Electric bill estimate

[BongboyMMA]

Hey can you guys check my estimates? Just wanna make sure I'm not gonna raise any eyebrows all of a sudden added lots of usage. Currently it's 1kw/hr=0.013$

400w hps to flower 12hrs a day.
-.4*0.013=0.0052*12
=0.06$ a day
100w cfl to veg
20hrs/day
.1*0.013=0.0013*20
=0.026$/day
High balling 100w for pumps fans etc 24/7
.1*0.013=.0013*24
=0.031$/day
So.. 0.06+0.026+0.031
=0.12$/ a day *30days is 3.5$ a month
This seems super low it's great if it is but..

 

[SnapsProvolone]

Probably 13 cents per kwh not 1.3

 

[yktind]

You are lucky at 13 cents. I am at 21 - 24 cents per KWH.

 

[BongboyMMA]

Yup deff 13cents maybe more I have to get a hold of next months bill and check it. But my calculations are correct just with the wrong number $$ right. 36$ a month seems more like it which is no biggie to me bc that's an 1/8th last me 2 days lol if I can pull even just a few oz a month I'd be stoked. Maybe drop the 400hps to a 250 and add a ho T5 knock off 100watts.

I just don't want questions asked as to the spike isn't that pretty tell tale? Or I'm just paranoid? I need to order a light this week to flower so I'm trying to plan accordingly

 

[Joven Agricultor]

400w x 12hrs a day = 4,800 watts a day, which is 4.8 kw a day. 4.8kw x 13cents per kw= $0.62 a day/$18.70 for 30 days.

$18.70 per 30 days on your 400w alone @ 13cents a kw

Your math is way off.

Also the more kw a day you use, the more you start to pay. Atleast where I am at, I was @ 14cents a kw, once I added my 30amp grow room and turned on my lights and equipment, I'm now at like 20 cents a kilowat.

When you start using more power you may go up a tier or two on the pricing scale as well.

 

[Joven Agricultor]

I believe going from a 400hps to a 250 hps is going to damn near cut your yield in half.

 

[GroErr]

Yup deff 13cents maybe more I have to get a hold of next months bill and check it. But my calculations are correct just with the wrong number $$ right. 36$ a month seems more like it which is no biggie to me bc that's an 1/8th last me 2 days lol if I can pull even just a few oz a month I'd be stoked. Maybe drop the 400hps to a 250 and add a ho T5 knock off 100watts.

I just don't want questions asked as to the spike isn't that pretty tell tale? Or I'm just paranoid? I need to order a light this week to flower so I'm trying to plan accordingly

Unless you don't pay your bills or live in a police state there's nothing to worry about with that level of usage. You'd use more throwing in an air conditioner in the summer months. Your bill would have to be in the hundreds and not paying your bills to raise any flags, and then you'd get a call for collecting the outstanding bill. Think about someone renting out a basement apartment, basic electricity usage would be twice what you're talking about, do you think they get raided?

 

[yktind]

Yup deff 13cents maybe more I have to get a hold of next months bill and check it. But my calculations are correct just with the wrong number $$ right. 36$ a month seems more like it which is no biggie to me bc that's an 1/8th last me 2 days lol if I can pull even just a few oz a month I'd be stoked. Maybe drop the 400hps to a 250 and add a ho T5 knock off 100watts.

I just don't want questions asked as to the spike isn't that pretty tell tale? Or I'm just paranoid? I need to order a light this week to flower so I'm trying to plan accordingly

Just paranoid. If you spike over a 1000 dollars I'd say worry, lol. Space heaters and window a/c units use just as much power.

Here is an example of my electrical usage, this was for ex roommate purposes (now I just opt to pay the whole thing so that there isn't any confusion or arguments):

 

[DutchHaze]

If they ask why, just say u are running electric heaters for the winter

 

[BongboyMMA]

400w x 12hrs a day = 4,800 watts a day, which is 4.8 kw a day. 4.8kw x 13cents per kw= $0.62 a day/$18.70 for 30 days.

$18.70 per 30 days on your 400w alone @ 13cents a kw

Your math is way off.

Also the more kw a day you use, the more you start to pay. Atleast where I am at, I was @ 14cents a kw, once I added my 30amp grow room and turned on my lights and equipment, I'm now at like 20 cents a kilowat.

When you start using more power you may go up a tier or two on the pricing scale as well.

Thanks man. Yeah it was that I had it at .013cents not 13cents smh. I calculated it by the hour and get 18.70 for the month for the 400. All together comes to 36$ do you think this could put me in a higher tier. I do believe I'm in a lower bracket right now?

