How much does it cost to run a indoor grow

Easy math figure out your peak an off peak electric rate name it 'x'

Now do the math to figure out your usage. KWh which for you with just your lights is 1.2 per hour being used due to two 600 watt fixtures. Multiply 1.2 times your daily hours on then multiply times 30 or 31 now multiply times x and there's a rough idea of your Bill.

 

a 600 should cost ~$30/mo or so in 12/12

 

We're not allowed to discuss stealing electricity here, but that aside it's a VERY bad idea especially in this day and age of smart readers and even poll monitors/readers, they can tell more easily than ever before if the consumption/draw is higher within a unit. It's a great way to get caught.




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That being said, two 600w lights won't run you much at all, anyhow.



Heck the computer I'm on has a larger power supply than one of your lights (granted it's not always drawing that much energy). Most electric heaters and air conditioners are a few thousand watts.




I normally run 2 or 3 x 1,000watt HPS depending on the time of year.... two in the summer when it's hot and three in the winter when it's cold.... plus one 430watt HPS in a veg chamber, two a/c units in the summer (in the winter, a heater) and a few other odds and ends like fans and pumps.
I probably spend only $100 - $150 a month on grow-electricity on top of my normal consumption, to produce three to six pounds every three months. My own yields vary based on the strains grown, and primarily whether or not I'm breeding. When breeding a good amount of energy is diverted to seed production; the plants are just as big, and the unseeded and useable portions of bud just as potent, but with a properly seeded crop the seeds can make up nearly half the overall weight!



But anyhow, if you do the math, that $300 - $400 bucks in electricity for three months, grows much more than enough to be worth it, even during a lower-yielding breeder session.



With only two 600watt systems your consumption will be even lower, and you should still yield well over a pound or two.... putting yourself at risk by jacking power to boot, would just be greedy!




Pinching pennies during a grow isn't usually worth it.... consider the fact that you're already saving TONS of money, considering you've suddenly got better quality herb which you've grown at a cost of around $10 - $15 an ounce. By the time you've smoked three ounces you'll be saving money, and it won't even have put a dent in your crop.





The best thing you can do is learn as much as possible, and invest in quality supplies, so you can keep your plants healthy and their environment in check, and ultimately maximize the efficiency of your grow.



The more you produce per each dollar you spend, the more you're saving in the long-run. But if you cut too many corners, your "grams grown" -to- "dollars spent" ratio can start plummeting.
So I'd suggest being sure that you monitor and control your temps and air-flow, be sure you have a good idea of the medium and nutrients/ferts you'll be using and a solid grasp on how to use them.




The best thing you can do as a newer indoor grower (or when upgrading from tiny pots and CFLs, to a faster-paced system) is to find a successful, completed growers journal here on GC, posted by a member who used supplies and a grow space very similar to your own, or similar to what you plan on using... and then use his experiences, and his trial and error, to your advantage.



So if you plan on using certain tools, supplies, amendments, nutrients or other items... just plug them into the search feature here, one at a time, and see what others have accomplished using the same gear!




Good luck, and have fun!

 

Lol 600 watts+ is a serious power supply. What about using cfls compared to hps and mh. The heat out put is another factor.

 

You know that is considered a State Felony in just about all 50 states, Federal if you get caught stealing it from a US Government facility.

In nearly all big cites to include small places digital electric meters are in place. The days of analog are over. They transmit to the utility the amount of energy that is being used.

Im pretty sure that if I got a power bill with a extra 1200+ watts billed to me I would instantly call them or look for the connection then follow it then dial 3 numbers be done deal. Then if I caught someone doing that on my property you'd most likely be introduced to the nice right that Americans get thats wrapped up in the 2nd Amendment.

That being said energy is not as expensive as you would think it is depending on where you live and what times you run your lights.

Use this handy calculator to figure it out. You need to know your price per kilowatt hour in your area which is on your bill or google it.

Costs Calculator

 

Moral problems aside (although they should be enough of a reason) unless you know 100% what you're doing, messing around with your wiring is a bad idea.

My 1kw hps and fans run me about $30 a month. Like most people I wasn't very anal about unplugging computers, shutting off TV's/lights before I started growing. Being more aware of those things and getting my wife and kid to practice better habits more then compensated for the added consumption of the grow. One of the biggest money savers was not using the dishwasher as often and when we do, don't have it on it's hottest setting. Generating heat uses a ton of power be it a stove, water heater or just household heaters.

 

I'm pretty sure the power supply I run in the computer up here is 650w, and the one I have downstairs is 750w. Kind of overkill for my day to day business, but I do like the occasional video game!




Back to efficiency... they may cheaper to buy upfront and to run, but they don't produce nearly as many lumens per watt which makes them the more expensive option.


150w incandescent = 2,550 lumens or only 17 lumens per watt

150w halogen = 3000 lumens or 20 lumens per watt

150w of Fluorescents = 9,000 lumens or 60 lumens per watt

150w of Compact Fluorescents = 10,500 lumens or 70 lumens per watt

150w Metal Halide = 13,500 lumens or 90 lumens per watt

150w High Pressure Sodium = 16,000 lumens or 107 lumens per watt



That's from maybe five or so years ago... some newer HPS bulbs promise up to 130 initial lumens per watt!

HID horticultural bulbs have managed to pull off some remarkable improvements, while (especially, affordable) CFLs still offer fewer than the 70 promised above... for instance the company GE offers CFLs which only provide 63 lumens per watt.



In which case...

- For every 600watts with HPS, he'd have 78,000 lumens of lighting with a healthy spectrum.

- For every 600watts with CFLs, he'd have only 42,000 lumens give or take.



That's almost half the useable light, which means with CFLs you're paying nearly double every month for the same 'plant-energy'!


It seems cheaper to begin with, because when taking initial costs into consideration CFLs are a few dollars cheaper to purchase upfront per each watt you buy, but when taking production and yield into consideration, CFL's are the (much) more costly option.

It's why it's so easy for even newer growers to reach, and even smash and surpass the gram-per-watt goal with HIDs, while CFLs often only yield a half a gram to 3/4 a gram per watt.



If he really wanted to save money and cool his room down by reducing his lighting, I'd suggest dropping one, or both of the 600watt lights, in order to opt for two 400watt hps or smaller (if he really wanted to, he could go all the way down to 50watt HIDs), long before I'd suggest turning to CFLs.

By cutting back on the watts, but sticking with HIDs rather than a lower-lumen system, he'd save a good chunk of money while losing a smaller portion of his potential yield.

 

Makes sense. I use a 2'x2' closet I just worry about the heat but then again I haven't built a room with ventilation in mind. I'm a newb lol that's also why I'm using bag seed.

 

This should definitely be stickied....

Alot of good responses in here