What products are there that can lower your electric bill?

420solider

New Member
Hi folks :byebye:

i never posted, but lurked for quite some time. I'm starting a grow at a new location and would like info on any and all products that lower your electric bill, or at least uses the electricity more efficiently.

I heard about the equalizer by western water farms, but after some research it seems like a waste of money. I also heard about a power-save 1200.

any help would be appreciated, and i look forward to contributing on the boards :grinjoint:
 
electrical items are designed to function on specific currents. limiting the supply only limits the output of the item . why buy a 1000wt then run it at half efficiency. if you want to hide your power. turn your heat and hotwater off. shower at the pool and do laundry at the matt. but if you only have a couple of lights , it shouldn't add any more than $60 during veg. the power company usually dosn't notice small increments. it's when you start running ten lights and your bill is over a $g . then they like to come out and see if you need a bigger service. at least that's what they do here. i hear in other places they help the cops bust you . fortunately for most of my neighbors, the guys that run our power company(privately owned) are shrewd business men.:Rasta:
 
I've read that each appliance gives off a unique signature including televisions, dvd players, and grow lights. There are inverters that can hide those signatures, but I don't know much about them.
 
^thanks porno,

at my prior grow, i had 9 lights and had a $550-$700 ($700 summer months) electric bill.

I'm looking to do 12 lights all 400w. its a Big home. 3brs, full basement. Converted 2 car garage into a huge living room, equipped with heated floors. It has gas heat and central air. The norm is 1000w per bedroom, so im within reasonable usage. I just would like to lower my bill further. These products that i would like more info on basically uses the electricity more efficiently. I'm not a EE, but from what i read a lot of electricity is wasted while a unit is running. i would like to curb that.


I already do my laundry else where, take 3 mins showers, etc.
 
I never noticed the type of bulbs that were in, if they aren't CFL's ill change em. Do they make dimming CFL's? From what i know, they do not.
 
First thing I would do is change out all lighting to cfl in the home. Leave house lights on all day, off all night (For night "Day" times). Do everything during the day, wash, dishwasher, etc.. This will average out day and nights to proper % of use and keep the bill normal.


Do you have any experience with larger CFL's? like 400w, 1000w? I was thinking of changing my 400w MH to 400w CFL....or am i dreaming
 
I have never seen them that big in base wattage. HPS is the most efficient of the bright lights. Most lumens per watt. It takes 30w cfl=2000 lumens (roughly). a 600watt hps puts out what, 50k-80k?

So you would need roughly 700 watts of cfl to equal the light output of a 600 watt hps.

Someone not as high explain this for me :) hehe
 
don't worry about your power consumption, worry about your friends. here in canada 90% of grow op busts are through informants. i'd imagine it's similar state side. if the power bill is really bothering you , start an electro plating business and send that bill through the roof. when i used to grow big shows , i would get all tweeked about paying $1500 power bills. after a couple of years , i realized they just weren't coming.
 
That's a great point. I wouldn't let anyone know about your grow room. It's really unwise to trust anyone with that sort of information, especially people that you consider friends. Even if they don't go to the police, they will still talk to their friends and eventually, you'll get busted. Be careful!

don't worry about your power consumption, worry about your friends. here in canada 90% of grow op busts are through informants. i'd imagine it's similar state side. if the power bill is really bothering you , start an electro plating business and send that bill through the roof. when i used to grow big shows , i would get all tweeked about paying $1500 power bills. after a couple of years , i realized they just weren't coming.
 
DING DING DING!! We have a winner!! He is absolutely right. Don't tell anyone :)

don't worry about your power consumption, worry about your friends. here in canada 90% of grow op busts are through informants. i'd imagine it's similar state side. if the power bill is really bothering you , start an electro plating business and send that bill through the roof. when i used to grow big shows , i would get all tweeked about paying $1500 power bills. after a couple of years , i realized they just weren't coming.
 
before i was asked to stop , i grew a variety of indoor plants(professionally) , from orchids to cacti . i always kept on to of the biz by supplying my plants the best. with my business we use many techniques for indoor and outdoor cultivation. the only time i ever use floresence is for cuttings or if i want to baby something delicate. sometimes i use them for sprouting garden veggies , but that's it . i've used H.I.D. lighting for 20 years.when i grew tropicals for wally world i had 40 1000wt halide and 40 1000wt sodium.the cops never came to my place of business over hydro concerns. they did finally come when my ex-wife conspired with a former disgruntled(jealous little bitch) partner of mine and signed a sworn affidaved as to my activities. it turns out that cops have a real problem with vindictive people using them in this fasion. and since i was on a first name basis with them , they told me all about it . they then told me if i did not desist in my errant behavior that charges would be pending. i love Canada. my old designs had a horizontal 1000wt every three feet ; now i use horizontal 600wt digitals every two feet. this gives you the max light density nessesary for super charging.
 
i really must admit though, i would have missed the great oppertunities that i have had in the past couple of years had i still been growing pot. it was a bit of a trap as i was slaved into it financially. now i make more cash and don't ever get paranoid. i don't even have to work all that much harder as most of the plants we cultivate sell for about five dollars a cutting. tissue culturing also really pays off.
 
don't worry about your power consumption, worry about your friends. here in canada 90% of grow op busts are through informants. i'd imagine it's similar state side. if the power bill is really bothering you , start an electro plating business and send that bill through the roof. when i used to grow big shows , i would get all tweeked about paying $1500 power bills. after a couple of years , i realized they just weren't coming.

AMEN!!
 
don't worry about your power consumption, worry about your friends. here in canada 90% of grow op busts are through informants. i'd imagine it's similar state side. if the power bill is really bothering you , start an electro plating business and send that bill through the roof. when i used to grow big shows , i would get all tweeked about paying $1500 power bills. after a couple of years , i realized they just weren't coming.


Friends definitely can bring ya down, but moreover your mouth does more damage. Here in the the states its not as pleasant as in Canada. Canabis is on the enemies of America list and will never come off...at least on the federal level.
 
When the power load is inductive - like motor's, etc a lot of power gets waisted and it is possible to add some reactance (basically a capacitor) to recover some of those losses. The power factor correction can lower costs a lot but I don't think hid lamps and inverters have much of an issue with the power factor so there most likely isn't much to be recovered. I'm not sure though.

Short of bypassing the meter (which can get you caught) the most effective thing to do is switch to LED grow lights. The growwithleds products work as advertised and there are more coming out all the time. The lights are expensive but use 1/3rd of the power versis cfls or hids
 
Can someone show me proof of a great LED grow from start to finish please? I've yet to see one or even hear of one yet so many are quick to tout how great LED's are. I had a friend trial some LED's recently.His report...they suck! He's a very accomplished grower with tons of experience which is why the company asked him to trial their lights to begin with. He said flowering growth sucks compared to HID's. I've yet to find any info that contradicts his findings.
 
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