What uses more electricity?

[BigBudBalls]

A 23W CFL uses 23W from the wall.
A 400W HPS uses 450W from the wall.
(grab a kill-a-watt or amp meter and see for yourself)

What *everyone* forgets, is that the ballast adds about 10% more draw.

HID bulbs are rated in watts, NOT counting the ballast overhead.

So to answer the OP, 175W of CLFs is cheaper then the 175W of MH.

 

[TheDankness]

Dude there will be a minimal difference even if the ballast does add 10%... The difference between 192.5w and 168w is still arbitrary. The light coverage and penetration is well worth the few extra watts, and it would only cost pennies more a month.

 

[NoDrama]

I worked out all the math on HID lights run on 120V vs Running on 220/240 volt and the difference is less than 1%. So on your bill the lights running on the higher voltage will be a tiny bit more efficient, save ya 50 cents a month in electricity vs the 120v ones. Not enough to make much difference.

The MH light will be better because it is overall more efficient than the CFL lights, you get 15,000 lumens for 175 watts vs 11,200 on CFL, no brainer.

 

[Old in the Way]

What the Dankness is not saying-which may be why you guys don't believe him is........
A 1000w bulb when tested is pulling MORE than 1000w at the mains and with 120v this can be 10%more......the lamp can only burn 1000w the rest is a 100w space heater.

Lower the resistance to 240 and the 1kw lamp may only pull 5% more at the mains wasting only 50watts.........do you guys get it now

So you should believe the Dankness, he is spot on the electrics info. +rep to ya

Just in case you don't take my word for it.....I put my money where my mouth is!

BTW-I recommend the HID over CFL in case there was any confusion.

 

[Old in the Way]

I worked out all the math on HID lights run on 120V vs Running on 220/240 volt and the difference is less than 1%. So on your bill the lights running on the higher voltage will be a tiny bit more efficient, save ya 50 cents a month in electricity vs the 120v ones. Not enough to make much difference.

The MH light will be better because it is overall more efficient than the CFL lights, you get 15,000 lumens for 175 watts vs 11,200 on CFL, no brainer.

For me running 4000watts of HID on 240v means I sleep better in knowing I will never return home to find the Fire Brigade calling the Cops.

 

[TheDankness]

What the Dankness is not saying-which may be why you guys don't believe him is........
A 1000w bulb when tested is pulling MORE than 1000w at the mains and with 120v this can be 10%more......the lamp can only burn 1000w the rest is a 100w space heater.

Lower the resistance to 240 and the 1kw lamp may only pull 5% more at the mains wasting only 50watts.........do you guys get it now

So you should believe the Dankness, he is spot on the electrics info. +rep to ya

Just in case you don't take my word for it.....I put my money where my mouth is!

BTW-I recommend the HID over CFL in case there was any confusion.

Thanks for helping me explain this, +rep for you my friend. I never even thought of the space heater analogy.

 

[Old in the Way]

I never even thought of the space heater analogy

Ya...sometimes I try to think about how I would explain it to MY kids--then the kids on here get it

-OitW

 

[Old in the Way]

I worked out all the math on HID lights run on 120V vs Running on 220/240 volt and the difference is less than 1%. So on your bill the lights running on the higher voltage will be a tiny bit more efficient, save ya 50 cents a month in electricity vs the 120v ones. Not enough to make much difference.

The MH light will be better because it is overall more efficient than the CFL lights, you get 15,000 lumens for 175 watts vs 11,200 on CFL, no brainer.

YOu are also correct, NoDrama. However if you have 15 or 20 amp breakers/fuses-going 240 means you could safely run 3000w on a 15 amp breaker if you stagger their start-up a minute or two.

Sometimes this is easier than devoting 30 amps to run 3000w on 120v wiring.

I have always liked the heavy gauge wire any time I am drawing serious current-stoned safe is better than stoned stupid.

Besides when harvests are measured in kilograms you don't worry about how much the 240 is saving you-its all about manicuring and smoking, manicuring and smoking, manicuring and smoking, mani....well you get it

 

[TheDankness]

Ya...sometimes I try to think about how I would explain it to MY kids--then the kids on here get it

-OitW

Hey now, relatively speaking I'm a kid myself... one of the educated ones though, therein lies the difference.

