Energy costs to run a 20x30 grow (numbers posted)

DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
So here are the hard numbers. (See attached billing cycle of 2 grows back to back) I am running ...
18 HLG 550 V2's
2 ton Carrier mini split
1- 18,000 BTU wall heat/air unit
1- 20 cubic ft deep freezer (for storing raw processing material)
12- 8ft T5 light fixtures
2- 24 inch oscillating fans
2- 4000 sq ft dehumidifiers
1- 10 inch Hyperfan intake
1- 5 gallon water heater
1- water pump
Thats just the grow room/shop building. The electric bill is all in one to include the grow building, my home, and water well energy to provide 2 homes (my dad has a home on my property 5 months out of the year)

My home AC unit was old and inefficient. I just now upgraded the AC unit to an 18 seer heat pump and all matching Carrier air handler, 5 ton A coil, etc. So, Im sure we will see better numbers in the future.
This last run was for processors fresh frozen bud. We ended up with a 2 month veg, 10 week flower and 153 lbs of market ready product for processors. Hope this info is helpful for future growers.
 

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DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
Apalchen said:
You hit 8.5 lbs from each 550? What would that work out to in dry weight? Your electric bill seems to be very reasonable.
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Yes, 8.5 lbs per light. We did the math on the first dry bud run and we got right at 500g per light after drying and curing ready for market. And yes, we were very pleased with the energy usage. You can see where we were finishing up in June and it started getting hot outside. That was our highest bill. We're taking a short break until Sept. and it cools down a bit. We're having some new flood tables installed anyways.
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
We wanted to dedicate this last grow to processors. They have a hard time finding good material, and we wanted to harvest wet bud (minus stems and fans) so they have some good quality stuff. It pays better and is a lot easier to process. But like right now, everyone is screaming for dry bud, and that props the price up for now. We'll look at it towards Dec. and see what the demand is, and adjust to wet or dry depending.
 
SheeshM

SheeshM

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
We wanted to dedicate this last grow to processors. They have a hard time finding good material, and we wanted to harvest wet bud (minus stems and fans) so they have some good quality stuff. It pays better and is a lot easier to process. But like right now, everyone is screaming for dry bud, and that props the price up for now. We'll look at it towards Dec. and see what the demand is, and adjust to wet or dry depending.
Click to expand...
Great share! Two questions: 1) how do you keep 153 lbs of wet bud safe from mold? 2) How high are your 550's? (I ask because I'm a new 550 owner trying to figure out best use of the light).
 
DoubleAtotheRON

DoubleAtotheRON

Well-Known Member
SheeshM said:
Great share! Two questions: 1) how do you keep 153 lbs of wet bud safe from mold? 2) How high are your 550's? (I ask because I'm a new 550 owner trying to figure out best use of the light).
Click to expand...
We harvest wet, buck the buds, toss any unusable material, vacuum seal it , then put it in a 21 degree upright deep freezer. From harvest to frozen is about 30 minutes, so there is no chance of mold. We have run across a couple of buds with evidence of bud rot, but we discarded those. The 550’s are pretty forgiving, but we start at 55 inches from the floor, and we just let them grow to the light, but once they get get 24 ish inches from the light, we adjust accordingly. Some top colas get closer, but they don’t burn or anything.
 
Hot Diggity Sog

Hot Diggity Sog

Well-Known Member
DoubleAtotheRON said:
So here are the hard numbers. (See attached billing cycle of 2 grows back to back) I am running ...
18 HLG 550 V2's
2 ton Carrier mini split
1- 18,000 BTU wall heat/air unit
1- 20 cubic ft deep freezer (for storing raw processing material)
12- 8ft T5 light fixtures
2- 24 inch oscillating fans
2- 4000 sq ft dehumidifiers
1- 10 inch Hyperfan intake
1- 5 gallon water heater
1- water pump
Thats just the grow room/shop building. The electric bill is all in one to include the grow building, my home, and water well energy to provide 2 homes (my dad has a home on my property 5 months out of the year)

My home AC unit was old and inefficient. I just now upgraded the AC unit to an 18 seer heat pump and all matching Carrier air handler, 5 ton A coil, etc. So, Im sure we will see better numbers in the future.
This last run was for processors fresh frozen bud. We ended up with a 2 month veg, 10 week flower and 153 lbs of market ready product for processors. Hope this info is helpful for future growers.
Click to expand...
That is incredibly helpful info and also extremely impressive. Kudo's man!!
 
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