I believe going from a 400hps to a 250 hps is going to damn near cut your yield in half.

i would supplement it with t5 or cfl to 300w to save 100watts. Not worth it? This is mostly for the head if I can get a perpetual of 2oz/month forever I will be happy. But On the other hand I am going to make my money back for the lighting etc etc and my career job won't start for another 3 months so it would be nice to run a qp/month to live off of for a few months. In 2 months I'll be harvesting 2 plants every month the way I planned it.

Maybe I should just make sure the 400 watt hps is dimable? If it's dimable does that mean I can dial it down so it uses less wattage as my need for bud decreases. I mean personally I'm around an oz a month so 2 and I'm set plus the trim for butter and oil. But like I said pulling 6 off 2 plants for a while maybe ncssary.

If they ask why, just say u are running electric heaters for the winter

I forgot to put this in my post was gonna say I can just say it's a heater for the garage. Come summer the house has central air which cost a fortune and it's not on now so the bill should still be cheaper.

Thanks for easing my paranoia, guess I'm more paranoid about the homeowner I don't want them to get stuck in a higher bracket. THANKS AS ALWAS you guys awesome

 

[Joven Agricultor]

I really wouldn't worry about being in a higher bracket. I'd stick with the 400. I'm vegging with a 400 and about to move to a 600. I flower woth a 1k. Point being, you'll always want more. "More power" Tim Allen sort of speak. Don't want to waste money on a small lamp, I did. Space heaters can use 1500watts easily, 750watts for a small one.

A watt is a watt, whether it be cfl, LED, HID, a watt is a watt. Forget all the suplemental lighting. Use 1 HID. If you ran a 400 for veg and a 400 for flower that would be 400w x 18hours = 7600watts 7.6kw a day for veg. For flower 400watts x 12hours= 4,800 watts 4.8kw a day. So veg and flower combined usage would be 12.4 kw a day.

A 1,500 watt heater ran for 8.26 hours a day will use the same electricity as the 400w veg/flower perpetual.

 

[BongboyMMA]

I really wouldn't worry about being in a higher bracket. I'd stick with the 400. I'm vegging with a 400 and about to move to a 600. I flower woth a 1k. Point being, you'll always want more. "More power" Tim Allen sort of speak. Don't want to waste money on a small lamp, I did. Space heaters can use 1500watts easily, 750watts for a small one.

A watt is a watt, whether it be cfl, LED, HID, a watt is a watt. Forget all the suplemental lighting. Use 1 HID. If you ran a 400 for veg and a 400 for flower that would be 400w x 18hours = 7600watts 7.6kw a day. For flower 400watts x 12hours= 4,800 watts 4.8kw a day. So veg and flower combined usage would be 12.4 kw a day.

A 1,500 watt heater ran for 8.26 hours a day will use the same electricity as the 400w veg/flower perpetual.

Thanks man. That's why I always wonder why people use LEDs other than heat issues. No matter what 400w of led and 400w of hid is still using 400watts. I was just trying to cut 100w but really it does seem stupid in the scheme of things. Thanks for helping me make my mind up.

 

[Hot Diggity Sog]

If they ask why, just say u are running electric heaters for the winter

If they ask why, say fuck you, that's why. Corrected it for you

 

[GroErr]

Thanks man. That's why I always wonder why people use LEDs other than heat issues. No matter what 400w of led and 400w of hid is still using 400watts. I was just trying to cut 100w but really it does seem stupid in the scheme of things. Thanks for helping me make my mind up.

People use LED's for more than dealing with heat and 400W of quality LED'd will outperform 400w of HID or HPS in flowering output. Spend some time with an open mind in the LED forum and you'll see why people use LED's. Pay particular attention to the "Cree", "3070", "DIY", "A51 or Area 51", and "Apache" threads. A watt is not a watt, efficient use of watts is what quality LED's and other new light technologies are about. Besides having less heat to deal with, and the cost of watts to cool them. The main reason I've seen hps/hid folks argue over LED's is up-front cost and that's false economics in the long term. To each his own but your statement was incorrect. Here's a link to a well documented Apache LED vs. HPS grow from a very respected member here. Read through that thread and then tell me that a watt is a watt.

 

[Joven Agricultor]

I know it wasn't my post you quoted, it was the response to my post, but to clear things up. I'm saying in consumption, a watt is a watt. 400 watts uses 400 watts, whatever it may be. Saying it will cost the same to run 400 watts of led as it does to run 400 watts of HID the same as it cost to run 400 watts electric dildo. A watt is a watt. Will 400 watts of led outperform 400 watts of HID? I'd say if medium/strain/nutes are all the same it all depends on the equipment used, and the grower. I was speaking of power consumption not lux, or lumens or output.

