Anyone Use Power Inverters & Solar Panels?

Does anyone use them? I plan on having 8 1k lights for now for a perpetual grow & could run up a hefty light bill with all of the electronics. I'd rather spend the money upfront & end up saving in the long run

i done a little thinking on this, seems only practical for small setups
good PV is about 20% efficient, so we're talking about 5 square feet of PV for every square foot of grow space
so a 5 x 5 room with 1 KW hps bulb, should need at least a 10 x 12 PV
and that's just for growing, nothing else, pretty pricey last i checked

The cost of a system to run 8000watts in lights would cost a massive amount not to mention you'd need a field to put them all.... If youre worried about the massive amount power and want to stay off the grid invest in a large diesel generator.

^^ Yeah either diesel or natural gas ... LP can be easier logistically, no transportaion or filling. Only if hes worried about being on grid.. looks like he just wants to knock the bill down

OP : unless you get a killer deal on the panels dont rely on them to power your grow just kill some of the cost of paying electricity.. It can be very expensive too probably more worth it to put up a wind turbine..

Better yet offer the local gov your backyard as a place to put a wind generator and when they do it just a matter of getting a long enough extention cord

Yea I'm not tryna be off grid but would rather save those hundreds of dollars a month. I'll look into the generators

I'm an apprentice electrician who actually just finished installing a 1.8 megawatt solar field a few weeks ago. I can tell you that I know people that produce more than they use w panels on their roof. A cape about 1,400 sqft home uses about 15-20 5x3' panels. They're producing more. That's just for a reference. I mean, your home has to be facing solar south, depends on if your roof is flat all the way across, or you may have land to build it. But also keep in mind like others said, my example is just a house without a grow, so you could at least cover your normal used electricity and take a chunk outta your grow bill. Plus it's free and clean energy. Best part of all, government rebates up the ass. And with a battery bank, you could lose power and maintain normal elec usage in your home for 2-3 days before they needed to be recharged (but they always are charging sun or clouds, some even at night)

to much money for the setup.... i think only in the Pablo Escobar house you can get panels for 8k ....

good luck,

Pompon

CallMeCap said:

Does anyone use them? I plan on having 8 1k lights for now for a perpetual grow & could run up a hefty light bill with all of the electronics. I'd rather spend the money upfront & end up saving in the long run

Click to expand...

You will not save in the long run because solar panels are 15-20% efficient... In space they are 99.9% efficient but that's besides the point... Only thing you will gain is stealth from lower utility bills - you will never come out ahead with solar (at least with todays technology/cost).

Generators? You're jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Fuel, maintenance, noise. Jesus. Build a frigging greenhouse, heat it with natural gas or even your own woody biomass heater. Get your light free. Control the dark cycles if wanted with blackout covers.

yes but that runs the risk of being in the open.. We all know the sun is free light. Have you priced a generator?? Here it is the same or cheaper to run on propane rather than buying from the power company.. Maintenience on large generators can be done while its running.. it was made to supply constant power ie. hospitals etc. Noise is the only real concern for them but then agian you have to have a split ac to run any kind of big op so does it really matter?? depends on the person and the situation