Actually we don't have to. Phototone gives you ppfd, DLI, or LUX with a swipe of the screen. Use whatever is most comfortable for you!I'm sure Jon can translate their table into PPFD if that's what the Photone app gives you!
No worries at all! If it wasn't yourd it was going to be the next two posts either way. If I was paying attention to the post numbers I would have bumped to the next page.
It gives readings in whatever measurement you select, so I can choose ppfd, lux or dli. There are conversion calculators on the net too. Pretty cool.
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Hi @Carmen Ray - totally understand the penny pinching thing, we're all in that position to one extent or another. Let me set your mind at ease. It is literally as far from possible as could be that this light will DOUBLE your electric bill. They simply don't draw nearly that much juice. You're only lighting up (what, 10 watt?) little LEDs, and even though the Bestva's are among the least efficient lights you can get (any blurple, it's not personal, lol) there's no way on this earth it will come close to doubling your bill. My two blurples running all the time in my first grow pulled more juice than your Bestvas do now and my electric bill increased by like $20/month MAX. The AC units are what kills me.Taking readings of a different kind today. I am trying to figure out how my electric bill will be affected by this light. I took a reading of normal use over a 24 hour period and it was 7 units (I presume kilowatts?). Yesterday I did a reading before turning on the light to compare the number of units used in a 24 hour period with the light on. It used 14 units, which is double the electricity used in a day. I did bake bread today which would have contributed to the electricity use for this 24 hour period, so I will measure again for another 24 hours to get a true sense of how much juice is being used and what it will cost me. I am penny pinching as usual. Double is scary.
Thanks Jon. I'm not sure mine is a blurple. It doesn't have a purple color. I thought it was a full spectrum LED but what I know about lighting is embarrassing. The friend who gave it to me is visiting today so I will chat about it with them too. As I say, I did bake bread and I also remembered I ran 2 loads of laundry during that 24 hour period. I will check again this evening for a more accurate reading. I can turn off my geyser to compensate somewhat. I should be doing that anyway to save juice. I can imagine the AC unit's load, which is why I am doing this without heating!
DV you're right, it makes a lot of sense. Here where I live we have a prepaid token system and so I don't see a bill, but I do see the meter reading and can make comparisons over different periods of time. I usually recharge once a month, so I put in extra this month and hope that gets me through. I will only really know when I have to recharge over the same period, cuz the lights are on now like it or not lol. It will be costly if that runs out and I have to charge again.
Congrats on the emergence, Carmen!
It's been fun catching up here. You are getting LOTS of great advice!
Every issue I had planned to comment on has already been addressed. (I was especially concerned about the pucks sitting on top of the soil. Glad you undid that!)
So all I have to offer is my 2 cents on seedling watering gadgets. I often use a drinking water bottle with a single small hole poked in the top (the smaller the better).
That hole is a bit larger than ideal!
Your electric oven uses a lot more wattage than your light, as does your dryer, so you definitely need to measure on a day that no other big draws are happening.
200 watts is 200 watts! That's what the driver pulls.
200 watts is 200 watts! That's what the driver pulls.
Well, it's being divided into 448 LEDs, and from the pic of the light in operation near the beginning of the thread they're definitely not blurple.
Carmen is concerned about her electric bill. The efficiency of the LEDs doesn't play a part in that. Only the wattage draw of the driver.
Thanks @Melville Hobbes, I missed that picture. I should have looked at the light online. I thought it was roughly the same as the Maxsisun 1200 watt blurple I'm using. Sure, that's a different scenario, and I am by no means ragging on the use of blurples or the Bestvas. I'm using a blurple now! You can grow great weed with even the oldest of blurples if it's still in good shape. But the overall point in terms of efficiency still holds, obviously.
Thanks @InTheShed. Yes, you're right, I get it. And In that respect you are 100% correct. I thought we were just expanding the discussion a bit. See my response to Mr. Melville. Lol.
Thanks GDB! Also, your water bottle looks nice and simple too. I might give that a try if I can make a small enough hole. You're right I have some excellent support here and I feel very fortunate in that regard. Thanks for being here to encourage and advise.
Please feel free and do so Jon
It may take me a while to get up to speed with light science and electrical consumption lolThank you Shed! Exciting times
I still don't know how to do the maths
Thank you Melville
Isn't it a humidifier?Dunno what a geyser is (other than a natural hot water eruption) so I'd turn that off.
It's the large metal tank that heats the water for your taps. What is that called in your necks of the woods? I love that English can be so diverse... gets me into trouble sometimes
