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Right now I'm using mostly hps and cfl bulbs for my grow and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or links I could look at that talk about combing led lights with hps and cfl to reduce the overall amount of energy consumed. If anyone has any other tips on keeping energy consumption to a minimum without effecting your yield that would also be helpful.
I've been thinking about this. I replaced all my bulbs in the house with low wattage 6500K mini-CFLs (I like the cleaner light, and they come in handy when fruiting mushrooms, and keeping seedlings alive) I know that's unrelated to growing itself but I figured I had to offset the cost from all the other stuff that'll be running.
As for steps relating to the actual grow setup and changes that can be made there to conserve energy, I have no idea. I'll just make it a point to shut down the computer and turn off things if I'm not actively using them.
I guess you're probably already familiar with basic power conservation though, eh? Hoping someone can chime in here with something more constructive.
Remember that cfl lights use more power and give off more heat then both HPS and MH bulbs.
-------------------- All creatures tremble when faced with violence. All creatures fear death, all love life. If we can only see ourselves in others, then how could we possibly hurt another creature?
I would advocate trying the Gas Lantern Technique during veg and diminished light during flower. GSL keeps your plants on the verge of flower, but still in vegetative state. You run the lights for 12 hours on and 12 hours off, but with an hour in the middle with the lights back on (12on/5.5off/1on/5.5off).
Then once you are ready to begin flowering, run your lights 14 off/10 on. It initiates flower sooner and can give better overall yeilds. I'm currently running my first flower run with this lighting cycle, and so far I am quite happy with the results.
Between these two alternative schedules, you can save up to a third on your power consumption.