strainbank
Active Member
im curious if anyone has tried to use solar panels to help offset power costs? im sure there's probably a thread for this but i could not find it since im a new member. thanks all.
Anyone developed a solar grow room?
- Thread starter strainbank
- Start date
Banana444
Well-Known Member
Its nowhere near cost efficient. Your goal is to offset energy costs, and it would cost thousands of dollars to get enough panels to power even a small grow and take a lifetime to be worth it, not to mention it would only work when its sunny. Why not just skip all that bs and grow outside/get a greenhouse. Wind turbine power generators are an option if you are allowed to put one up where you live.
strainbank
Active Member
i see what you mean, but it's become so popular to heat pools and offset total energy costs, i imagine that it would help a grow room too. so you think it's just not practical if the entire room is powered off solar? what if you lived in a house with solar, is that any better you think? i live in san diego so we have lots of sun here, i guess not like arizona or nevada.
BustinScales510
Well-Known Member
Its not so much how sunny it is where youre at but how much energy from the panels you can store in the batteries. Grow lights gulp up a lot of energy rapidly,much more than typical household appliances that solar panels usually help with.
strainbank
Active Member
ok that makes sense about the power consumption being high for grow rooms, i guess that makes sense. i figured there are some houses that completely run off solar so why not a grow? we might be developing just a nursery for clones and moms so would a non-HID setup work better?
torontoke
Well-Known Member
Its entirely possible to do it would just cost alot to start up.
Using a wind turbine plus a few dozen solar panels you would need a basement full of batteries to run a house with a decent grow op.
If not getting a hydro bill or anyone knowing how much power u burn is worth 20-30k then go for it and please let us know how it goes.
Im interested in this idea too
Using a wind turbine plus a few dozen solar panels you would need a basement full of batteries to run a house with a decent grow op.
If not getting a hydro bill or anyone knowing how much power u burn is worth 20-30k then go for it and please let us know how it goes.
Im interested in this idea too
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strainbank
Active Member
the upfront money is not a concern, i want to develop something new and work on it so that maybe it can be a model for sustainable growing. i talked to a patient that did solar for a living and essence he was 420 friendly but i was curious if anyone knew more. i didnt know the feedback would be so negative, but it seems it's just a cost issue. i didnt think i was going to have a micky mouse setup, anyway im new to the site i guess i should have given more info. thanks toron!
bbyb420
Well-Known Member
Well if upfront money isnt a concern this could be very viable. What kind of lighting set up were you planning to have?
Diabolical666
Well-Known Member
The return on investment would be years and years down the road....I think I did the cost and ROI for wind power and it was like 8 years. This is why no ones switching over. Solar...just grow outside
strainbank
Active Member
@bbyb420 im not sure yet. we actually have a company that has developed led lights using the new chip technology. we have investors and stuff so we want to have something looks good, but that's practical. we dont mind good old fashion hps' and mh's, but the idea around solar was to claim that our collective is doing what we can to offset the footprint we have on earth from growing. we're already using organic nutrients that come in recyclable containers. i cant say much about all the rockwool we use but it is what is.
@Diabolical666 we want indoor quality herb, the idea to grow outside to save money has been discovered.
@Diabolical666 we want indoor quality herb, the idea to grow outside to save money has been discovered.
bbyb420
Well-Known Member
What's the power intake on the LEDs? Do you know? LEDs consume a lot less energy than HPS/MH so it'd be even more viable for solar. BTW if you don't wanna leave a foot print stop using rockwool, its an unnatural material that doesn't break down.
strainbank
Active Member
the led specs are 450watt/lamp. the lamp has a new tri-wing technology, i attached the specs. these lights are not available to the public yet. the engineer who developed the lights owns a large electric company that has government contracts in new york. we're excited to see how these do with mj plants.