My electricity rates

[automan2]

My house stays at 67-69* year round, I have a massive heat intolerance as it triggers some of my autism stuff and causes me to get majorly irritable lol. Great in the winter cause I can just set the heat to 65, sucks in the summer.

Can I send my HOT GF to your place this this summer? LOL

 

[WildBill]

Yeah we're supposed to get the winds pretty bad today. It's been super windy all year so far, this year. On top of that, in L.A. County where I am, we're going to hit 92 degrees today and most of the week. And I need to print which can be a real bear due to evaporation in the heat. May have to run the swamp cooler.

Like I mentioned earlier in the thread, I haven't been down to SD in a couple years but I always recall it not being as bad as far as heat as L.A.

I'd say that's a fair statement.

 

[Delps8]

I'd say that's a fair statement.

San Diego vs LA

 

[SHRED]

Last I checked Los Angeles county was 24.8 cents per kWh, and just running a 320w LED bar array full steam in my 4x2 is pretty expensive compared to some. About $45 per month. That's just running the one tent since we moved. Then, you have to factor in the summer rates when the grid is overloaded due to everyone running AC in the summer. Then you have to consider the fact of running the AC in the house/wherever if you need to. I can't recall SD temps since I haven't visited in the summer for a long time. So that may not be as much of a factor. LA county doesn't have on/off peak rates unless you call and request it and LADWP will evaluate your usage. Which can be beneficial if you work from home. And we do both work from home so we may need to do that. Not sure if SD has that option.

Anyway, I try to cut costs where I can. All of my LED arrays are dimmable, which isn't unusual. But I do try to run the lights a little closer after the stretch so I don't have to run at full tilt. Also, my drivers are always outside the tent to cut back on heat in the tent = less need to keep the tent cool. Bonus points = you can move the driver back inside the tent in the cooler months for more warmth. Finally, I run the lights from 6PM to 12PM and off during the warmest part of the day year round. Which doesn't affect cost directly, but less need for AC/ heat. YMMV, but I feel your pain.

What LED light bar do you have?
I like the idea of moving the drivers outside the tent to reduce heat in the summer.

 

[DinoPinot]

I agree with the expense increase....I run 12/12 on everything and realized my elec usage and cost went down several % more than the yeild....no brainer unless you're growing for trophys....

Just changed my lighting times as a result of reading this! Thanks

 

[GreenBean]

What LED light bar do you have?
I like the idea of moving the drivers outside the tent to reduce heat in the summer.

I use Atreum LED bar arrays for both of my setups. And I'm very happy with them. My last run yielded me 2.58 grams per watt. Atreum used to only sell DIY kits that you would assemble. Sort of like the ChilLed DIY kits. "Assemble" is sort of an overstatement because even with limited electrical knowledge, it literally takes about 15 minutes to assemble.

As of this year, they are have begun selling only plug and play lights. So no assembly by the customer options. And those are rolling out slowly.

Only issue with those in your setup is that the bars are about 46" in length so they wouldn't fit in a 3x3. If you ever consider a 2x4 or 4x4 I highly recommend them though. The even light distribution is amazing.

Right now they only have the 2x4 new plug and play lights available and are getting ready to add the 4x4 on up versions soon: https://atreumlighting.com/collections/featured-lighting/products/hydra-3200

They do make a smaller QB light with a detachable driver, but even running 2 of them in a 3x3 really wouldn't be enough. Those have been very popular and are currently sold out: https://atreumlighting.com/products/hydra-1000-pro

For your 3x3 I might recommend ChilLed though. If I recall they have shorter length bar option. I would have gone ChilLed but I like the longer bars that Atreum offers. Photontek too. But I couldn't afford them at the time and I've been more than happy with Atreum.

 

[jdm61]

Criminy! I pay like 13.8 cents per KwH and that is close to the national average. That means that if I do 18/6 with my 288 QB with the 120w driver, it works out to around $9 per month. So that's like $25 worth of juice for my typical grow of 11-12 weeks. I am looking at moving to Georgia. Georgia power will give me a deal that says like 5 cents per KwH off peak. Peak is M-F 2 PM to 7 PM June though September. 20 cents per KwH for those peak times.

 

[GreenBean]

San Diego vs LA

Doesn't seem that much different at a glance. But LA county is massive. I wish our average highs were that low where we are. In the SFV we're bumping triple digits fairly often during summer.

 

[WildBill]

Doesn't seem that much different at a glance. But LA county is massive. I wish our average highs were that low where we are. In the SFV we're bumping triple digits fairly often during summer.

Part of it is all that concrete! Most of it is just the lay of the land. Native Americans called the area land of smoke or something on that line.

 

[Delps8]

Doesn't seem that much different at a glance. But LA county is massive. I wish our average highs were that low where we are. In the SFV we're bumping triple digits fairly often during summer.

"LA is massive" - agreed. It was an eye opener for me when I moved here (I was in NorCal before). Something like 100 cities within the county lines. Incredible.
Triple digits is tough to deal with and not much humidity either. "more equipment" can solve the problem but then you get back to 34¢ a kilowatt.
Is your grow in a garage or indoors? My tent's in an unheated garage. I'm in north Orange County so it's not as mild as the beach cities and it's not as hot as places like Anaheim, Chico, or the IE.