I have been slowely replacing my Mag Ballast for ditigal ballast,my 1st purchase being Lunatek dimmable1000watt ballast. After several months of comparing brands and "A TRUE DIGITAL BALLAST" (CPU Processed) most on the market are not true digital. I went with L.Tek, I liked the warrenty, new one has a micro proccessor, I ran across a web site(which I cant find now) done by a independent lab comparing todays digital ballast, and Lunatek came out ahead. After I setting up the ballast and running it through it dimmable settings,--Then it dawned on me,---IAM I REALLY SAVING ON ELECTRICITY COST,BY RUNNING IT ON A LOWER OUTPUT (Why didnt I think about this eailer I could have saved $100 to $150 dallors extra for non ballast dimmable) Iam still pulling 1000watt of current even though I have it set at 60%,
EXAMPLE, If Iam running lets say 1000watt Mag ballast and I put in a 600watt bulb(I do not recommend this!! people do it all the time)Just because I placed a 600watt bulb into the 1000watt ballast does not mean Iam only consuming only 600watts of power, the bulb does not step down the ballast, I understand the dimmable feature could be used like during foiler feeding,etc,and I still prefer digital (electronic)ballast over Mag, but I see the DIMMABLE as a marketing ploy--If someone has a better info,please let me know.
Question, Has anyone know when is the best time to run at 110%, at last week or last 2 weeks of flowering,etc
PEACE