real things we can do to lower our electric bills.

[Americangrower]

Throw the meter by-pass switch at night when lights are on ...flip meter switch back on in morning...when lights are out...most people don't use elec at night so they will never know...Because your bill should stay the same as before you started growing..

Hypothetically of course.. I don't steal power but some do...


outside of that ...and what I do is

1. Cook/heat/hang dry laundry with wood stove/BBQ

2. No hair dryer or anything with a element...(hugh watts)heaters/oven/toaster....

3. oil/gas boiler for h2o water (only runs for water, because of w stove)

4. use Flouros in house and Veg/MOM rooms

be well/safe

 

[greenhead]

You must be running a 400w personal use closet. Growing larger in a residential setting means cutting corners on the power bill.

Or are you one those commercial hater types?

I just run a small 150 hps with a few cfls, personal use obviously, so it comes out to around 250 watts or so. A 400 would probably cost me as much to run as a 1000 costs for most other people based on the higher costs where I'm at.

As for commercial growers, it depends, some are in it for 100% profit and no love of the plant, while others are in it for both reasons. I don't particularly care for the first type. Shitty quality weed for ripoff prices is one of the reasons I started growing my own, but I guess it depends on the area in where you live and what's available.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Digital Ballasts.


My Lumateks use less, give more. Some stick in the mud types are still arguing about this, but a friend in the trade tells me about lots of people - who know "exactly what they are doing" - who are paying good money to upgrade. According to my sums they pay for themselves on the first crop.

I am not involved in the trade in any way, nor do I have any axes to grind, just repeating solid information.

Personally, I would use 600s as LEO and subsequent juries/judges seem to get excited about "the number of lights" not the wattage. back in the UK, I used to run 3x 1000W for just this reason.

Suerte Amigo.

 

[greenhead]

Digital Ballasts.

My Lumateks use less, give more.

Suerte Amigo.

I thought that I read that digital ballasts do not use any less electricity, just that they are more efficient. A 250 digital ballast will still use 250 right ?

 

[ItsGrowTime]

I thought that I read that digital ballasts do not use any less electricity, just that they are more efficient. A 250 digital ballast will still use 250 right ?

No, because the bulb uses 250 but the ballast itself also uses electricity. So your magnetic 250 is actually using 300w total. Digitals have little to no power usage themselves, just the bulb.