I was looking around for the math to find the cost to run one 400 watt hid light.This what I got. WATTS X HOURS = TOTAL WATTS PER DAY.12HOURS X 400WATTS =4800 WATTS PER DAY.DIVIDE TOTAL WATTS PER DAY BY 1000 TO GET TOTAL KILLOWATTHOURS PER DAY.4800 / 1000=4.8 KILLOWATT HOURS PER DAY.MULTIPLY THE KILLOWATTS DAYS TIMES THE COST PER KILLOWATT TO GET THE TOTAL COST PER DAY..11 X 4.8 = 0.528.COST PER DAY TIMES 30 DAYS = COST PER MONTH. 0.528 X 30 =$15.84 . This is with in a few cents of my bill each month doing the math this way.Peace
survey on monthly electrical cost
- Thread starter wanna be stanky
- Start date
steve aka koolkat
Well-Known Member
I live in paradise usa. I wish my bill was as low as you guys. I'm running a 400 watt & 600 watts(both switchable ballasts...yummy), few CFL's, 4 aerogardens, 2 homemade aero gardens, 4 emily gardens(with airpumps), extra airpumps to charge all my water, 1 med airconditioner, 30 pint dehumidifier, 2/3 fans, 2 vents fans(to exit the heat from light fixtures), timers, Co2 Boost pump...wow, thats a lotta stuff. (2+2 IS ON MY MIND)
My bill is 200+(just growing, no lights, hotwater, cooking etc., thats another bill) But, all said and done? yummy! steve aka koolkat
My bill is 200+(just growing, no lights, hotwater, cooking etc., thats another bill) But, all said and done? yummy! steve aka koolkat
Hey WBS I got a question for you.My electronic ballast is a 400 watt GALAXY.My 3 year warranty says { DO NOT USE WITH GENERATORS WARRANTY WILL BE VOIDED}.What kind of ballast are you using ?This puzzles me about electricity that come out of wall outlet versed the electricity from a generator.I dont know whats the differences is? PEACE
abudsmoker
Well-Known Member
the differnce is that power from a generator has amazing voltage drops and spikes, death to digital ballasts in a flash
wanna be stanky
Active Member
could you tell us the square footage of your light coverage , grow space , how manys plants in your grow area and how many ounces or grams of dry bud that your grow room produces.......i am really wanting to expand and only people like you with real answers can help me in my new profession .thanks 46 male costa rica
Thanks Abudsmoker,I just got my elec.bill today.For the whole house and grow the bills $161.63 and thats running around turning lights off behind my GF.Who thinks money grows on trees.Yes I live in paradise usa too. I have four 2' 30 watt flurescents one 400 watt HPS four fans going.Outside temps are over 90 degrees and will be till oct..The bill will be going up soon as I start my ebb&flood cab up this week.I'am hope only $25.00 more.We will see.PEACE
steve aka koolkat
Well-Known Member
How is this possible? Don't these lights draw more power - mine do.
WillieNelson
Well-Known Member
The major dieffernce between most "walll" power and most "generator" power is the from of the sign wave. The line voltage in your your house has dips and sags also, but the problem with most digital equipment is the square wave that comes from the majoirty of voltage regulators on generators. If you take a normal voltmeter that reads AC power as peak to peak, 120v generators usually put out around 89v. If you take an RMS(root mean square) meter and test the same output it will 120v. Digital ballasts are not designed to handle power from square waves or excessive dips and sags. LP, three phase, industral generators handle all of these concerns. LP generators run at half of the speed of gasoline or deisel(most RVs use LP gensets also), which produces quieter, smoother power. Quality three phase gensets have a voltage regulator that eliminates the the square sign difference. Being that each phase is always 120 degrees out of phase with the others, a square wave is not possible. Its hard to explain without getting heavily involved into electrical engineering 202.
WillieNelson
Well-Known Member
Hmmm... And all of these new RV's come with plasma TVs. Good thing those aren't digital or they would be dead in a flash too... Oh wait, they are digital and safe, because they are powered by stable LP generators with true sine waves.
abudsmoker
Well-Known Member
most of these tv's drop 120 volts with a internal transformer. this provides ample current. hid light is a way different story
WillieNelson
Well-Known Member
and if they are fed with a 120v sine wave, whats your flipping problem? does a 120v digital ballast not drop all of 120v across the load? i don't care of the circuitry behind it. it would go against all electon theory currently taught in universitys if it doesn't. power companys only guarentee voltage to within 10% of 120v. at 108-132v I am sure digital ballasts would have problems somwhere in that range too. since your brilliance is so vast. if the 120v isnt dropped across the load where is going? is the internal clock of a plasma tv enough to provide this magical "ample current" you talk about. current isn't the issue with generators. you initially stated
I have been running digital ballasts from a genset for 11 months without a problem. I am sure if you visit RV parks now, you will find grandma and grandpa with their computers plugged into their sine wave gen sets. I have seen horrible voltage from gensets and horrible voltage from utilites. If people use cheap generators, their ballasts might fail. The ballast companies can't be resposible for your genset. That is why warrenties are void from ballast companies. If the utility's voltage is way off and burns your ballasts, I am sure they won't cover that either. Your blanket answer was just plain wrong and arrogent.
Uh I guess I get 100 x's my monthly electrical bill.