New Beginnings for Massachussetts and I

Axle4worc

Axle4worc

Well-Known Member
JustCallmeMom said:
Show me the lumens.
Click to expand...
More important than lumens is the ppfd. Photosynthetic Photon flux density. It is the amount of light that is usable by the plant. 700 is plenty for healthy plants.

JustCallmeMom said:
how do you get them set up electrically on 2 panels to hang? Do you have to construct your own hanging panel from ground up?
Click to expand...
I made two fixtures with 4 light engines and one driver on each.
20170720_150328.jpg

You would need for 2 banks.

8 chips
8 passive heat sinks 120-133 pin
8 chip holders.
4 drop ceiling rails.
2 hlg 185h-48a drivers
Thermal paste or pads.
Angelina adapters and reflectors if you want them.
I have most of the wires, solder, Wago connectors and zip ties you would need. I have built three of them so would have no trouble making a fourth and fifth.

It cost me around $500 in parts. Saved me over $500 in electricity since I built them.
 
JustCallmeMom

JustCallmeMom

Well-Known Member
Speaking of electricity....I did some math last night.

National grid charges:
0.2326 cents per kWh for “delivery”. (total of distribution, transition, transmission, energy efficiency, and renewable energy charges) AND 0.9432 cents per kWh for "supply”. (this is their fixed rate, and doesn't fluctuate) FOR A TOTAL OF: 0.32458 per kWh (almost 33 cents per kWh, holy cr*p!)

right now I run my tent 20/4, when I move, it will be 16/8~ below is calculated on 16/8

I calculated the watts of my fan/filter and lights, then calculated it down to kwh...then calculated hours used per month, and came to a conclusion that my grow will use 170kwh per month.

So.....0.32458 x 170kwh = $55.17 per month electricity for my grow

I didnt know that NG charges almost 33 cents total per kwh. That is highway robbery. You HAVE to use NG for your delivery, but I guess you can shop around for your supplier. Sigh. No one is much cheaper.
https://www.massenergyrates.com/energy_provider_plans

I want lights that will fill my tent with beneficial light for my ladies both in flower and veg, and have low kwh usage. Everyone says COB COB....i think that might be the way to go.
 
Last edited:
greg nr

greg nr

Well-Known Member
JustCallmeMom said:
Speaking of electricity....I did some math last night.

National grid charges:
0.2326 cents per kWh for “delivery”. (total of distribution, transition, transmission, energy efficiency, and renewable energy charges) AND 0.9432 cents per kWh for "supply”. (this is their fixed rate, and doesn't fluctuate) FOR A TOTAL OF: 0.32458 per kWh (almost 33 cents per kWh, holy cr*p!)

right now I run my tent 20/4, when I move, it will be 16/8~ below is calculated on 16/8

I calculated the watts of my fan/filter and lights, then calculated it down to kwh...then calculated hours used per month, and came to a conclusion that my grow will use 170kwh per month.

So.....0.32458 x 170kwh = $55.17 per month electricity for my grow

I didnt know that NG charges almost 33 cents total per kwh. That is highway robbery. You HAVE to use NG for your delivery, but I guess you can shop around for your supplier. Sigh. No one is much cheaper.
https://www.massenergyrates.com/energy_provider_plans

I want lights that will fill my tent with beneficial light for my ladies both in flower and veg, and have low kwh usage. Everyone says COB COB....i think that might be the way to go.
Click to expand...
You may want to recheck the delivery charges. For nat grid, they are closer to $0.12/kwh.....

https://www9.nationalgridus.com/masselectric/home/rates/4_res.asp

Still not great, but much lower than ,23. Btw, keep an eye on your supplier agreement. Most are fixed for a set period of time only. Mine rose from .08/kwh to .15/kwh when the fixed term ended. That bill hurt.......
 
Axle4worc

Axle4worc

Well-Known Member
JustCallmeMom said:
I didnt know that NG charges almost 33 cents total per kwh
Click to expand...
I paid $0.2124 per kwh last month to national grid (inc supply). I have never signed a contract with anyone. I don't know for sure but I would guess that your numbers are off a little.

