hi folks, i have a walk in closet grow "room" at 3'X3'x7'. i have a 400 watt HPS, a 6" CAP fan cooling the bulb, two water pumps, a small air pump, two AC computer fans, a dayton 256 blower and one of those large fluoro bulbs sold at hydro stores. when temps get high i have another 6" ECO plus fan and a 4" eco plus fan blowing air out and helping to pull air in respectively. this doesn't seem like a lot of juice to me, but my bill has gone up over 100 dollars extra a month. honestly, too much for me afford right now but i'm a medical patient and without pot, i can't eat.

i'm running the big light at night because i assume that's the way to get the cheapest electricity but i was wondering if anyone had any tips for setting up the most energy efficient grow room. would investing in a digital ballast save a lot of electricity? are computer fans secret energy hogs? any tips appreciated. thanks.

gP

Hey Greenpunter,The digital do cost less to run and alot less heat.Queston is the power for your closet all coming from the same rooms wall outlets?Why I ask is that on most house elec circuit each room has about 5 outlets on one circuit breaker.You may be drawing the max on that circuit and it puts the meter a spining faster.The power companys sell power by the killowatts.Add up all the watts of all the stuff that's running and check it to the bill.If you own your place I would run a 220 line in there and break it into four 120 outlets.Less of a power draw when the light come on.Let me know if that helps. Peace

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Anything I may say or do is stickly for entertainment only.This is all make believe and is not To believe by me or anyonehttp:\\www.greenpassion.org/f73/over-grow-government-ogg-2009-what-8722/

$100.00 extra for what you listed seems a lot.
Depends where you are and what the base usage rate is
for your area.
All you listed plus an AC only jumped mine by $40.
>edit<
By any chance is
a) the meter a disk or clock type
b) this the first use of a 400w plus at this location
c) an apartment type complex or building

If yes for any 2 or more above, there is a good chance
the meter is now out of calibration. Only way to know
for sure is disconnect everything and watch the power bill stay high.
Usually takes months for them to show up to check it.
Sooo...

Dirty rotten punks smashed my meter!
Bring new one please.

Sweet post.

+ rep.

:-)

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The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it. -- H.L. Mencken

Very likely, you have already done these things, but just in case...

have you replaced all your incandescent bulbs with cfls?
do you leave your computer, television, or lights on when turned on when you're not using them?

I had been using incandescents throughout my home and leaving on TV and computer at times when they weren't needed. When I set up my grow space, I replaced all incandescents and started turning off tv, computer, etc. when not in use. My light bill is now less than it was before I started growing. (400 usually, but sometimes 800 watts of lights in growspace. 3 regular size box fans during warm months, or one oscillating fan plus a space heater plugged into a thermostat in cold months.)

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The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it. -- H.L. Mencken

thanks guys; tons of great info. i haven't replaced all of my incandescent bulbs but i usually only have one light on in my house because it's only got two tiny rooms a bathroom and a kitchen. i do leave my computer on all the time but i don't watch TV that much and i don't leave any chargers for my phone or anything else electronic, plugged in when not in use.

i did add up all the watts when i started and if i remember correctly, i figured on less than $50 a month in additional expense and that was for everything running all the time. i'm a legal gardener, would i be asking for trouble if i told the electric company that i thought my meter was off and i needed it replaced? i wouldn't say why but anyone coming in my house wouldn't have to think hard to figure out something is growing here. it's a tiny place with no storage. stuff is everywhere. i would do my best to hide things away, but i couldn't guarantee stealth. thanks.

david

Depending on your KWH per hr cost, times the added meter reading after 24 hr (example 1000 KWH 24 hr adds say 22 KWH = 1022 = 22 x 6 cents = $1.32 a day.

Cost between 6 cents - 7.7 cent for me, gets to be more if you reach a given amount, after 400 KWH it goes to 6.5 cents after 700 goes to 7.7 cents.

So all you have to do is figure your KWH price $ per KWH

My bill went from $37. a month to $50 if that helps.

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Most people haven't heard of a gray box. We picked one up at Lowe's for about $40 and love it.

It is simple you set a timer in the box and your water heater is only on when you need it. Like if everyone is gone during the day (school, work) the heater can be off.

This made a big difference in our electric bill.

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What I freely have been given let me freely share

An electric water heater?? Cool. Never seen one before.
Everything is natural gas here.

i just wanted to mention that you might want to redesign your ventilation
as it seems like you have an awful lot of fans running. ...that won't save
any real money but it will make things run more efficiently, ...post up some
pics so the experts can see what they're talking about.

another thing you need to consider is that, while your electric bill went up,
your pot bill went down. ...unless you didn't spend money on weed before
you started growing your own that is.

also, if you are only growing for your own needs, you might want to consider
a semi-sealed cabinet instead of a closet, it's much easier to manage a small
environment rather than a big one. (and in every way, controlling pests, temps
and stealth is made easier when in a smaller space)

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peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

One other question: When the big light is out, and there is no heat being produced, do you still have the fans and exhaust running? If so, hook them up to your timer on a power bar and just leave maybe one fan, not connected to the timer, a small one, to add some air movement to the flowering plants. This alone should reduce your power usage. You will still need passive air intake as plants always have to breath, but you do not need the exhaust on in the dark.

