Best 12 hours to stay DARK....?

At the moment, whilst on 18/6 Veg cycle, I go dark from 12noon to 6pm.
The reason is:
1 - Electricity is cheaper at night so I try to use more in the night
and
2 - I am most often out of the house between 9am and 6.30pm
So the plants are left alone, more often, between these hours.

In 2 or 3 weeks I will change from 18 on/6 off to 12 on/12 off....

what are the best hours to be turned off?
I was planning on complete darkness from 7.30am to 7.30pm.

This will allow my electricity usage to be during the off peak priced hours AND, if I awake at 7am, I can still have 20 minutes to look at them,
When I return home it will only be 60 to 80 minutes before the light is back on AND I can look at them without fear of breaking the 12hours of darkness and causing problems for the flower cycle.

If anyone has experience of this I'd like to hear their opinions.....

Thanks

Don't really matter when you have dark time. What ever works best for you is the best time.

well its best to stay light at night because there is more CO2 available in the air, so i guess it would be better to have the lights off during the daytime

i believe the plants don't care when those 12 hours of dark occur as long as it's consistent…you are their god

dark at night so no ambient light has a chance to get in. No sun=darkness.

I run at night because outdoor temps are cooler. This helps me control heat easier, even aircon units run more efficently at cooler ambient temps.

For me, I run my flower lights 7pm on to 7am off. The reason I do this is I use the heat from the 2kwatts to help heat my house, its cold here in colorado

I have to run at night now that winter is hitting. So cold that it just radiates through the walls. Is electricity really cheaper at night? My electric bill doesn't think so.

MFB said:

I have to run at night now that winter is hitting. So cold that it just radiates through the walls. Is electricity really cheaper at night? My electric bill doesn't think so.

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It is in the UK.
I thought it sounded like bullshit so, when I phoned to discuss my payment plan, I actually asked if night time energy cost less than daytime - and I was told YES.
But this is the land of $2 litres of gasoline.
Energy is expensive, here.

For and Against Night time Usage....
FOR
1 - Cheaper electric
2 - More Co2 in the atmosphere
3 - Outdoor temps are cooler
4 - helps warm the home

AGAINST
1 - More chance of ambient daylight disturbing the budding plants.

Night time light seems an all out winner.

In the summer months having lights off during the day will help maintain reasonable temps.
And the cooler nights can tolerate more of a heat boost from the lights.

Sounds like it depends where you are but cost is my biggest reason, I pay 7.2 cents/KWhr at night, up to 15 cents peak periods during the day, no question when I'm going to choose to run them….

GroErr said:

Sounds like it depends where you are but cost is my biggest reason, I pay 7.2 cents/KWhr at night, up to 15 cents peak periods during the day, no question when I'm going to choose to run them….

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JESUS H CHRIST!
That much difference in price...?
More than twice as much during the day as it costs at night...?

I was just told that night time prices were less than daytime prices - like telephone peak/off peak charges.
But I assumed the difference would be negligible.
I'll rethink that one.

Another benefit of running at night is the meter reader wont see the meter dial spinning like crazy. He probably wont notice or say anything but how do you know his brother isn't a cop who told him what to be watching for? Better safe than sorry.
Fred

I am thinking of keeping it running at night all year now. Summers get so damn muggy I don't want the lights on during the day.

I am going to call the electric company tomorrow and figure out overnight rates.