Best Way Of Saving Electricity?!?!

[organix4207]

Using the t5's in ontario would certainly help as our off peak hours are 7pm-7am @ 8 cents a kilowatt-hour Our peak times start at 7:01am- 6:59 pm @ 28 cents a kilowatt-hour .
I personally dim my ballasts down to 400 watts for peak hours during veg if I'm around to do so .

 

[organix4207]

A really good way to save electricity is using the gas lantern technique.
For veg it's
12 on
2.5 off
1 on
2.5 off

 

[ziplock]

I don't see why this wouldn't work. Use the T5's top and bottom (morning and evening) to simulate sunrise and sunset even, he may see some interesting responses such as shortened veg time perhaps.

That occurred to me, but I can't recommend it to someone who has a lot to lose. I'd like to hear from someone who's tried it.

 

[ziplock]

A nice controller to simulate sunrise would surely save electric.I would like to try it myself and eliminate cheesy timers im using now. What was the question?

The question was whether anyone had experimented with this technique, and how the quality and quantity of the product held up.

 

[ziplock]

A really good way to save electricity is using the gas lantern technique.
For veg it's
12 on
2.5 off
1 on
2.5 off

You mean wake up every 2-1/2 hrs at night to turn the lantern on/off?

 

[organix4207]

You mean wake up every 2-1/2 hrs at night to turn the lantern on/off?

No set the timer to that lighting cycle

 

[ziplock]

No set the timer to that lighting cycle

Gotcha! Thanks.

 

[ziplock]

I don't see why this wouldn't work. Use the T5's top and bottom (morning and evening) to simulate sunrise and sunset even, he may see some interesting responses such as shortened veg time perhaps.

You don't think he'd sacrifice bud growth by knocking back on the HPS?

 

[CelticEBE]

I really don't think the Electric Company's care if you are growing, only if you are stealing power or not paying your bill.

Years ago I know they used to tip off cops to grows, but I haven't heard of anything like that in a LONG time. At least here in Cali.

 

[MGRox]

Can you save power on an 18-hr grow cycle by cutting the HPS to 12 hrs, and adding 6 hrs of Hi intensity T5s? Maybe 3 hrs at either end of HPS cycle? ........Has anybody tried this? With what results?

integrated daily photon flux density is integrated daily photon flux density. (meaning you will get less daily PPFD than without switching to T5's) The query can be narrowed with inclusion of spectra, but out of the scope here.

 

[ziplock]

If you want to save power grow outside or in a greenhouse,flips or vert wont save you.
Not using AC can save some but if your not in the perfect place with conditions for it can cost you more in lost production than you save.
Probably the best way to save is new tech lighting like DE's or CMH,these can cut up to 25% off lighting electrical use.AC is going to cost you period,according to cannabis john even high seer units dont help much in our application as our units tend to run at higher speeds all the time.Chillers will save but you pay BIG up front.
High efficiency dehueys like Quest and super efficient fans like hyperfans use half of the power others do and help some.
Also your electric co. and the way they bill makes the biggest difference,I have tiers which go up with higher use effectively tripling or quadripling my bill,i have a buddy in another state that has no tiers and pays a straight 8cents a KWH(Lots of cheap hydro power)with no tiers,lucky fuck.I even put in a 10kw alternative energy source thinking it would at least keep me in lower tiers,it helps me but is no magic bullet,does cover my household use but im still in higher tiers.
Good luck.

Yeah, Im in the cheap hydro part of town, too. This guy is in a really high rate area. I like your other ideas, focusing (Central AK)

integrated daily photon flux density is integrated daily photon flux density. (meaning you will get less daily PPFD than without switching to T5's) The query can be narrowed with inclusion of spectra, but out of the scope here.

I tend to agree. But I still wonder if adding the spectrum of the T5s might partially compensate somehow, or as someone else implied, there might be some advantage in simulating sunrise and sunset. Neither of these possibilities, in my mind, at least, is going to compensate for the PPFD loss of turning off the HPS for 3 or more hours, least of all for 6 hours.

 

[Seamaiden]

That occurred to me, but I can't recommend it to someone who has a lot to lose. I'd like to hear from someone who's tried it.

I understand, but since no one's posted who's actually done it, I figured I'd offer my dos centavos.

So let me put it this way--I can't afford to light during veg with HPS. HPS = supercharging. I've done shop lights (T8s) primarily, and then later on T5s. I have grown giant clams and hermatypic corals out using T8s (@MGRox and the other reefkeepers will understand the significance of that) ONLY.