At a .21 kwh my cobs have already paid for themselves.

Edited to correct math.
 
Last edited:
greg nr

greg nr

Well-Known Member
Axle4worc said:
I paid $0.1177 per kwh last month to national grid (inc supply). I have never signed a contract with anyone. I don't know for sure but I would guess that your numbers are off a little.

Even at $0.11 a kwh my cobs will pay for themselves in less than a year.
Click to expand...
You may need to look more closely at your bill or you are paying commercial rates. Nat grid charges almost $.12/kwh just for delivery. I can believe you pay $.11 for the supply side though.

Nat grid bills have 2 major charges: delivery and supply......

And yes, you can by your power from nat grid directly. You don't need to go elsewhere but you won't get the lowest possible rate.
 
Axle4worc

Axle4worc

Well-Known Member
greg nr said:
You may need to look more closely at your bill or you are paying commercial rates. Nat grid charges almost $.12/kwh just for delivery. I can believe you pay $.11 for the supply side though.

Nat grid bills have 2 major charges: delivery and supply......

And yes, you can by your power from nat grid directly. You don't need to go elsewhere but you won't get the lowest possible rate.
Click to expand...
You're right that's my distribution charge. I paid 21.24 cents per kilowatt hour total. That makes me even happier about my decision to pay the extra to buy cob lighting.
 
Last edited:
greg nr

greg nr

Well-Known Member
The reason I'm familiar with this is my wife thought that our high power bill was due to my "hobby". I know exactly how much power I use; I have a kill-a-watt meter I put between my gear and the wall. It wasn't my 300 watt light that's on 12 hours a day.

I had to dive into the bills to show her that in fact it is likely our pool that is costing the big bucks. That and that's when I noticed our supply fixed rate had ended.... meowch.

I'm going to put up solar panels. To hell with nat grid. ;)
 
WeedFreak78

WeedFreak78

Well-Known Member
Shop around, I've been paying between .08 and .105 for the last couple years. If you tell them you're a new sign up you can usually get better rates, or lie and say you can get a better rate somewhere else and see if they'll match it. And keep checking your bills, I'm expecting a big refund because i was still getting charged at NGs price when i should have been at my selected suppliers .105, for almost 6 months. Last time I checked they owe me almost $600.:cuss:
.03-.05 cent difference matters with over 3000w of lights, not to mention the AC, fans, etc....
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
The higher the electric rates, the more sense it makes to get the most efficient lighting you possibly can. It helps twice; once to make the light and again to reduce the amount of energy used to reject excess heat.
 
be4meliz

be4meliz

Well-Known Member
Axle4worc said:
More important than lumens is the ppfd. Photosynthetic Photon flux density. It is the amount of light that is usable by the plant. 700 is plenty for healthy plants.


I made two fixtures with 4 light engines and one driver on each.
View attachment 3981458

You would need for 2 banks.

8 chips
8 passive heat sinks 120-133 pin
8 chip holders.
4 drop ceiling rails.
2 hlg 185h-48a drivers
Thermal paste or pads.
Angelina adapters and reflectors if you want them.
I have most of the wires, solder, Wago connectors and zip ties you would need. I have built three of them so would have no trouble making a fourth and fifth.

It cost me around $500 in parts. Saved me over $500 in electricity since I built them.
Click to expand...
"Fire Photon Torpedoes! " Guess I've been watching too many Star Trek Re-runs LOL
 
JustCallmeMom

JustCallmeMom

Well-Known Member
It is indeed almost 32 cents total per kWh for delivery (23 cents per kWh) and supply (fixed 9 cents per kWh) combined. I had one disgruntled NG lady go through my math with me...as all the decimal points and zeros were confusing the hell out of me. I have attached it below if anyone is interested. I checked around for a supplier with a fixed rate lower than 9 cents per kWh...and cant find one. And yes, I am getting a watt meter also. :-)

