![]() Wattage is how electrical utilities measure your electrical usage (in kilowatt/hr) and is ultimately what you are billed for, regardless of the amperage or voltage. When using electrical appliances or devices you are using watts. ![]() The only way to noticeably reduce costs on your electrical bill would be reduce watts used. So, while using a higher voltage to run a 1000W HPS light reduces amperage, the wattage required to run the fixture remains the same and your electric bill will still reflect kilowatt-hours. If we plug in the numbers for a 1000-watt high pressure sodium grow light, you can see that although the voltage and amperage can change, the wattage (what you are charged for) will always stay the same. The formula for this is: Wattage / Voltage = Amperage. ![]() A kilowatt-hour is 1000 watts of usage for one hour or approximately equals a 1000-watt light running for one hour. This is true but the utility company doesn't charge you for amperage, they charge you for wattage. The point often noted for the money saving argument is that the amperage is half as much when running grow lights on 240 volts instead of 120 volts. Using 240V to run your electrical devices as a way to save on electrical costs is a common misunderstanding about how electricity works and how the power companies charge you for it. Your power company bills you based on the watts you use, not the voltage or amperage. The watt is a measure of how much power is released each second. And as we said before the watts are the power the water could provide (like to a mill wheel). What makes the current flow? In our water analogy we could say a battery would be the pump that makes the water flow which creates pressure in the pipe. The electric current is measured in amps. The rate at which electricity flows is measured as an electric current. Wattage is the result of multiplying amps and volts together (amps x volts = watts), which is the working capacity of the electricity.Įlectricity is the flow (like water) of electrons through a conductor like a wire. To round out our water flow analogy, watts would be the power the water could provide (think back to when water was used to power mills). Wattage (w) is the amount of power that is required to operate an electrical device.Using the same water flow analogy, amps are similar to the amount of water flowing through a hose in a certain amount of time. Amperage (a)is the measure of the amount of electricity sent through a wire or circuit, also known as electric current.In this example volts would represent your water pressure. A good analogy to use would be water flow through a hose. Voltage (v)is the measure of electric pressure, or in other words, how hard electricity is sent through a wire.To help explain why this is, lets first look at what watts, amps and volts are. The number of watts an electrical device uses should be the main factor to look at when trying to scale back on your electrical costs, which is why many indoor growers are now turning to LED grow lights. Volts and amps will not be a factor when looking at your electric bill and when you’re looking for electrical cost savings. When you receive your electric bill, what you are paying for is wattage used by your electrical devices, including your grow light fixtures. In this entry we’ll explain that while 240V might be slightly more efficient, the electricity savings would be nominal. Every once and a while the question will arise, “is 240 Volts more efficient than running 120 Volts?”
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