I know that that fluoro lighting will work just fine for vegging. There is functionally no reason why adding HPS to the mix I use wouldn't work, and vice versa.

You don't think he'd sacrifice bud growth by knocking back on the HPS?

I thought you were talking about veg cycle with mention of the 18hr cycle. I think it'll work just fine in veg. I would be very hesitant to knock back a full 6hrs of light like that in flowering though. I would be willing to play with an hour or two at the beginning and end of the daylight phase of the photoperiod though, mimicking outdoors a bit more. But then spectrum may need a little tweaking, using bulbs with more red (whoops, did we just defeat the purpose of using the T5s?) than blue, in order to better mimic sunrise and sunset.

 

[MGRox]

I have grown giant clams and hermatypic corals out using T8s

VHO's right? :p

I know that that fluoro lighting will work just fine for vegging.

Yeah.... I totally didn't even pay attention to the question was about veg! +1 then, I run stupid low light in veg. Lot of years I vegged with 4-13w compacts. I still finish veg with a single 96w PC.

 

[Seamaiden]

But of course VHOs. No ozone or foam fractionation, though!

 

[ziplock]

I understand, but since no one's posted who's actually done it, I figured I'd offer my dos centavos.

So let me put it this way--I can't afford to light during veg with HPS. HPS = supercharging. I've done shop lights (T8s) primarily, and then later on T5s. I have grown giant clams and hermatypic corals out using T8s (@MGRox and the other reefkeepers will understand the significance of that) ONLY.

I know that that fluoro lighting will work just fine for vegging. There is functionally no reason why adding HPS to the mix I use wouldn't work, and vice versa.

I thought you were talking about veg cycle with mention of the 18hr cycle. I think it'll work just fine in veg. I would be very hesitant to knock back a full 6hrs of light like that in flowering though. I would be willing to play with an hour or two at the beginning and end of the daylight phase of the photoperiod though, mimicking outdoors a bit more. But then spectrum may need a little tweaking, using bulbs with more red (whoops, did we just defeat the purpose of using the T5s?) than blue, in order to better mimic sunrise and sunset.

Thanks for the distinction. That helps a lot. This will clarify the issue for my friend - and me,too.

 

[Desertboy]

You want to extend day light hours just use a 20w cfl when the main light is off. So for example 12/12 with a 600w and another 6 hours with only 20w cfl. The level of light to stimulate the phytochromes to keep a plant in veg is very very low. Flashing the light also works.

Look up Phytochromes for more info or just trust me and 80 years+ of professional non cannabis growers.

The gas lantern approach works because of phytochromes.

 

[Anayis]

You can also install telemetry Units with power sipply for domestic gas/water/electricity meters, like this http://en.rs-tech.ru Telemetry System for the household sector allow to view monthly archives by consumption from anywhere in the world with access to the Internet. You can also download free mobile applications for remote viewing of data on the consumption of resources

 

[Ikkt]

I used 10+8, 6+12 (Main Light + smaller, "don't switch to sleep light") and a lot of other light cycles. There's no problem at all, often the growth rate stays about the same if your DLI with a big HPS is more than they need. You can experiment without much worry, worst case is they grow a little slower...

For Moms I usually use just a small 8W led bulb 18-24hr and run the main Light for only three hours. If your Mom is fat and/or tall you might need another bulb in between so her lower shaded branches don't start to grow boobs.
When I need cuttings I just run the main light 24hr for ~10 days or until they grew what I need.

And I tried something similar in Flower after reading that many plants are struggling to keep up photosynthesis after only half of the light cycle. I thought why not try to give them a break?
I ran a 14hr light cycle and cut four hours of main light out right in the middle and used 4x 5 or 8W Led bulbs instead.
Couldn't notice any significant decrease in yield or quality, guess my DLI was near the efficient maximum nonetheless.

Main lesson to learn if you want to save electricity is:
Get to know your DLI and what the "law of diminishing returns" tries to tell you!

Find out if you are in an inefficient region. To squeeze out the last few possible percents per space needs as much light as the first 30-50% of yield. It gets extremely inefficient, can lead to problems and just makes no sense in most cases.
A better way would be running more spaces at 70-80% of what's possible.
That would use the same or perhaps less energy as running one room at 100% but yields more or at least the same and has additional savings cause you can make smart things with heating, cooling and extraction fans!