How to Reduce the Consumption of Electricity when Growing Marijuana
Growing indoor cannabis can be quite an expensive hobby. Often, it is not the seeds, fertilizers, or the soil making a hole through your pockets, but it is the annoying power costs that roll at the end of every month. When talking about cannabis growing in this article, it is assumed that, like many others, you are growing medical marijuana on a small scale, maybe in a home-based environment. After all, it can be useful to grow a small amount yourself as a top to the edibles you are purchasing here! Growing cannabis is something that most locals across different states in America – such as in Arizona, where it’s legal for any adult in Arizona to grow their own marijuana at home – are turning to, especially because it is a safe and legal way to medicate for a variety of conditions.
With global warming becoming more and more of an environmental issue, it is estimated that the temperatures across the globe will continue rising. A high temperature is sure to affect the growth of your plants outdoors; of course, water, light, and other factors also play their part. Some cannabis growers are a few steps behind in indoor gardening and do not worry about environmental factors. Not giving a second thought to this is an irresponsible way to go about your indoor grow project.
Like other cannabis growers, if high power cost is something that keeps your wallet empty, then this article will give you some information how you could reduce the energy consumption when growing Cannabis indoors with Dorm Grow LED grow lights.
Give a Second Thought to Your Lighting Solution
When looking from the energy efficient point of view, the common lighting solutions or technologies you find today can be problematic. Using other lighting options means using the ones with high wattages, usually around 1000 watts. However, the amount of flowers or buds correlates with the amount of energy you add into the growth equation, but this depends on whether the ratio between the yield and the energy is good or not.
For starters, you should consider the Gram to Watt ratio. This ratio is not suitable because it does not necessarily consider the overall amount of light amount that is in use. It is a fact that plants that have longer flowering periods will require a higher number of lighting hours to produce the desired quality of the cannabis. If you use High-Pressure Sodium lamps, then it means you are paying for more energy. The energy these lamps emit converts into excess heat, which can have a negative effect on the growth of marijuana. However, if you live in a region like Alaska, which experiences longer periods of cold, then using such lights should not be a bigger concern for you.
Using the traditional lighting technology is still practiced mainly because over the years it has worked for indoor growers. When there were much less people growing indoors, nobody cared about efficiency. However, turning to newer lighting solutions like LED grow lights is a smart option, especially if you want to lower the costs of energy and still produce the best quality buds. LED grow lights emit less heat, and they have exact light spectrums for optimal growth without any waste.
Along with this, LED grow lights help to ensure that plants grow well. They promote healthier growth, keep the environment heat-free, and actually reduce the amount of pests on the plants.
Know the Amount You Wish to Grow
The most effective way to reduce the costs of energy is to make sure your grow room is not larger than it needs to be. Let us say that you want to consume about thirty gram of cannabis every month, then a single flowering plant is capable of producing this amount in an 8 weeks cycle. This also means a potential harvest of about 120g after a period of two months when you grow just four flowering plants. In this particular case, this should last for about four months. You could grow cannabis for two months, then take a break for two months, and resume again later.
However, you have to give consideration to the light cycle needs of plants. An auto flowering variety needs 18/6, 20/0, or 20/4 light cycle. Of course, this could vary but the point here is to match the amount of energy you put into the plants with the amount of yield you need for your personal use.
Here is a quick checklist to help you save energy when growing cannabis indoors
• Choose the ideal size for your cannabis to grow
• Use high quality LED lights for the plants’ energy source
• To save energy in the vegetation stage, use daylight CFLs along with LEDs
• Use LED Grow lights with 3 watt chips
Cutting down energy consumption when growing indoor cannabis is possible with LED grow lights. Not only do these lights save on energy, they allow the plants to grow healthy, eliminate excess heat and fight off pests. LED Grow lights are a smart investment for your grow room.