Lighting how much do hps light raise your bill?

[fweedom]

Hey guys Im wondering how u can calculate how much a hps will run up your bill ?

Let's say two 400 watts..I have one now but I'm thinking of getting another but I have no idea how much the one I have now is raising the bill..I'm a youngster who doesn't pay bills so Idk how much I'm adding on already, if u guys can clear that up for me..

Also I know nuthin about led lights..do they save u money in ur bill? Also what are the pros of using those..

Thanks guys

 

[Guerrilla]

get a led! better spectrum! less heat! less electricity! youll thank yourself and so will your plants! what kinda budget are you working with? i save mad money on my bill every month. i think a 400w hps is about 30 to 35 ish a month. i think my led is around 8$. this is with a 20/4 light sched! i had a 360 convertible mh an hps in high school and when i look back it was so much hassle its almost funny! im very much for leds! you have to get the right one though!

 

[gradolabs]

The light uses 400w every hour. You pay for kilowatt hours... so if the light is on, that's .4kwh every hour. Your electricity bill may be as much as 20 cents per kilowatt hour. Think of it like a parking meter thats always running.

 

[fweedom]

get a led! better spectrum! less heat! less electricity! youll thank yourself and so will your plants! what kinda budget are you working with? i save mad money on my bill every month. i think a 400w hps is about 30 to 35 ish a month. i think my led is around 8$. this is with a 20/4 light sched! i had a 360 convertible mh an hps in high school and when i look back it was so much hassle its almost funny! im very much for leds! you have to get the right one though!

Well being that I was going to get a 400w hps, should u look for a 400w LED? I don't kno the difference in lumens or anything between the two kinds..and which one do u consider the right one?

 

[gradolabs]

That's up to you mate. They're all great tools, but your budget, nute line, and space requirements are different from mine. A good place to start looking is around the blackstar 240w veg/flower model. Prices vary widely and increase as you move further and further away from the manufacturer, which all but a notable few are located in China. But they're proven and reasonably priced. Led's are efficient but expensive per watt compared to hps and mh lights. This fight has been raging since one stoner scientist decided to test leds on cannabis, and it will go on until I'm way gone, so dig in. You'll see a lot of opinions, but all we can really do is help you out with data if we have any about relevant products.

 

[Mr Piggy]

Plug your light and fan into one of these. It's called a Kill A Watt meter and it'll let you know how much electricity you're using per hour. Some models even let you program your electrical rate into it so you can see how much it's costing you.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/14282370?...1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem

Just look at your bill the next time it comes, that's how you'll know the rate.

 

[Guerrilla]

grad and pig are right! alot of my buddies have been rolled up on by mr one time(po po) lol, the heat generated by hps with thermal infared blocker is a very good way to get busted! as well as a electricity spike! electric companies will alert authorites if a big enough electricity spike occurs! my buddy works for one and he told me! lol friends in high places! now when it come to leds, blackstar is a very good start because of price like grad said! now if you wanna go balls out and get a hydro grow penetrator? that would be THE SHIT! the difference is i got my bs 240 for 280$ shipped, penetrator 336x pro is 2,000$ but it is king dingaling! led is no heat, no sound, pennies a day on your elec bill and if you get a good one they can produce very good grams per watt ratio! leds are also not measured in lumens light other lights! there unit of measure is PAR! the stronger the PAR the better! try to stay clear of the 1 watt led, 3w is good but 5w is awesome! i would put my blackstar 240w uv alone up againt a 150 hps head to head any day! whats your budget? and any of us will be glad to help you!

 

[Guerrilla]

i grew this with nothing but a blackstar 240w flowering LED! 11.5 inch micro grow!

 

[fweedom]

grad and pig are right! alot of my buddies have been rolled up on by mr one time(po po) lol, the heat generated by hps with thermal infared blocker is a very good way to get busted! as well as a electricity spike! electric companies will alert authorites if a big enough electricity spike occurs! my buddy works for one and he told me! lol friends in high places! now when it come to leds, blackstar is a very good start because of price like grad said! now if you wanna go balls out and get a hydro grow penetrator? that would be THE SHIT! the difference is i got my bs 240 for 280$ shipped, penetrator 336x pro is 2,000$ but it is king dingaling! led is no heat, no sound, pennies a day on your elec bill and if you get a good one they can produce very good grams per watt ratio! leds are also not measured in lumens light other lights! there unit of measure is PAR! the stronger the PAR the better! try to stay clear of the 1 watt led, 3w is good but 5w is awesome! i would put my blackstar 240w uv alone up againt a 150 hps head to head any day! whats your budget? and any of us will be glad to help you!

Well my current setup with my 400w hps in my 3x3 tent is great for my autos which is all I've grown..i have a blue dream photoperiod freebie coming so I thought maybe for a future cross and just to experiment I'd maybe get a cheap small tent and a light just for that single photo to grow.

Do you know how much light u need for one photoperiod? Like I said I've only grown multiple autos under my hps so I have no idea what exactly one photoperiod needs..

 

[Guerrilla]

well its always the golden rule, the more light the better! but when it gets to be a smaller tent there are several options! i have seen one plant under a 75 w hps bulb! i have also seen 1 plant under a 600w hps! what size tent are you thinking? how much yeild are you looking for and also how much are you willing to spend? i have a 36" tall x 18" deep x 30" wide tent that i love. 75 bucks shipped! light weight, easy to conceal! but if your going photo with a blue dream i would imagine you want a tent with alittle more height! you can go with cfls, led or mh/hps! no if you want the mh/hps system they have a 150w or a 250w convertible system that has a built in ballast that can be air cooled all in one! those are pretty cool in my book, if you like that sort of thing! i like my cfls and my leds! now you can get a 4 bulb cfl system from stealth hydro and get the bigger U style bulbs to go in it! i have 4 105w cfls on my girls right now in my sweet skunk thread and i updated pics today! check them out, there bright as hell! leds are gonna be more expencive in the beginning, BUT, they make up for it! plus they last for like 50,000 hrs, that over 2,000 days! haha describe your setup you want and give us ur budget