Hey everyone, currently i am only growing one plant under a 40 watt fluoroescent light bulb, leaned in the corner of my closet to give a little more reflection. I want to switch to my 400 watt HPS light but im just wondering how much it will bring up my energy bill approximately? would anyone know? also im wondering, do you think i can veg a plant with the 40 watt fluoro? or is it not strong enough to veg one plant? any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks a head of time!
do the math. find out how much your power company charges you for 1 KW. Lets say its 0.1$ per KW (just quessing) and you are running on 18/6 schedule. If thats the case you pay 0.7$ a day, 21$ a month. Hope that makes any sence.
Remember you also pay more than just the KWh, there's also some fees and shit. I don't know exactly cuz my roommate gets the bill but when I added a 250W HPS my bill went up about $30.
Just reason it out... it depends on the size of the house and if you have neighbors with similar houses, but you can sorta guess about how much you can use based on the size of your house. A 250W HPS system isn't going to attract any attention in any size, that's just like adding two 100W regular bulbs and a radio. A 400W also will probably not add any attention, that's like adding a mini-fridge and some other electronic in your basement. No one would notice this much.. When you start playing in the 1000W and up range is when they might start noticing. A microwave running at full power uses about a kilowatt. If you have a huge house like out in the country, then they will not notice 1000 or even 2-3000W increase, because they don't have another similar house to compare it too, and it costs a lot of electricity to keep a big house heated, lit, maybe some security lights, etc. But if I were to add that much to my tiny apartment, then they'd for certain know something was up.
Hi boys and girls. Recently this question came up and I did some research. I found some info on another similar bulletin board although the info was about 3 or so years old. No matter, just add a little bit for inflation. Here is what they said: A 400 watt hps will use approx. $15-$25 dollars a month in electricity depending on the light schedule (18/6 or 12/12) and of course where you live. I would not put 1000 watts in an apartment. That is too much and will be noticeable. 800 watts is pushing it too. I would go with a 400 watt light if I were you and grow 4-6 nice sized plants.
