas heat also.peace bro

Glad to help bro, the saving might be indeed be more than 10-15% as Lanietheberner stated he had a 30% saving. We actually had a 25% saving but i like to quote less so just incase i wont be accountable for giving wrong info. So look for 15% but it should be more. I've check around and i've seen the lumatek ballast listed as both e-ballast and a digital ballast. However it does have a micro processor so it is indeed a digital ballast. Happy growing:rastasmoke:

[postmandave]

Exellent thread peepo.the postman.do you know anything about the power consumtion of the sulphur plasma lamps.Ive been following the progress of these lamps for a while now and they will be becoming a more affordable prospect for us indoor growers, just wondering if what i have heard is true that they will be cheaper to rune than the current hid lamps ie hps/mh.the postman.

[JamaicanHerbMan]

Exellent thread peepo.the postman.do you know anything about the power consumtion of the sulphur plasma lamps.Ive been following the progress of these lamps for a while now and they will be becoming a more affordable prospect for us indoor growers, just wondering if what i have heard is true that they will be cheaper to rune than the current hid lamps ie hps/mh.the postman.

If you are talking about sulphur microwave lamps by narturelite which i think you are i dont think so. This is just a thought though dont hold it to heart get other opinions. The basis on how they state that you will save on power is by cutting total lights on time while producing the same photoponic output. So lets say with veggi or other stuff who dont depend on light cycle to trigger flowering that will save you. But with us no matter how much photoponic output you have you still need the 12/12 to trigger flowering. And based on the formula they use to charge you at the end of the month .....a 1000watt SP or a 1000watt HPS will cost the same. Your cost of energy X The total watts of your lighting system /1000 X The total operating hours = Total Energy Cost per month. So the only way to save power with these is if they cover more space than a regular HPS/MH. Thus using less energy to cover a given area. But until they test them for growing cannabis i cant say.
I think they will produce some fat ass bud though because of the photoponic output which they say is twice the output of a regular HPS. Hope that answered your question somewhat.:rastasmoke:

[Shovelhandle]

Good information on the HID ballasts. Thanks, folks!

Shov

[fishman3811]

If you are talking about sulphur microwave lamps by narturelite which i think you are i dont think so. This is just a thought though dont hold it to heart get other opinions. The basis on how they state that you will save on power is by cutting total lights on time while producing the same photoponic output. So lets say with veggi or other stuff who dont depend on light cycle to trigger flowering that will save you. But with us no matter how much photoponic output you have you still need the 12/12 to trigger flowering. And based on the formula they use to charge you at the end of the month .....a 1000watt SP or a 1000watt HPS will cost the same. Your cost of energy X The total watts of your lighting system /1000 X The total operating hours = Total Energy Cost per month. So the only way to save power with these is if they cover more space than a regular HPS/MH. Thus using less energy to cover a given area. But until they test them for growing cannabis i cant say.
I think they will produce some fat ass bud though because of the photoponic output which they say is twice the output of a regular HPS. Hope that answered your question somewhat.:rastasmoke:

So if they give out twice the photoponic output of a hps doesnt that mean a larger light footprint so instead of 2 hps covering 4x8 you could just use 1 plasma light???

[JamaicanHerbMan]

So if they give out twice the photoponic output of a hps doesnt that mean a larger light footprint so instead of 2 hps covering 4x8 you could just use 1 plasma light???

I have no proof to back this fishman but yes theoretically you are right, and practically you might be wrong. Reason being is HID light intensity is different from Sulphur Lamps. I'm not sure under what conditions or distance from the plant the two times HID photoponic output holds true, But i think its under the same coverage area as a HID if they are comparing. This is a whole new can of worms though,because we are not dealing with light waves as in HID and Fl. The Sulphur Lamp emits microwave without using a electrode, while HID lamps produce light by striking an electrical arc over a electrode. I'm just trying to show the contrast between both lights so there are alot of variables to take into consideration before we can accurately say it will light double the space of a HID at the same efficiency.

[cornwood gardens]

how ya doing pops iv got me grow on the way
licky is sweet the people who lived here befor
us there boys was allways leaveing all the lights
on ther mum was never in heating was on 24/7
sommer as well thay had 100w bulbs in all the
rooms there bill was comming in at around £50 aweek
iv put in 20w in each room thay lived hear 10 years
and thay wasent growing,,,,
iv got one 400w and one 125invirow and a 150 inviro
and there on 24/7 lecky is working out about £60 amonth

later pops take it esey son !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fishman3811]

I have no proof to back this fishman but yes theoretically you are right, and practically you might be wrong. Reason being is HID light intensity is different from Sulphur Lamps. I'm not sure under what conditions or distance from the plant the two times HID photoponic output holds true, But i think its under the same coverage area as a HID if they are comparing. This is a whole new can of worms though,because we are not dealing with light waves as in HID and Fl. The Sulphur Lamp emits microwave without using a electrode, while HID lamps produce light by striking an electrical arc over a electrode. I'm just trying to show the contrast between both lights so there are alot of variables to take into consideration before we can accurately say it will light double the space of a HID at the same efficiency.

Good point bro,i guess we will just have to wait awhile before we see any evidence of the effectivness of plasma lights.

[oliwog]

all i know is with 2 x 600 watt hps lights thats 1200 watts alltogether i use between 10-15 units a day inc everything else my electric bill is high about £100 a month maybe a lil bit less
they did quesion the amount i was using but i jus said i got a big ass tv an always washin an loadsa shit
they didnt seem to really care
i know if your doing a big grow in the uk say like 200-1000 plants on a commercial scale, wot they do is run the electric on a meter so they buy cards to run it but they have to rewire the meter to bypass the electric company as the meters send data to the company about how much electric they use
believe it or not most peoples large grows get busted due to the electric company knowing or finding out the meters bypassed an then reporting this to the police as its illegal.
the other way which is more common is that people end up setting fire to the grow room or meter as the rewireing wasnt done correctly, so when the fire an police show its pretty obvious wots happened