Electricity Consumption Cost Reduction.

[The Bedroom Gardener UK]

Hi everyone,

I'm a small grower in the UK, where the prices of electricity are supposed to be riased more than 50% at the end of Feb 2022. For me this puts my cost per oz production nearly to the point where it is not cost effective for me to grow anymore, and will definately put a strain on the household finances, so I would like to know if you have any tips or tricks to keep the electricity costs down.

Basically I have a small 250w HPS, a couple of bar heaters for when it gets too cold, internal 5" fan, and 5" extraction. I know it may not seem a lot to some of you with quite large grows & hydro pumps etc, but I would still like to reduce my footprint.

I assume that changing from HPS to LED would make quite a difference to the end bill, as this is the main culprit for overall consumption & is on constantly 20 /4? I know that not all LEDs are made equal, so what should I be looking out for efficiency wise if I raise the cash to purchase one? I have been offered a few LEDs on Instagram, but have never took them up as I didn't want to accept some crap thing. Are there certain words or levels I should look out for?

I have thought about going back into growing regular canna, as I will have to flip onto 12/12 for over half its life (saving 8hrs of leccy a day). I'll have to figure out if the increased flowering time eats up those additional hours

My extraction is on 24x7, and is already on a step controller at the lowest setting apart from in full flower. I don't think it would be a good idea to have this on a on / off cycle, as it is the only barrier between my plants and the police at the door. If anyone does cycle their extraction without releasing any smell I would like to hear about it.

Heaters are only used when it gets below a certain temp, so that is an easier fix by not growing when it's winter like I currently do. It will of course reduce my growing year to 2 x 12 week grows, but that's a consession I will probably have to make.

Fans can be put on a timer. Normally I would leave them on all the time, but is there a better / worse time for not running them, or a cycle others use?

Unfortunately growing outside is not an option where I live, and I'm a bit too old and feeble to be using derelict spaces around motorways and the like.


So if you would, please put up your cost savers. I'm not bothered if it doesn't relate to my grow specifically, but just what you do to reduce costs & possibly help out some others who are going to be in a simular position. Cheers all

 

[Rando]

I am a first-time grower and purchased a cheap led light so cannot recommend products suited to you as an experienced grower can, however, I can tell you switching to an led would be a big saving HPS tends to draw slightly more watts than they are rated, but let's say its running 250 watts and I would assume you're paying around 18 pence per kw/h? so 250w x 0.18 pence x 20 hours = £9 per day whereas an led at 100w would give you the same lighting at 100 x 0.18 x 20 = £3.6 per day you would then have to factor in costs of a separate heat source. what time does your period of darkness occur? electricity gets cheaper during off-peak times so could be a small saving if it were to occur at peak time

philzon pl-1000 100w led light is said to be a direct replacement for a 250w HPS now this is what the manufacturer says and its a cheap lighting system on amazon so don't take it for gospel

If you have time I would like to pm you I have a few questions on uk nutes additives and dwc if you have ever done it

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

What is the grow space size? How many plants do you normally run? I've done well with the Mars-Hydro lights. Not too costly.

 

[Del boy]

Hello fellow uk grower changing to led will deff save a few quid and you could run it 24hr for a bit less then your hps and then you dont need to run heaters as much thats about all i can think off
just worked my elec cost £175 a grow =12 weeks=12oz+a grow. I run my lights SF2000,SF1000,voast120
2 6inch fans+2air cerculater fans+10inch extraction fan i know what you saying elecy and gas prices are extortionate here in uk

 

[FarmerJake]

Run LED’s, marshydro lights are a good starting point. My light is 300w with a draw closer to 250 though so not sure if it would amount to saving if your only running a 250w currently. Dependent on space really, they are dimmable though so a more powerful unit can be utilized more efficiently.
Neglect Heating. In Northern Maine we get over ~40days below zero Fahrenheit every year. I don’t heat my basement grow which has caused problems but not enough to stop a harvest from occurring.
I have tried turning off my extraction system on schedule(lights off) and I wouldn’t recommend it. Humidity would spike to 90% very quickly and in reality it’s a small percentage of energy used. Perhaps a smaller extraction fan would be viable, I run only a “booster” fan. My extraction isn’t capable of stopping the smell once in full bloom btw.