7/22/2017

R-1 DELIVERY RATES
(national grid is only delivery method)
Customer Charge $5.50
Distribution Charge 0.06236¢/kWh
Transmission Charge 0.0356¢/kWh
Transition Charge 0.054¢/kWh
Energy Efficiency Charge 0.0283¢/kWh
Renewable Charge 0.05¢/kWh
TOTAL: 23 cents per kWh +/- (may "fluctuate". yeah, good answer lady)

R-1 SUPPLY RATES
(can get another supplier other than national grid)

Supply Charge: fixed rate 0.9432¢/kWh
TOTAL: 9 cents per kWh +/-

23 cents for delivery + 9 cents for supply = 32 cents per kWh +/-
 
Last edited:
greg nr

greg nr

Well-Known Member
JustCallmeMom said:
It is indeed almost 32 cents total per kWh for delivery (23 cents per kWh) and supply (fixed 9 cents per kWh) combined. I had one disgruntled NG lady go through my math with me...as all the decimal points and zeros were confusing the hell out of me. I have attached it below if anyone is interested. I checked around for a supplier with a fixed rate lower than 9 cents per kWh...and cant find one. And yes, I am getting a watt meter also. :-)

7/22/2017

R-1 DELIVERY RATES
(national grid is only delivery method)
Customer Charge $5.50
Distribution Charge 0.06236¢/kWh
Transmission Charge 0.0356¢/kWh
Transition Charge 0.054¢/kWh
Energy Efficiency Charge 0.0283¢/kWh
Renewable Charge 0.05¢/kWh
TOTAL: 23 cents per kWh +/-

R-1 SUPPLY RATES
(can get another supplier other than national grid)

Supply Charge: fixed rate 0.9432¢/kWh
TOTAL: 9 cents per kWh +/-

23 cents for delivery + 9 cents for supply = 32 cents per kWh +/-
Click to expand...
Your chart has some misplaced decimal points....

This is from their website, and matches my bill:

Customer Charge $5.50/month
Distribution Charge* 6.236¢/kWh
Transmission Charge 3.056¢/kWh
Transition Charge 0.054¢/kWh
Energy Efficiency Charge 2.083¢/kWh
Renewables Charge 0.050¢/kWh

So if you add those up, they come to 11.479 cents/kwh (excluding the flat rate $5.50)..
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
JustCallmeMom said:
It is indeed almost 32 cents total per kWh for delivery (23 cents per kWh) and supply (fixed 9 cents per kWh) combined. I had one disgruntled NG lady go through my math with me...as all the decimal points and zeros were confusing the hell out of me. I have attached it below if anyone is interested. I checked around for a supplier with a fixed rate lower than 9 cents per kWh...and cant find one. And yes, I am getting a watt meter also. :-)

7/22/2017

R-1 DELIVERY RATES
(national grid is only delivery method)
Customer Charge $5.50
Distribution Charge 0.06236¢/kWh
Transmission Charge 0.0356¢/kWh
Transition Charge 0.054¢/kWh
Energy Efficiency Charge 0.0283¢/kWh
Renewable Charge 0.05¢/kWh
TOTAL: 23 cents per kWh +/- (may "fluctuate". yeah, good answer lady)

R-1 SUPPLY RATES
(can get another supplier other than national grid)

Supply Charge: fixed rate 0.9432¢/kWh
TOTAL: 9 cents per kWh +/-

23 cents for delivery + 9 cents for supply = 32 cents per kWh +/-
Click to expand...
Ouch. You can't afford NOT to use the very best LED lighting you can find. At those rates it would pay for itself in 6 months!
 
Axle4worc

Axle4worc

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
Instead of pure water flush, run half strength nutes or you'll just be starving the plant and hurting your yield.
Click to expand...
So how do I get the plant to leach the nutes from the fan leaves or do you remove them? Taste is much more important than yield at this point but don't want to hurt yeilds unnecessarily.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top