Lighting, will it cost me the earth?

I have a 250watt, 220V, 50Hz bulb. Im new to growing and havent used it yet. What im worried about is, if i plug this baby in for 12 hours a day how much is it gonna cost me in electricity bills? How much does your bill jump up by percentage-wise?

That thing is going to cost you next to nothing to run. Just a few bucks a month really.

Find out how much you are paying per kilowatt/hour (by checking your meter or bill for the kWh rate), and work it out from there, either manually, or by using the grow room tool here.

As an example, using the price I currently pay (I am also in the UK, so your costs may be similar, depending on supplier):

Rate of 12.5 Pence per kwh
£11.94 Cost per month at 12hours a day
£17.90 Cost per month at 18hours a day
£23.86 Cost per month at 24hours a day

This is the cost for a 250 watt hps (worked out at 265 watts to account for the ballast).

I use this website. This will give you a accurate amount of money you will have to pay if you know your KW hours. You need to know your KW hours before you can get an accuracte amount. http://www.citytrf.net/costs_calculator.htm

Thanks guys, youve been most helpfull

Watts is watts! ........ I run a total 400 watts all in for my small grow cabinet, costs me no more than £3 per week. I changed all our household bulbs etc to energy savers, started turning lights off etc when not in use and our bills are now cheaper than before including the grow running costs!

I'd say that 250 is going to cost you no more than a couple of quid per week max to run.

Think green mate