 

[GroErr]

I know it wasn't my post you quoted, it was the response to my post, but to clear things up. I'm saying in consumption, a watt is a watt. 400 watts uses 400 watts, whatever it may be. Saying it will cost the same to run 400 watts of led as it does to run 400 watts of HID the same as it cost to run 400 watts electric dildo. A watt is a watt. Will 400 watts of led outperform 400 watts of HID? I'd say if medium/strain/nutes are all the same it all depends on the equipment used, and the grower. I was speaking of power consumption not lux, or lumens or output.

Of course it would cost the same to run 400w of anything but in the context of the conversation and Bongboy's response, his response was suggesting that running 400w of LED would be the same other than heat. If you read that thread I linked and that's just one example, he produced almost identical weights using a 600W Apache LED against a 1000w hps. Experienced grower, had used hps in the past, highest end equipment for both light technologies. It's all right there with pics and regular updates. Yes, quality LED's will outperform hps or hid watt for watt, in the same hands/environment, no question.

 

[BongboyMMA]

People use LED's for more than dealing with heat and 400W of quality LED'd will outperform 400w of HID or HPS in flowering output. Spend some time with an open mind in the LED forum and you'll see why people use LED's. Pay particular attention to the "Cree", "3070", "DIY", "A51 or Area 51", and "Apache" threads. A watt is not a watt, efficient use of watts is what quality LED's and other new light technologies are about. Besides having less heat to deal with, and the cost of watts to cool them. The main reason I've seen hps/hid folks argue over LED's is up-front cost and that's false economics in the long term. To each his own but your statement was incorrect. Here's a link to a well documented Apache LED vs. HPS grow from a very respected member here. Read through that thread and then tell me that a watt is a watt.

Awesome thanks I was floating around on there but haven't posted I'm very interested in LEDs. I spoke incorrect in my post I did mean that 400w led will cost the same as 400w hid. But to your response so a quality led that uses 400w will outperform a 400w hps. I'm deff going to check out the diy etc etc if your an led guy you think I can pm you some diy questions. My buddy tried putting me one to a 400 w mars2 but it seemed my area was to big for one and I deff can't afford two. I questioned using 1 and cfls on here and people said just go with hps and call it a day. I'm gonna need a decent inline to scrub any way hooked up to a cool tube 400w hps. I'm going to have to go with a cheap ipower (but I've read better reviews from that than some other top company's) 400w basic is 105$ shipped. Home made cool tube 15$ and a low end 6" inline is 65 shipped so I'm still under 200.

I will also make money back and upgrade. Am I right about needing an inline to scrub no matter what a booster will break trying to push though the carbon right. Thanks again led is deff my first thought bc it's in a super stealthy closet and with. 4 23w cfls and rest of my place at 69 hehe degrees I'm at 75 in the closet so heat is deff something that worries me

 

[GroErr]

Sounds like you have everything ready to go with hps, you're better to stick with that than going with the MARS LED, I mentioned quality/proven LED's, imo MARS is not in that league. There are a lot of Chinese brands, cheap, but not anywhere near as effective as the top end commercial or DIY with COBs. The COBs if you're inclined to DIY are the best bang for the buck imo. I ran a thread a while back testing one of the Chinese reflector Top LED models for flowering. It tanked, it grew some nice looking bud but fluffy. Gave it 2 rounds, same results. Took clones from those LED plants, flowered them under CMH and tripled the yield, same methods, same environment. That's the kind of difference between low end and high end or DIY COB LED's as well from what I've tried and seen. Lot of good info in that LED section if you go DIY later. Get a crop or two under your belt and you can mix the hps/LED's, have seen some nice bud come from that combo too. Cheers.

 

[crawlintbss]

Just got my first bill in new crib to find its only .07/kwh here! just bumped from CFLs to a 400w HPS to really get some stuff going. Gonna make sure we dont jump a tier with a months worth with the tent, and all the space heaters we use in the house. May bump up to a bigger light if we dont move tiers.

 

[FrozenChozen]

I just don't want questions asked as to the spike isn't that pretty tell tale? Or I'm just paranoid? I need to order a light this week to flower so I'm trying to plan accordingly

quit being paranoid! so what if you have an indoor garden- its not illegal to grow things in the privacy of your own domicile.... you could be growing fruits and veggies to supplement rising food costs! An increase of less than $300 shouldn't raise any suspicion.... Pay your bill on time and you'll be fine!