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Free Energy Growing
- Thread starter Big Sky
- Start date
S
sallyforthDeleted member 75382
Wow talk about inspirational. You have one foot in the future definatly. Nice grow too.
My mind is now in overdrive to the possibility's of using free energy to run a grow op, just don't know if we get enough sunlight in the U.K to do this.
Thanks for showing us your knowledge.
My mind is now in overdrive to the possibility's of using free energy to run a grow op, just don't know if we get enough sunlight in the U.K to do this.
Thanks for showing us your knowledge.
i'm no electricity guy, but watts are watts.
if you replace the HID with LED and the total wattage is the same then you would still need the same panels.
now if you reduce the total wattage then you could reduce the number of panels.
hope that make sense.
Big Sky
Member
pretty much spot on..one factor that still saves power using led is heating and cooling the grow area itself- fans can run at much lower speeds with 20$ controllers using less wattage overall. not a bunch but there is a little saved with using LED-
but for the most part thats the the way it is- watts are watts-
500w grow would still be a 500w grow just a little less energy to cool etc-
Alternative energy used to be my forte for 2 decades. Solar pv can now be had (if you find a decent price) for about as low as $1/watt! 
Solar used to cost about $1,000 to light up a small light bulb in the 70's (remote fire watch stations or luxury yachtsmen still loved them).
Also look into wind power, they both compliment each other well. When the sun isn't shining the wind is usually blowing. You can cut your battery bank size in half too (2 1/2 days of backup vs 7). Bergey makes some of the best wind turbines, some even outlasted the smokestacks they replaced during an Antarctic storm.
My bro-in-law installed the electric system for the Grand Canyon skywalk and it has a million dollar battery bank. Funny the Indians don't want a maintenance contract, but since deep cycle batteries are extremely durable guess they can top them off and equalize (fully charge) them every few weeks.
Solar used to cost about $1,000 to light up a small light bulb in the 70's (remote fire watch stations or luxury yachtsmen still loved them).Also look into wind power, they both compliment each other well. When the sun isn't shining the wind is usually blowing. You can cut your battery bank size in half too (2 1/2 days of backup vs 7). Bergey makes some of the best wind turbines, some even outlasted the smokestacks they replaced during an Antarctic storm.
My bro-in-law installed the electric system for the Grand Canyon skywalk and it has a million dollar battery bank. Funny the Indians don't want a maintenance contract, but since deep cycle batteries are extremely durable guess they can top them off and equalize (fully charge) them every few weeks.
Big Sky
Member
Alternative energy used to be my forte for 2 decades. Solar pv can now be had (if you find a decent price) for about as low as $1/watt!
Also look into wind power, they both compliment each other well. When the sun isn't shining the wind is usually blowing. You can cut your battery bank size in half too (2 1/2 days of backup vs 7). Bergey makes some of the best wind turbines, some even outlasted the smokestacks they replaced during an Antarctic storm.
My bro-in-law installed the electric system for the Grand Canyon skywalk and it has a million dollar battery bank. Funny the Indians don't want a maintenance contract, but since deep cycle batteries are extremely durable guess they can top them off and equalize (fully charge) them every few weeks.
wind turbines where taken into account when i built this system , its all in the charge controller- you might spend 200-300$ on the nice big hybrid charge controller but the one i used is wind/solar built-
just add wiring from any DC turbine to the internal wiring bus and presto-
hybrid system-
So wind was covered just never got around to buying the turbine before i sold the system recently-
J
joeylupre
Man big sky you have an awesome setup. Love the solar power stuff. Been messing with it small time till I get moved to CO and get the real solar deal setup. And the descriptions of your setup are top quality.
JointOperation
Active member
i dont have time to read the entire thread.. but great job.. thats amazing.. how much cash did it cost you to set this system up?.. and does it cost ALOT more to setup something that could handle like 4000w all together? or?
better bud
Member
man this is a sweet treat for everyone,i bet ed begley jr"s grow room is set up like this!
heres a 24v/48v 50/25amps solar ac http://www.spectroimage.com/typo/solcool/tech.htm 2 models a2x mini split and a 1.5ton that produces drinking water
Swollencalyx
Member
I am so glad someone is doing this. When I worked in the car stereo business we powered over 20k watts this way. I thought of doing this but have been to busy perfecting my system. Instead of solar as a trickle charger we used a wind turbine, or a alternator on a exercise bike. Serious. Please know that you're dealing with super high amprages, and if a cell ruptures you have a huge fire hazard on your hands. Refer to your NEC for proper storage and cooling of your load cells. Cheers.
RedBeardy5
Active member
Watt for watt you cannot compare 600 watt of LEDs to 600 wats of hps. I have a 4x8 tent with 1000 watts LEDs, normally I would need 2000 watts of hps to cover the area. Research par not watt.
ChasingGreen
Member
I know this isn't realistic, but go with it for a minute...
If you were able to move the solar panels inside the grow environment during lights on, and that time period was when it was dark outside, could you recapture some of the energy from the lights with the panels?
If you were able to move the solar panels inside the grow environment during lights on, and that time period was when it was dark outside, could you recapture some of the energy from the lights with the panels?
S
sourpuss
How long would it take to rwcoup your investment in the system and start making a profit?
Anyone got a knack for math?
Would love to know....
Really a dream system for a super techie guy like myself. Personally I dream of harnessing the sun and using light control to light dep a room or 2.... again much respext on makin a work of art imo..... looks like a really nice cab... super trick!!!
Anyone got a knack for math?
Would love to know....
Really a dream system for a super techie guy like myself. Personally I dream of harnessing the sun and using light control to light dep a room or 2.... again much respext on makin a work of art imo..... looks like a really nice cab... super trick!!!
ChasingGreen
Member
Well it seems all you have is an intial investment cost (which he listed), plus time, then plus nutrients and stuff as usual and you can do the math from there.
I agree, this setup is a true dream come true, hope to have one eventually!
