Calculating grow room electricity cost is a very important step which usually the growers miss out on.
As you prepare the budget for gardening, you must have to include the grow room electricity cost so that there will not be much pressure on your pocket later on.
This is where grow room cost calculator comes in handy.
Though if you are unaware of how to prepare a budget or how this grow room cost calculator works then don’t worry, I am here to help.
Just read along to know everything:
Contents
How Much Electricity should my grow room consume?
Well, it depends on many factors.
While the major factor is the power consumption of grow lights. Running time of ventilation system.
Either oscillating fans or exhaust fans, these systems will be contributing to the electricity bill. So, count everything that is consuming electricity in your garden.
However, to help you out here is the brief information on the different grow systems and their electricity consumption:
- 100W LED grow light
Electricity: $10 per month
Harvest: 1 to 5 oz per harvest
- 250W HPS grow light
Electricity: $21 per month
Harvest: 4 to 9oz per harvest
- 600W HPS grow light
Electricity: $61 per month
Harvest: 10 to 21oz per harvest
(The above data might vary according to the location where you live and the electricity cost. However, we have calculated on the U.S average of $0.12/kWh.)
You can observe that under LED grow light section, the electricity cost is quite less while the other grow light systems have a higher cost than that. That is why to reduce the power consumption, we recommend you to use LED grow lights.
As these grow lights are much efficient and last longer than the other options. Above all, they consume less electricity and that is why they reduce the electricity bill if you use them in your garden.
Though I have not counted the other electrical equipment to keep things simple. Also, grow light is the major component that consumes most of the electricity.
How to calculate the cost?
However, before we head to the main equation by which you can calculate the total cost, you must have to be aware of the following factors that will help you calculate the total cost:
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Cost of electricity
The cost of electricity might vary according to different regions. Therefore, you can confirm once for the accurate cost of electricity according to where you live. Although the national average in the USA is $0.12 and $0.10 in Canada. You can get a rough idea by this.
Still, to get the exact cost, you need to know your specific location’s cost of electricity.
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Number of hours
That means, the number of hours you will be running your electrical tools or appliances every day. For example, during the vegetative stage, growers often keep their grow lights running for up to 18 hours. While some growers also opt to run their grow lights for up to 24 hours to boost the vegetative growth in their garden.
Apart from this, if your garden contains additional tools such as rotating fans, exhaust fan then you also have to consider them. Still, for simplicity, I am taking the case of only grow light.
Therefore, you must know for how much time you will be running your grow lights.
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Watts
This is the power consumption of your electrical tools and appliances. Don’t worry, you don’t have to calculate this. As the wattage is already written by the manufacturer side on the appliance.
Even while buying grow lights you can check the product description for the exact wattage of your grow light.
After knowing the wattage of your grow lights, it is divided by 1000 to convert the value into Kilowatts (kW).
After knowing all the above factors, now, you can move for calculating the electricity cost of your garden.
The equation to calculate the total cost of electricity is:
Total Cost = Cost of Electricity x Number of Hours x (Watts / 1000)
Within this equation, you can easily calculate the cost of electricity instantly. However, to help you out let’s take a practical example. By this, it will be clearer to you, how to use the grow room cost equation:
In this example, we are taking 100W LED to grow light.
So, the factors to calculate the cost of electricity will be:
- Cost of electricity: $0.20 per kWh (this might vary so, while calculating your own cost, make sure to get the exact cost of electricity).
- Number of hours:
Veg: 45 days of 18/6 = 810 hours
Flower: 90 days of 12/12 = 1080 hours
Total hours = 810+1080 = 1890 hours
- Wattage/1000: as we used 100W LED hence, by dividing it by 1000, we get 0.1 kW.
Now, by following the calculating equation:
Total cost= cost of electricity x number of hours x (watts/1000)
Total cost = $0.20 kWh x 1890 hours x 0.1 kW = $37.8 ~ $38
The total cost after the calculation is approximately $38. Similarly, you can calculate your own cost of electricity. One thing to keep in mind is that in the above example, we have only considered the cost of grow light and its electricity consumption.
While other equipment such as fans, pumps, etc., are also needed to be considered while doing the complete calculations.
