What uses more electricity?

overfiend

HeavyMetalHippie
just wondering if it cost more to run 1 MH @175watts or 7 cfl's @24 watts ea.for a totla of 168 watts? i know the MH is a little more wattage but it seems to throw off a lot more light than the cfl's in the same area.

what do you all think also do the amps make a difference in cost the?
 

TheDankness

Well-Known Member
Ummm, wattage is a precise measure of power consumption, It takes into account voltage and current(amperage). The formula for Power(Watts) is P=I(Amperage) X V(Voltage). Whatever the current is for the cfls vs. the MH doesn't matter, amperage is used to find wattage. If you have a bulb rated at 175 watts, it will use 7 more watts than the 168 watts the cfls use. This is a completely arbitrary difference, and you will see almost no difference on your electricity bill either way. I would choose the MH because single, higher voltage bulbs have better light penetration than a bunch of smaller, low voltage ones.
 

repvip

Well-Known Member
TheDankness: How about a 1000w HPS 120volt vs 1000w HPS 240volt? Same wattage... but lower amperage with the 240volt supposedly saves money? Something like dropping from 4 to 2 amps... but I'm not sure if it really saves money?

I'm really interested in this... if anyone could explain that would be awesome!
 

overfiend

HeavyMetalHippie
thanks dankness thats what i thought i just wanted to bounce the idea off someone elsewho would know for sure i think im gonna switch to the MH it definately seems like more intense light than the 7cfls i got going right now.
 

overfiend

HeavyMetalHippie
TheDankness: How about a 1000w HPS 120volt vs 1000w HPS 240volt? Same wattage... but lower amperage with the 240volt supposedly saves money? Something like dropping from 4 to 2 amps... but I'm not sure if it really saves money?

I'm really interested in this... if anyone could explain that would be awesome!
a friend said something similar to this the other day thats why i posted this
 

TheDankness

Well-Known Member
TheDankness: How about a 1000w HPS 120volt vs 1000w HPS 240volt? Same wattage... but lower amperage with the 240volt supposedly saves money? Something like dropping from 4 to 2 amps... but I'm not sure if it really saves money?

I'm really interested in this... if anyone could explain that would be awesome!
The reason why the higher voltage saves you money, is because the lower current bulb will produce less heat. This should prolong the life of the bulb, as well as use less electricity. It would drop *exactly* 2 amps by the way, remember the formula P=VI, if you double the voltage, but still have the same overall wattage, the current definitely must comply with the laws of physics and be cut in half. The main reason for the savings in electricity is the heat. You may have a 1000w bulb, but that's only the energy going to produce the light, there is also heat created, which is wasted electricity. That heat isn't coming from nowhere, its being produced by electricity. The more heat you are producing, you'll climb that much higher above the 1000 watt power consumption mark. To summarize, yes, lower current with the same wattage will save you money.
 

way4too2high0

Well-Known Member
TheDankness: How about a 1000w HPS 120volt vs 1000w HPS 240volt? Same wattage... but lower amperage with the 240volt supposedly saves money? Something like dropping from 4 to 2 amps... but I'm not sure if it really saves money?

I'm really interested in this... if anyone could explain that would be awesome!
it does cut your amps in half...you wouldnt want to do it unless you were running multiple lights, and 220(2 phase) is more common in a house...240 would be a 3 phase panel
 

repvip

Well-Known Member
Well, I can answer part of my question...

Power (Watts) = Current (Amps) x Voltage (Volts)

so...
1000 Watt/120 Volts = 8.3 amps
1000 Watt/240 Volts = 4.2 amps

but to be honest.. I don't see how this could affect price? The eletric company charges by killowatt hour.
 

TheDankness

Well-Known Member
Well, I can answer part of my question...

Power (Watts) = Current (Amps) x Voltage (Volts)

so...
1000 Watt/120 Volts = 8.3 amps
1000 Watt/240 Volts = 4.2 amps

but to be honest.. I don't see how this could affect price? The eletric company charges by killowatt hour.
Its the heat dude, it should produce less heat, and save money.
 
K

Keenly

Guest
The reason why the higher voltage saves you money, is because the lower current bulb will produce less heat. This should prolong the life of the bulb, as well as use less electricity. It would drop *exactly* 2 amps by the way, remember the formula P=VI, if you double the voltage, but still have the same overall wattage, the current definitely must comply with the laws of physics and be cut in half. The main reason for the savings in electricity is the heat. You may have a 1000w bulb, but that's only the energy going to produce the light, there is also heat created, which is wasted electricity. That heat isn't coming from nowhere, its being produced by electricity. The more heat you are producing, you'll climb that much higher above the 1000 watt power consumption mark. To summarize, yes, lower current with the same wattage will save you money.
your still paying the same per kilowatt hour
either way your still using 1 per hour
 

TheDankness

Well-Known Member
your still paying the same per kilowatt hour
either way your still using 1 per hour
still paying at the same rate, but using more electricity. Like I said that heat doesn't come from nowhere, its electricity. The lower heat will definitely reduce the watts the bulb consumes, and save you money.
 

growwwww

Well-Known Member
CFLS will be cheaper man for 100 percent sure even if they were the same wattage. Its to do with current or something like that and volts or whatever. But got a mate whos an electrician and fo sure he explained that cfls will run alot cheaper.

peace
 

TheDankness

Well-Known Member
Hate to break it to you growwwww, but a 100w fluorescent and a 100w anything else uses exactly that, 100w. If one bulb is rated the same as another, they use EXACTLY the same amount of electricity. The only possible variable is the one we've been discussing, heat. I don't think its a big enough variable to make a difference though so... stop spreading mis-information.
 

la9

Well-Known Member
No kidding a watt is a watt doesn't matter what is using it. Doesn't matter if you are using more current or less current, if you are using the same wattage you will be paying the same.

Also I glanced over and I think it said the MH had 15,000 lumens and adding the CFL's together you got 11,200. You may think it's close but the CFL is probably putting out 1000 lumens at it's brightest ? I am guessing here and the point point being that the brightest you will get is the 1000 lumens while the MH is putting out the 15,000 lumens so as you can see it isn't even close, the brighter the light the better the plant.

In you case the MH has won. The 7 watts you won't be able to see on your bill, the 15,000 lumens the plant will be able to tell the difference.

Go with the MH, end of story.
 
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