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Life,
j-angel

aka GP purrie kittie attack cat!


My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

I just wanted to add that no matter what circuit you are using or the number of devices plugged into any 1 circuit makes NO difference on what the montly power bill is going to be. To clarify, power is power. If you have 15 devices on 1 circuit, or 15 devices on 15 circuits, it doesn't matter, except for the total numberof devices you are using in your home. All of those devices are drawing energy or using power. I hope this sheds some light on the subject. Feel free to ask as I am a electrician who is more than happy to answer any electrical needs.

Hey toke, can you be more specific about your 220 set up. I am not quite sure how this works? How can there be less of a power draw? As an example, a 400W light will use 400W of power regardless of voltage. Hence the POWER rating of the light bulb.

thanks man, and you should do some tutorials for the electrically challenged!

lol

remote ballasting a security light, or a highboy fixture, ...or maybe how to
put together the components to make your own T5 HO light perhaps.

that would be awesome man! ...it would help a lot of people! ...many that
need it most, just can't afford to go buy over-priced fixtures and DIY's are
a huge help for those of us on a very tight budget.

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

I am always available for electrical questions. Electricity isn't something to be taken lightly, and therefore it is always good to get information from qualified people. Fires and shock hazards are never a good thing. Especially when we start mixing hydro and electricity! Yikes. If installed properly, safety will never be an issue.

okay so today i pulled an electric bill out of my mail box. it's a disconnection if not paid by notice. similar to the one i got on the 20th of june and paid, on the 22nd in the amount of $120. now, according to my electric company, i have run up another $175 and it need to be paid in the next week. i've scanned the bill for the 120 paid and this bill includes that.

i was pissed so i called and talked to the lady there and she tells me that i went from an average of $40 a month to $150 now. the best part is that every month, i'm using more electricity. how this is possible, i don't know since i've killed everything and shut down my cloning operation, removed 2 water pumps, turned off one fan for half the day, and turned off my computer fans. outside the room, i've turned off my main tv at the plug so it can't suck power and i've stopped watching tv pretty much all together. my tv used to run nearly 24/7 because i'm home sick and can't move far from the couch. wtf?

she asked me if i wanted a meter inspection and i said yes because she assured me they wouldn't be coming in my house even though the meter is inside. i'm a legal grower so i'm wondering how far i should push on this issue. i told them i got a fish tank but there really should be no reason for me to lie; i'm legal. i don't know what the next step will be when the tell me there's nothing wrong with my meter but i really feel like something is wrong. i started a garden because i couldn't afford my meds, now i'm essentially paying for meds twice. once each month to get them and then the equal amount in electricity trying to grow some. i just don't understand how a 400 watt light, a 256 dayton fan, and a 6" CAP fan running for 12 hours a day and a 150 watt fluoro bulb for 18 hours with one 6" oscillating desk fan and one 4" computer fan running 24/7 can draw so much electricity. i've added up my watts and came up with $50 extra a month not $100.

f**k edison. that a-hole electricuted an elephant just to see what would happen. it's a disgusting video clip especially since someone with his brain power should have been able to figure out electricity kills regardless of size. sorry for the vent...

gP

Actually with 220(which now is more commonly refered to as 230 hence 2 hot legs of 115volts)The Amperage draw is much less. Appliance Watts Divided by the voltage will reveal the amperage draw figure for that appliance. More source voltage means LESS amperage drawn. 400 watt lamp will draw more amperage through a 115 volt circuit than with that of a 230 Volt circuit. 400 watts is 400 watts true. That is the output of the appliance only. What about the supply current to the Ballast itself????? Thats the place that increases or decreases your Kw usage based upon your circuit voltage.
Peace,
Med

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Well, I used a 600Watt HPS (Digi Ballast) with a 400 CFM fan, and a humidifier durning veg- all this running for 18 hours a day raised my bill $30 a month?

JointGirl

If I remember my electrical schooling correctly, voltage and current are inversely proportional. Therefore, if voltage is increased current is decreased. Power/wattage remains the same. Power usage, ie., KWH remains the same. The only reason for using a higher voltage/lower current, is to soften the current surge during something like a motor start-up. Upon starting any electrical devise, there is a current spike which is sometimes harmful to motors or other high start-up current requiring devises, such as special lighting. After an initial spike, the current drops to more near the expected level.

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Charlie

Try to hold on till they get it together and replace your meter.
Its toast.
This is almost word for word what happened at one of my locations.
Bill went from $80ish to over $300 and stayed there even when everything
was disconnected. Took em 4 months but ended up with a massive
credit on the final bill.