Therefore, don’t mistake forgetting the other electrical appliances in your garden and do consider them along with growing lights while calculating total electricity cost.
How to reduce electricity bills while growing?
Grow equipment uses a major part of your electricity. Especially when you are growing at a moderate to large scale.
Therefore, to reduce the electricity cost, you can follow these tips, which will help out:
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Choose the right to grow light
Grow light is the main appliance that fetches most of the electricity cost.
And, therefore, you need to invest in a better quality of grow light.
If you really want to grow your plants in the best way while saving some money then we recommend you invest in LED grow lights.
LEDs are a far better option than the other options.
These LED grow lights use almost half the power of other heavy grow lights while giving a better output. Moreover, they last very long enabling you to use them for multiple growing periods. Therefore, you don’t need to replace or change grow light after every harvest.
Above all, due to less power consumption LED grow lights help reduce the electricity bill as well. For example, if electricity cost is running more than $100 with other grow lights then with LED you might have the bill of only $50-$60.
So, the very first step to reducing the electricity cost of your garden is to get the best LED to grow light.
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Choose the right weed strain
The longer your electrical grow equipment will run the more it will cost. As the longer, your equipment consumes the electricity.
Therefore, you need to choose a weed strain that has a shorter flowering period. That means if you will be growing a strain that will mature faster then it will ultimately reduce the usage of electrical equipment by a few hours resulting in saving in electricity cost.
Generally, 8 weeks of the flowering period is ideal if you want to save on your electricity bill. Fortunately, there are multiple strains available within this flowering time.
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Schedule the light cycle
If your strain is capable and you are already giving a 24/0 light schedule in the vegetative stage then you can shift to an 18/6 light schedule. This will reduce the running time of grow light and still, your plants will grow healthier.
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Remove the extra equipment
Sometimes the over-excited grow enthusiasts often get grow equipment more than they require. For instance, if your location’s climate is not too harsh or hot then perhaps you might not need the extra fan in your garden for airflow maintenance. As the climate is good.
Therefore, you can remove the extra equipment from your grow area while keeping the health of your plants the same. This will ultimately lead you to save some electricity costs, which you might spend unnecessarily.
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Growing an auto flower strain
Auto flower strains are generally fast strains. They will be ready to harvest within 3 months or less. You can also search for the best fast marijuana strains in the market. You will find many options. Choose any of them to grow fast and have less electricity cost.
Electrical safety tips
While cultivating weed plants, you will be dealing with multiple electrical appliances and also with the wet grow medium or nutrients. Hence, you need to take the appropriate safety measures to be safe and grow your garden in the best manner.
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Don’t touch any electrical equipment with wet hands
This is the most obvious thing that you should not do. Doesn’t matter how much hurry you are, don’t touch the electrical equipment with wet hands, otherwise, you know the outcome!
- Keep your grow area dry and cleaned.
- Tie the additional wires if there are any. It is better to keep the electronics off the floor.
- Check your circuit breaker if it is working properly. Replace it if you found it faulty.
- Don’t keep any live wire unprotected. Tape that or replace it with the protected wire.
Grow Room Cost Calculator: FAQ
Here are the questions that are asked frequently regarding this topic:
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What needs to be considered while calculating grow room cost?
Don’t include only grow lights. Rather, all the electrical appliances which are using electricity needs to be included in the calculation part. Such as rotating fans, exhaust fans, air pumps, or anything else which is in the garden and using electricity needs to be counted.
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Is it necessary to calculate the electricity cost for the garden?
Yes! By calculating how much electricity your garden is consuming you will have an idea of the budget or your expenses in the garden. Overall, it is a smart step, which should be done.
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How to reduce electricity cost?
Use an efficient source of light. Generally, LEDs are the better option. Remove the extra and unnecessary electrical appliances. Reschedule the light cycle if needed. Opt for growing faster marijuana strains that can grow in less time. This will make sure your electrical appliances are running for less time and ultimately resulting in less electricity cost.
Grow Room Cost Calculator: Final words
Grow room cost calculator helps you calculate your budget for growing weed plants. It is an important step that a grower should not miss out on. Because with grow room cost calculation you get to know how much money you need to invest.
Well, now you know how to do it and fortunately, you will have a better idea of the expenses for gardening next time.
