Hello to all...just a couple questions or 5...

Hello...from where good spirits abound and a smile outshines a frown....I know what I ask,has probably been asked many times before...and also answered...but I didn't really feel like searchin' thru it all and figured some good souls would come to my aid...been browsin' here for a while,and have really learned a lot....but even though,my thumb is as green as can be,I've never attempted to grow inside where the true sun don't shine....outside right now,the tomatoes,green beans,peppers,sunflowers,and everything else,including gourds and luffa's that seem to grow over a foot a day or more,are all doin' just fine,along with one weird lookin' tomato plant that seems ta be of a different variety,must be some kinda heirloom deal.....anyway,here be my questions....

-I just want to start out and experiment a little,how much per month will my electric bill spike,with maybe a 600W HPS,I would be using during flowering,and a fan and duct system and whatever else may be needed
-I have air conditioning,but in the winter,my main heat is just from a wood stove,which can mean that temps in my house can rise and fall from one xtreme to the other...being that I was basically going to enclose a small grow room that would not be receiving any heat or air except for what hit's the outside walls,will I need any other method of heating or cooling inside the room...and kinda wondered that if I had a filter to prevent the smell,if I could vent that heat from the lights into my living space to provide a little xtra warmth?...
-I would really like to invest in some of that infrared blocking fabric or material or whatever it is...and just wondered if it really does work,and if anyone here has used it....and also,if it needs to be put behind and wrapped around before drywall is put up,or to surround the inside of the walls with it,or whether either option would be alright,cause it sure would be nice ta just have flat white paint instead of some metallic looking deal....
I plan on just doin' my first try with a high quality soil mixture that I shall come up with on my own,and hopefully try some hydro on down the road....but was just wondering,even though the lights and all will be on a timer....how is it possible to keep your plants watered when away for like a period of 5-7 days....like with an automatic watering system,that would be almost scary to trust or some other method....I sometimes get lost in the woods for a few days at a time,if ya know what I mean....I'm sure I could probably figure out some kind of system,but it would be appreciated much to hear from those who know how ta do it the right way...
-I know a whole bunch about electric and quite a bunch of other scat....but,will one 20 amp breaker with 12 gauge wire be sufficient for the lights,fans,timers,and all for a setup of one 600W HPS,veg room bulbs that will probably be cfl or flourescent,and then maybe at a later date put in another 600watter or would it be more advisable to run two different 20 amp feeds while I'm at it....
-will my well water be alright or do I need to test it and adjust the pH for the plants to be alright...the tomatoes and gourds seem ta be thrivin' from it...but I have read where proper pH can be a make it or break it deal...so was just wonderin'...
-I'm sure I will have more questions,and probably won't even be able to start anything because of cash flow for a month or three,but when I do somethin',I like ta do it right,if ya know what I mean....I tend to put an autograph on the work I do to make a living,and for sure know,that when I start to grow indoors,it will be nothing but of the finest quality I can make it....thanks so much to anyone who can give me any advice on all the above,and anything more...it will much appreciated and good spirits will be sent your way......oh...yes,I do have one more question...told ya I would
-what is the best place to order seeds from,and is it cool just ta have em' delivered to my rural mail box....and if just getting a few,should I get feminized or what?....from what I have read,I think some kush would be best for easin' my pain,but really,any good smoke can give me relief....so any suggestions on how to go about this,would very much be appreciated also......thanks so much y'all....hope I can show somethin' off in a few months......in the meantime,keep on a smilin'....

From the sounds of it I would run your lights at nighttime, due to your somewhat unreliable heating system and not knowing how cold it gets around your house... it might be better to have your lights on part of your cycle during nighttime to give off a little extra heat rather you needing to run your AC during the day to counter it, ya know?

My bill was about 50$ extra a month, but thats with 24/7 AC to cope with my lights heat and the 100 degree weather outside, and that was 18/6 cycle aswell.. now that i'm on 12/12 it should be a lot cheaper.
I also am running a 400W setup with all the fixings, so a 600W setup should be a little more. I'll post a large response to this question after I answer your other ones :]

With your 5-7 days of leaving, thats always not good.... unless like you said you have a timer.. the only way I think you would be alright in this situation is if you invest in a very good timer, one you didnt buy from either wal-mart or china... and use it for a while before you leave so you know that its working and get all the kinks out of it beforehand and you should be fine... I think I could actually water and wait five days and water again and i'd be fine.. it all depends on how well your soil retains water and how thirsty your plants are I guess.

I'm pretty sure a 20AMP breaker is more than efficient for all of your equipment, i'm not an electrician im more towards plumbing but I think I use about 7-9AMPs total with an inline fan/ tower fan/ ballast / timer.

this is the right way to do it man, study this shit a month prior and then save up a little more than you think you need.
I did the same thing and still ended up spending a lot more money than I expected, it all depends on how good of smoke you want at the end really


I found the formula... this assumes $0.12 per KW hour price... (If you pay a different amount change the formula below)

Explination = Watts used by device (a 400 watts HPS) X hours used over the course of a month = total watt hours
Example = 400 watts x 24 hours/day x 30.5 days/month = 292,800 Total Watt-hours

Explination = now you have to convert Wh (watt hours) to kWh (kilowatt hours) Wh / 1000 = kWh
Example = 292,800 Wh / 1000 Wh = 293 kWh

Explination = now take you kWH and multiply it by the price you pay your electric provider
Eample = 293 kWh x 12¢/kWh = $35.16/mo.; $422/yr.

When you buy electricity they charge you by the kilowatt-hour (kWh). When you use 1000 watts for 1 hour, that's a kilowatt-hour.


Understand that a HPS may use a little more due to ballest, age of ballest and light, small amount for a timer unit... but this is so small as to not worry about.

So in my tent I have a 400 watt HPS going 12/12, an oscilating fan, the 4" inline fan. The timer's usage for my light is so small I am not going to calculate it.

My total cost for the month should be an additional 28.05...

thanks for all that helpful info SteeZz....very good info on the electric chart,I'll have to see what my kilowatt hour rate is where I'm at....anyone have any info on the infra-red blocking stuff or anything else on my inquiries,I'm all ears....thanks...

props to steezz on that. helped me alot ive been wondering what the spike in cost would be to run a 400 watt setup HPS so i guess around 30 bucks