I am about to switch my lights to 220v. Was wondering who here is running their home grow on 220 vs 110. Did you start on 110? Notice any benefits to going 220?
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There’s really no benefit besides being able to run more lights on a circuit with 220/240. A thousand watt light uses like 4.5amps on 240 and more like 9 on 120 (rough numbers lol). So a 20a breaker could power 4 lights instead of 2.
That’s about it for differences really. Don’t forget that some ballasts need to be rewired or switched over to 240v.
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Your plants will not notice any change at all. None.
As the guy in charge of paying the bills and dealing with the fuses you might notice some changes but unless you are already maxing out your electricity supply and plan on expanding your operation, you also will not notice any change.
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400V magnetic ballast, flicker less and in theory should give a more even canopy.
At least that’s what is the claim in the commercial greenhouse industry, if there is any real benefit to it besides the lower amp’s I have no clue.
I would say it’s minimal to non important for home growers, if it’s 110, 220 or 400 V magnetic ballasts.
If your using a electronic ballast, there should be a “box of blue smoke” that limits flickering inside the ballast. No matter the voltage and hertz your running
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I’d be psyched to have access to 240v - in general you burn 5-10% less electricty vs. 120v. You can also run commercial HID fixtures from P.L. Light and Gavita, etc that have 400v bulbs - they are more efficient and the bulbs last longer.
The same is true w/ LED’s - if you look at most manufacturers’ specs, LED fixtures are running more efficiently at 240v as well. All of Europe runs on 240v, this is another area where the US is somewhat backward and wasting energy.
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True. There are benefits. But AFAIK no difference for the plant.
FYI:
via electronicproducts.com - Why doesn’t the US use 220V like everyone else in the world?
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yes i’m using 240. wiring is easier
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If you don’t mind me asking, where do you live without 240? Here in Canada that’s how it comes in to the main panel on every house I’ve ever seen
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we get 240 to the house panel also, but almost all (usually except for the electric oven) house wiring is 120
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Ya generally when running lights at 240 you run your own line, but at least the option is there. If you need to you can use electric dryer line (30A) or electric stove (40A), but thats getting pretty greasy lol.
Always best practice to install a subpanel, and you can also run some 120 lines off that for fans etc
It’s easy to install 240 wiring off the panel in the basement in the US, but once the house is built it’s diffilcult to get a new 240v circuit upstairs.
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I’m pretty fortunate, not only do I have 240 sub panels… I have 3 phase sub panels also👍 I’d run 3 phase if I could… Lol
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I kept the 110 plug on the ballast, that’s why you see that style plug on the board.
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I run 240v. It allows me to run one line From my electrical panel to my electrical outlet and still run 2 1000w HPS off the one socket. Saves wire. Nothing more.
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