 

[Old in the Way]

Hey now, relatively speaking I'm a kid myself... one of the educated ones though, therein lies the difference.

Lol, no offense of course. The term is used more to describe the naivety/ignorance of some members posts. Just as I hope my kids are still naive when it comes to growing. Mine aren't really kids any more ya know.-I was a kid when I had kids.......so I am never referring to d.o.b.--age is irrelevant to me......agists are evil

 

[NoDrama]

The number one reason folks choose 120v over 240 v is due to the fact that almost all the unused outlets in a US home are 120v, most of the 240 are used by oven and dryer so you really can't unplug those.And Who wants to hire an electrician to come to your grow op? Can you run more wattage off a 240 line? absolutely. Will it save you a bunch of money? No, its a small amount. Is it safer to use 240? not really, if your overloading your circuits then the breakers should be tripping.

The advantages of 240 vs 120 are few, the main one being the amount of lights you can get on one circuit. Definitely for the larger grows of multi 1k lights.

 

[TheDankness]

Lol, no offense of course. The term is used more to describe the naivety/ignorance of some members posts. Just as I hope my kids are still naive when it comes to growing. Mine aren't really kids any more ya know.-I was a kid when I had kids.......so I am never referring to d.o.b.--age is irrelevant to me......agists are evil

Haha of course its fine, it is a good way to describe many a poster here on RIU. There are people with the maturity of someone<14 all over these forums...

 

[TheDankness]

The number one reason folks choose 120v over 240 v is due to the fact that almost all the unused outlets in a US home are 120v, most of the 240 are used by oven and dryer so you really can't unplug those.And Who wants to hire an electrician to come to your grow op? Can you run more wattage off a 240 line? absolutely. Will it save you a bunch of money? No, its a small amount. Is it safer to use 240? not really, if your overloading your circuits then the breakers should be tripping.

The advantages of 240 vs 120 are few, the main one being the amount of lights you can get on one circuit. Definitely for the larger grows of multi 1k lights.

NoDrama, it seems like you are looking for some drama...

 

[Keenly]

NoDrama, it seems like you are looking for some drama...

he is correct,

you save maybe 1 kw hour for every 24 hours the light is on

so whats that like a dollar a month

thats not gonna cover the expense of the converter

you can go ahead and do it more power to ya
i personally would not waste my time

 

[NoDrama]

Im not looking for any drama. Im just putting out the facts. Nothing wrong with 240v setups, they are more for the larger grower instead of the hobbyist/enthusiast grower is all. The plants grow equally well under either.

 

[TheDankness]

okay cool, just checking, I'm all for more opinions, even if they disagree with me. As long as its not from someone who takes pleasure in starting arguments... those people make me think bad thoughts.

 

[Old in the Way]

Who wants to hire an electrician to come to your grow op?

Oh no....that is one of the first things you do, if not thefirst......hopefully with a good explanation as to why you need 6-240v outlets in a room or two.

The advantages of 240 vs 120 are few, Definitely for the larger grows of multi 1k lights.

Can't argue with that....but there are advantages.

 

[DontKnowBeans]

This is an interesting thread. I have a 600 watt Lumatek digital ballast. I went with this ballast because it is supposed to be quieter, generate less heat and therefore be more efficient. Have any of you done tests to see if the claims of significant increases in efficiency for digital ballasts are valid? Do they actually draw less electricity from the mains than regular old school ballasts?

 

[BigBudBalls]

This is an interesting thread. I have a 600 watt Lumatek digital ballast. I went with this ballast because it is supposed to be quieter, generate less heat and therefore be more efficient. Have any of you done tests to see if the claims of significant increases in efficiency for digital ballasts are valid? Do they actually draw less electricity from the mains than regular old school ballasts?

If you have read through this thread, you will now know the ballast has an overhead current. The digitals reduce the overhead, but the bulb will still suck 600W. So a old school (easily fixable too) draws an extra 10%. (660W) A digital may only draw an extra 5%. (630W)

The claims that the digitals will give brighter light longer is kinda BS too. We change our bulbs long before they wear out.

 

[DontKnowBeans]

Okay, thanks, so they do draw a bit less but not an immense amount and if they break down you pretty much end up tossing them like a lot of newer electronics.