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Solar Powered Grow Room

f-e

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
Solar is priced to compete with other methods of generation. Panels are actually cheap to make and the factories making a good few quid. Huge tariffs are commonly placed upon imported panels to ensure they can't come in cheaply. Energy is an expenditure we all make and thus a constant cash input for the gov that can be relied upon. Few things provide that basic income. Energy and food are about it.


Here in the UK some generating companies only have green investments. This green is fed into the grid where suppliers tap off just that much energy nationally to supply end customers. Such that you can go with a green provider believing what you get from the grid is put back from green sources. You are, in effect, doing everything with wind/solar and hydro generated power. Probably with a bit of gas from bio reactors if you really want to cover peak demand with green energy. Though it's likely that at times we take more green than goes in, while at others more green goes in than what green users take out. So it averages out. The grid being what it is means you can never actually ensure your power was generated by green sources. Only that green replenished the grid somewhere.


So I can grow green, it's just a phone call to switch to a green supplier
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
I can't see it worth it to get solar specifically to power growing. It's expensive and growing uses too much energy for anything other then a hobby grow. If you have a small hobby grow the electric bill ain't bad anyway.
I have lots of friends that have grid tie systems that grow. New construction here has to have solar in California. None of them completely power a grow of any size with solar though.

It would be silly to do it off grid. The battery makes it not cost effective. I am off grid but i use greenhouses. Taking the sun and storing it to use it for growing doesn't make sense. Growing in a greenhouse with Sun and using the sun to provide a little power is doable. I have to replace my batteries right now. Im not upgrading. I'm just getting the same thing i had. When u use batteries hard they don't last forever. It's 6,000$. I also still burn a bit of diesel in the winter months.
 

CrushnYuba

Well-known member
I only use electricity for fans. The blower on my heaters. I use 7w led bulbs to keep my plants from flowering. It's like 100w for every 1000 sqft. It's nothing.
I use allot of power for pumping water. I use 800w to pump the water out of my well. Then about 1200w for my irrigation pump.
Circulation fans are up there also.

I have hid lighting in a greenhouse but it needs the generator to run. Diesel here is cheap and costs about the same as the power company but it just isn't needed so i don't run them.

All that said.. I WISH i had power here. Being off grid sucks. I would do anything for regular ol power. If it was like 100k to run or less, i would do it. It's so far it's over 300k.
 

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