I'm thinking about getting some grow lights since they seem to be highly recommended for indoor gardening. However, I'm curious about the real impact on electricity costs. For those of you who use grow lights regularly, how has it affected your electricity bill, considering they typically need to be on for 12 to 18 hours a day?
4 Answers
I spend less than $10 a month on electricity for my grow lights. I keep my plants in low-light conditions, so I don't need a ton of lighting. That's helped keep the costs down.
I've got two larger grow lights from Harbor Freight and a few smaller LED rings that I run for about 12 hours a day. Honestly, I've not noticed any difference in my electricity bill. I live in a rural area with pretty low electricity rates, so that might help, but I've been using them for four years without any noticeable increase in cost.
For me, I've got five LED grow lights running around 16 hours a day, and the bill hasn't budged at all. I think the type of lights makes a difference. If you have a huge setup, maybe it could add up, but with LEDs, it's been really minimal.
I even have a humidifier going in winter and a couple of LED lights running constantly, yet I haven't seen a spike in my bill. My TV is the major power hog in my house! So yeah, grow lights haven't been a big deal in terms of costs.