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Deo vindic
Member
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# Posted: 19 Apr 2013 23:33
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I dont know much about solar power but I would like to know if I could run my 600w aquarium hid light off of solar power
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2013 00:22 - Edited by: ICC
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Light on 24 hours a day?
600 watts x 24 hours = 14.4 kWh
That's a lot of power!
14.4 x 30 days = 432 kWh a month
That's my monthly average spread over a year for our primary residence which uses grid tied PV. About $20K worth of hardware for my sunny grid tie location at today's prices makes that bill zero out over the course of a year. And that is Grid Tie, no batteries for storage, no charge controller, just panels, inverter and ancillary equipment.
Yes it could be done. But that is just for the aquarium light. Mine is for the whole house.
Anything can be done if enough money is thrown at the problem.
I can see why it would be nice to get that off the power bill though.
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Deo vindic
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2013 12:03
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Yes sir. Its killing me. I didn't think it would be practical . Its nothing but a big money pit anyway. Thanks for the info.
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Deo vindic
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2013 12:05
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Did I answer your question on grovers foundation thread
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groingo
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2013 13:25
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Do they have LED lights that could do the job for less power?
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Deo vindic
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2013 14:04
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Yes they do but they are high priced. I could all most buy 4 600 watt ballast for what it would cost for 1 500w led
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bronco_ed
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# Posted: 21 Apr 2013 17:41 - Edited by: bronco_ed
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I had a few to many hobbies, after 15 years in the hobby I finally sold off and removed my reef tank. Wow did we see a difference in our electric bill.
I really miss it, eventually I will set up another tank.
The technology changes fast in every hobby. LED's bring a lot of options. But... at this time expensive.
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exsailor
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2013 08:12
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I think you are confusing wattage for light output. LEDs draw very little power. The lumen output for watt per watt comparison of incandescent to LED lights is what you need to consider. Look at some of the LED applications that others use on this site. If you want an idea of the amount of light a LED bank can throw out, go to an automotive store like Auto Zone or any other chain store. They have portable battery operated trouble lights. I know they can't be pushing any major kind of wattage draw. Your only problem to switch to LED would be finding the right color LEDs for lighting.ost of the brighter LEDs has a bluish tint. You can get soft light type LEDs at a fairly reasonable price these days. Here is an example one LED usually draws maybe 10 milliamps. One of the formulas for power or watts is Power equal voltage times current. Ten milliamps is .01 amps. Based on a 12 volt system, the equation is as follows 12 volts times .01 milliamps equal .12 watts. That is only one LED. It is going to take a lot of LEDs to reach 600 watts. More than I think you realize. A single 600 watt LED would be outrageously expensive, are they even commercially available?
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groingo
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# Posted: 22 Apr 2013 18:33
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I am sure the LED's would be less expensive from another point and that is the amount of money you will have to spend to generate 600 watts versus the cost of LED's that will do the job for a fraction of the power thus reducing your power generation requirement.
LED applications have gone through the roof, all sizes and colors imaginable while their prices continue to drop....LED is the future.
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Deo vindic
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# Posted: 23 Apr 2013 08:49
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Im not going down that road till the future is the present. I know way to many people that are trying to use leds for growing plants and have spent a ton of money on leds that do not perform near as well as the hid lights. I do be leave they are the future
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:24
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This is the first time I've ever heard someone looking to replace a 600W incandescent light with a 500W LED. That's 9 times the light do you really need 9X the light? You should be comparing "lumens" which is light output. Comparing watts doesnt make any sense. That's like getting a new watersaving toilet that uses only half the water and then flushing it twice every time. OOOps bad example but same result.
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Rossman
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# Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:54
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LED's do not have the same "punch" as a HID and cannot penetrate like the light from a HID can.
LED's have a long way to go before they are competitive with HIDs.
Also, LED's generally use less power but that is because they are normally used for indication, not illumination. You can't get something for nothing, if you want the equivalent light output as a 600W HID i would imagine it will take a comparable amount of electricity to get the same lumens out of LED's - especially at distance.
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Truecabin
Member
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# Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:05
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oops HID didnt notice that
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Deo vindic
Member
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# Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:15
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I may have worded what I wrote the wrong way. I wasn't saying I needed a 500 watt led it was just an example . If it makes you feel better lets say 300 watt led . A well made one at 300 watts will still cost me around $500.00 / 600 watt hid $200.00.
Sorry for the confusion. I will pay more attention to the way I word things from now on
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