DrPhoton Thanks! That's great info. Given our budgetary considerations I'm hoping that we will qualify for some energy efficiency lighting rebates from our power company. I have some feelers out in that regard, and that result will have a large impact on which fixtures we purchase. If I can source high quality LEDs at a fraction of the cost of other lights then it'll be a no-brainer in terms of maximizing ROI.
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Commercial operation advice needed
- Thread starter Serapium
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DrPhoton one of the biggest considerations for us from an investment standpoint in terms a lighting choice is the ancillary costs. Additional expenditures on ramping up the available amperage, extra costs associated with HVAC and Humidity control, and total cost of ownership over a five year period to include bulb replacements, fixture maintenance, and electricity costs. In other words, from a business standpoint it seems to be a more complex issue than just cost per umol.
DrPhoton
New member
There are papers such as that from bruce bugbee that go over economic analysis of lighting technologies. Even with the maintainance costs taken into consideration, you may not see any ROI for at least 5 years with LED. The rebate you speak of may make a difference, but that would depend on how big of a rebate and whether you opt for the handful of fixtures available that are actually superior to current gas discharge technology. Which may not be as big a difference as you may think.
The maintainance cost is actually a small factor in the econmical calculations, which is why it can be excluded. The operating costs and initial investments are the largest volumes in the calculations. Metal halide requires replacement about every year. HPS every two. And LED every 8 years. But the replacement cost for LED is much higher than bulbs, as the entire fixture is not modular and requires full replacement. This is a very high maintainance cost in comparison. After waiting 5 years for possible ROI, you may have to think about replacing the LED fixtures in another 3 years. Where as gas discharge only require a small maintainance fee to continue operation.
There are many variables, which i have had to look into myself when studying the subject. Its not clear cut dry that LED is the most practical and economical choice. And requires doing the proper calculations in order to acheive the right answer. But at this stage, its not quite reached the point where LED is the optimal choice IMO. But its possibly not far off.
The maintainance cost is actually a small factor in the econmical calculations, which is why it can be excluded. The operating costs and initial investments are the largest volumes in the calculations. Metal halide requires replacement about every year. HPS every two. And LED every 8 years. But the replacement cost for LED is much higher than bulbs, as the entire fixture is not modular and requires full replacement. This is a very high maintainance cost in comparison. After waiting 5 years for possible ROI, you may have to think about replacing the LED fixtures in another 3 years. Where as gas discharge only require a small maintainance fee to continue operation.
There are many variables, which i have had to look into myself when studying the subject. Its not clear cut dry that LED is the most practical and economical choice. And requires doing the proper calculations in order to acheive the right answer. But at this stage, its not quite reached the point where LED is the optimal choice IMO. But its possibly not far off.
DrPhoton thanks again. The rebates would be quite significant if my power company decides that they apply to a commercial cannabis grow. I've spoken with a couple of individuals who were able to capitalize on similar rebates in other states. In one case the person was able to source $1100 LED fixtures as a new cost of $275 each after the power rebate. The other purchased $900 fixtures and ended up only paying about $130 per fixture after rebates. As I said before, if that becomes possible it's a no-brainer 