 

[Green Hornet]

Happy New Year @The Bedroom Gardener UK Lots of variables in figuring the efficiency issues (for me). The environment and how it may change during the grow is a large factor.
My issue with LED lights is that they are so efficient and do not give off much heat compared to MH or HPS. Not that this is a bad thing but when I switched to LED lights, I did not take the lesser amount of heat into account so after factoring in a heater it was not as good as the MH/HPS for my open basement grows.
The Led lights work in my tent grows when the high heat is not acceptable but enough is produced to keep the tent in a good growing heat range and their efficiency shines.
When humidity and heat are an issue it can be more to run these units to keep in a good grow atmosphere.
I have come to the conclusion that fighting mother nature is too expensive. I finally figured out after my last grow that for my basement grows if I use the natural occurring humidity swings (high in the summer and fall and dropping in the winter) to my advantage instead of adjusting to it I am better off. But that means a limited time for growing. Happy Farming

 

[mdabber]

You want to get one with the most umols that is how efficient the energy conversion is. The higher the better. The best chips that convert electricity into light are only made in America so they can't be copied. So that means the most efficient lights are most expensive. I used 400 watt hps before they both work good it's nice not having to change bulbs and less heat. But also if you get a weaker light with less heat it might not get your temps high enough causing done to use a space heater I Don't. I use a 680watt light in 4x4

 

[mdabber]

Hi everyone,

I'm a small grower in the UK, where the prices of electricity are supposed to be riased more than 50% at the end of Feb 2022. For me this puts my cost per oz production nearly to the point where it is not cost effective for me to grow anymore, and will definately put a strain on the household finances, so I would like to know if you have any tips or tricks to keep the electricity costs down.

Basically I have a small 250w HPS, a couple of bar heaters for when it gets too cold, internal 5" fan, and 5" extraction. I know it may not seem a lot to some of you with quite large grows & hydro pumps etc, but I would still like to reduce my footprint.

I assume that changing from HPS to LED would make quite a difference to the end bill, as this is the main culprit for overall consumption & is on constantly 20 /4? I know that not all LEDs are made equal, so what should I be looking out for efficiency wise if I raise the cash to purchase one? I have been offered a few LEDs on Instagram, but have never took them up as I didn't want to accept some crap thing. Are there certain words or levels I should look out for?

I have thought about going back into growing regular canna, as I will have to flip onto 12/12 for over half its life (saving 8hrs of leccy a day). I'll have to figure out if the increased flowering time eats up those additional hours

My extraction is on 24x7, and is already on a step controller at the lowest setting apart from in full flower. I don't think it would be a good idea to have this on a on / off cycle, as it is the only barrier between my plants and the police at the door. If anyone does cycle their extraction without releasing any smell I would like to hear about it.

Heaters are only used when it gets below a certain temp, so that is an easier fix by not growing when it's winter like I currently do. It will of course reduce my growing year to 2 x 12 week grows, but that's a consession I will probably have to make.

Fans can be put on a timer. Normally I would leave them on all the time, but is there a better / worse time for not running them, or a cycle others use?

Unfortunately growing outside is not an option where I live, and I'm a bit too old and feeble to be using derelict spaces around motorways and the like.


So if you would, please put up your cost savers. I'm not bothered if it doesn't relate to my grow specifically, but just what you do to reduce costs & possibly help out some others who are going to be in a simular position. Cheers all

How much of an area are you trying to light

 

[mdabber]

Don't people use carbon filters? I don't I'm not worried about smell and it just stays in the room anyway.

 

[Unvaccinated]

I am a first-time grower and purchased a cheap led light so cannot recommend products suited to you as an experienced grower can, however, I can tell you switching to an led would be a big saving HPS tends to draw slightly more watts than they are rated, but let's say its running 250 watts and I would assume you're paying around 18 pence per kw/h? so 250w x 0.18 pence x 20 hours = £9 per day whereas an led at 100w would give you the same lighting at 100 x 0.18 x 20 = £3.6 per day you would then have to factor in costs of a separate heat source. what time does your period of darkness occur? electricity gets cheaper during off-peak times so could be a small saving if it were to occur at peak time

philzon pl-1000 100w led light is said to be a direct replacement for a 250w HPS now this is what the manufacturer says and its a cheap lighting system on amazon so don't take it for gospel

If you have time I would like to pm you I have a few questions on uk nutes additives and dwc if you have ever done it

Are you sure your calculated correct here Above?

try this.

Or:

Energy Calculator
Energy consumption:	100w	Watts (W)	Kilowatts (kW)
Time in use:	8760hrs	Minutes	Hours +
Cost of electricity:	£171,96

*Calculated using the UK Average rate of 19.63p/kWh (June 2021 tariff)