SaneLawsMake4SaneSociety
Well-Known Member
Ok, there are a lot of reasons to test your lamps to see what they actually draw vs what the packaging or whatever says they draw.
But first, if you don't know how to do this, the "kill-a-watt' meters are a fine choice,a dn some, like this one actually can tell you some other important stuff about your setup.
Of course, there are other meters you can use to see how much juice your grow is gobbling up. It's dealers choice, assuming you know how to use the particular meter you are looking at. I linked to that model because it can tell you a bunch of other stuff (Like voltage, for instance. If your line voltage drops a lot when all your gear is fired up and it stays low, it indicates a potentially serious problem with your electricity and/or wiring).
But, this post is mainly to try to convince you to look into how many amps or watts your grow is using, specifically, your lights.
I bought my wattage/amperage meter for my flower room, to be sure I was not going to overload any one particular circuit. This alone is a good reason to check your lights.
After I had it for a while, I decided to check how much my CFL veg room was drawing. Based on the numbers on the lights, plus an additional 15%, I figured it would be about 375 watts.
It was drawing 1125 watts.
When I checked each individual light, some were (only) using double what the package said they were, and some were using more than 3 times the rated wattage.
When I looked into this phenomenon online, some websites say that the light is supposed to be labeled with the actual draw, and some way that they can label it with only how much wattage the lamp part itself, and not the built in ballast uses. That latter one, even if the law allows it, is complete insanity if it's true...I mean, what the fuck?!?!?
Anyway, it makes sense to know how much electricity you are really using, especially since it is one fo the biggest expenses, if not the biggest expense, in indoor growing.
So, if you are using CFLs to save electricity, or even if you are not, I suggest that you check your actual draw. You might be using a lot more than you think.
But first, if you don't know how to do this, the "kill-a-watt' meters are a fine choice,a dn some, like this one actually can tell you some other important stuff about your setup.
Of course, there are other meters you can use to see how much juice your grow is gobbling up. It's dealers choice, assuming you know how to use the particular meter you are looking at. I linked to that model because it can tell you a bunch of other stuff (Like voltage, for instance. If your line voltage drops a lot when all your gear is fired up and it stays low, it indicates a potentially serious problem with your electricity and/or wiring).
But, this post is mainly to try to convince you to look into how many amps or watts your grow is using, specifically, your lights.
I bought my wattage/amperage meter for my flower room, to be sure I was not going to overload any one particular circuit. This alone is a good reason to check your lights.
After I had it for a while, I decided to check how much my CFL veg room was drawing. Based on the numbers on the lights, plus an additional 15%, I figured it would be about 375 watts.
It was drawing 1125 watts.
When I checked each individual light, some were (only) using double what the package said they were, and some were using more than 3 times the rated wattage.
When I looked into this phenomenon online, some websites say that the light is supposed to be labeled with the actual draw, and some way that they can label it with only how much wattage the lamp part itself, and not the built in ballast uses. That latter one, even if the law allows it, is complete insanity if it's true...I mean, what the fuck?!?!?
Anyway, it makes sense to know how much electricity you are really using, especially since it is one fo the biggest expenses, if not the biggest expense, in indoor growing.
So, if you are using CFLs to save electricity, or even if you are not, I suggest that you check your actual draw. You might be using a lot more than you think.
