Electricity--220 vs 110 ??

Assuming 1000 HPS lights, do 110 current ones use more electricity than the same one with a 220 set-up ?

I don't think so but, since I really don't know much about electricial matters, I wanted to ask.

Thanks in advance

no they dont use more power but they say 220 volt is more efficient. when using 220 volt it keeps a more ballanced load on your service coming in to your house.

It's the same amount of electricity either way. 220 is not more efficient, it's ONLY advantage is that you can fit more lights on a single 220 circuit than you can on a single 110 circuit.

One 1000w hps by itself nearly maxes out one 110 circuit.

well i have 120 volt and a 20 amp circuit. use 80% of 20 amp gives 16 amps
16 amps x 120 volt = 1920 watts.
i dont see where a 1000w nearly maxes it out.

All electrical service to homes and wiring in homes, and breakers on those lines are not equal.
You can fit two on one, lucky you... Don't nitpick.

Most people have trouble understanding the meaning of both voltage and amperage....I'll try to explain the best I can. I think this may be an easy example relating it to water..... Voltage is equal to gallons per minute(gpm) (this number is constant) Amperage is equal to pressure at witch (gpm) is delivered. Basic Ohm's Law says that if you double the voltage you cut the amperage in half. Hope that makes it a little more understandable

secrettoke said:

Most people have trouble understanding the meaning of both voltage and amperage....I'll try to explain the best I can. I think this may be an easy example relating it to water..... Voltage is equal to gallons per minute(gpm) (this number is constant) Amperage is equal to pressure at witch (gpm) is delivered. Basic Ohm's Law says that if you double the voltage you cut the amperage in half. Hope that makes it a little more understandable

Click to expand...

sorry but voltage is not constant. voltage is inversly proportional to amperage. if amperage goes up then voltage goes down and vise versa.
the longer the wire is the more voltage drop you get hence voltage drops then amperage goes up.
so for very long runs in wires say more than 200 feet long then voltage drops quite alot so amperage goes up quite alot. if that happens then you cant run as much equipment do to higher amperage you must size the breaker accordingly. just because you have 20 amp wire doesnt always mean you can use a 20 amp breaker, you may have to use a 15 amp breaker. also it will take a higher amperage to run the equipement at the rating its suppose to, then it will shorten the life of the equipment.
voltage drop should not exceed 3% on branch circuits and not to exceed 5% total including the service drop.

You seem to have some basic understanding of electric and its applications, I myself have been an electrican for a number of years. Here in the US voltage is a constant 120/240 277/480 depending on the transformer configuration other voltages such as 208 are available. But the voltage must be constant for the device to run properly. Yes resistance is a consideration in some installations. But I have done pipe runs of over 1000 feet and had nominal voltage drop with proper gauge wire however in very long runs a step up transformer can be used.

basic understanding lol.im in the states and have been a master electrician for over 20 years. voltage is not constant. do you know what voltage drop is? if so then voltage is not constant but we correct it by the size of the conductor.
when your lights flicker because lets say a central air unit comes on. that start up of the compressor draws a hell of alot of current,so your voltage goes down, hence not constant.
yes a step up transformer may be used but now your talking commercial for very long runs. but thats usually 3 phase, a whole different power supply. but for someones house running a circuit to their shed out back you must do the voltage drop calc. and size your wire up accordingly to reduce thevoltage drop.

the power company does certain things to maintain a constant voltage but they cannot completly thats why you see surges and we use surge protectors because the voltage is not constant.

ive seen voltages at peoples houses coming from the power company be 110 volts one minute and 125 the next.

i absolutly see where your coming from. alot of things wont work if the voltage gets too low. and after start up of the equipment the voltage goes back up to normal and the current comes back down to normal, thats why the overcurrent device usually has a time delay.

look up voltage, nominal in you code book. begining of the book in definitions. page 70-31 in the 2008 nec.

1000watts /120v= 8.3 amps

1000watts/240==4.16 amps


240 is more efficient.

No pissing contest here....Suppose I could have phrased it better.....Voltage must be kept constant.

secrettoke said:

No pissing contest here....Suppose I could have phrased it better.....Voltage must be kept constant.

Click to expand...

no problem bro i agree with that. dont want to argue anymore anyway. its just one of those days. sorry for the missunderstanding. i placed an order and the dude suppose to call me this morning and he is not answering his cell, so im pretty pissy right now. and im about 10 weeks from harvest so anyways we will talk more another time. good luck

110 220 same shit just bigger amp draw 220 is not more efficent it is 110 on both legs with a grounding peg pretty simple if u ask me i to though 220 was cheaper but in reality if you are small time 110 is the way to go with 220 u need a heavy duty timer and a light controller board all kinds of shit u dont need at 110