hps 120v compared 220v
- Thread starter mr.x007
- Start date
being an electrician living in down under (240volts) one would think i should know the answer to this. Without really doing any tests or anything i would so no, they would both be same brightness. The 120 volt one will draw more ampes but as far as brightness goes they are both same watts so i cant see them being different. However im just making an estimated guess 
hmm yeh thinking about it there would have to be some difference. If the heaters are the same watt ratings it would seem odd for the 220's to burn hotter because essentially they would be using less amp's to do the same thing. Maybe they just run more efficient because of other reasons such as power factor etc.
The amps/watts/volts is all worked out by ohms law which ive seen a few people mention in the lighting threads. power(watts) = volts x amps or amps = watts over volts. therefor less volts means more amps to produce same power Im still going to stick with them being about the same light output but they wont be exactly the same
The amps/watts/volts is all worked out by ohms law which ive seen a few people mention in the lighting threads. power(watts) = volts x amps or amps = watts over volts. therefor less volts means more amps to produce same power
Im still going to stick with them being about the same light output but they wont be exactly the same
K
Keenly
Guest
no no no no no no no
it does not matter what your input voltage is, your still going to be pulling the wattage of your light
your bulb we be the same brightness both ways, you wont save any money on electricity,
the only difference is on 240v half the current is drawn, but its still 1000w or whatever your light happens to be
it does not matter what your input voltage is, your still going to be pulling the wattage of your light
your bulb we be the same brightness both ways, you wont save any money on electricity,
the only difference is on 240v half the current is drawn, but its still 1000w or whatever your light happens to be
JohnnyPotSeed1969
Well-Known Member
From what I've read, a 220 will draw approximately 1/2 the amount of amps that a 120 will. Same wattage, same brightness, just different amperage. Ampere - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Power(Watts) equals Voltage (120/220) times (*) Amperage (Amps). A 220 v light uses the same power as a 120 v light if they are 400 watt lights, they do not burn brighter or do anything different from an end user standpoint. they are a tiny bit more efficient because most electrical things have less losses at higher voltage levels. You won't notice anything on the bill, maybe $1 a month difference. Most ballasts can be wired to run on either 220/240 or 110/120.
way4too2high0
Well-Known Member
what he said....the only way you would have a noticable difference in cost would be 277/480(commercial, industrial)
kindprincess
Well-Known Member
240v is good for multiple light ops. being that you draw only half the current, you can run twice the lights on a circuit that a 120v circuit could handle.
1kw 120v = 9.5 amps
1kw 240v = 4.7 amps
these are for my ballasts; results may differ.
1kw 120v = 9.5 amps
1kw 240v = 4.7 amps
these are for my ballasts; results may differ.
the only advantage to running lights on 220 / 240 is that because the amperage is half of what it draws at 120 you can use much smaller gauge wire or put more lights on the same size wire for example if you run 1000 watt lights at 120 on a 12 gauge wire / on a 20 amp breaker you could run 2 lights
if you ran the same 20 amp circuit / same 12 gauge wire only this time wired for 240v you could run 4 lights .
your power bill however will still reflect the fact that you are running 4000 watts of lights
if you ran the same 20 amp circuit / same 12 gauge wire only this time wired for 240v you could run 4 lights .
your power bill however will still reflect the fact that you are running 4000 watts of lights
Great post, you give the amperage rating for both voltage levels, cool, from that we can extrapolate how much actual efficiency bonus we see from the 240v setup.
ok 9.5 * 120v = 1140 watts total, 4.7*240=1128 watts so now we know that the 240 v setup uses 12 watts less power. so now lets see what percentage that is....1128/1140= .989 or .99 rounded up. so the 240 volt light is one percent more efficient. Thats quite a bit different than what the Hydro salesman says isn't it? Salesmen Lie, they call it not telling the whole truth, but its just lies to sell their wares.
science and math are wonderful things.
smokin'out
Member
Not my kind of smokin! You've put down some solid info but you wouldn't want to use 12/2 -3 Romex in place of 10!
That is a firey proposition, wire gauge is imparative, hate to have someone try that and get burned.