120 to 240

*jamesgang* · 12-21-2002, 07:02 PM

did the wiring today. 2000 watts for the price of a 1000 watter. More lumens, the bigger the buds.

THE_REAL__PUFFY · 12-22-2002, 09:29 AM

Im not trying 2 sound stupid or nuthin, but how R U getting 2000w for the price of 1000w

how does your wiring do that.??

I have a 600w and want 2 add another one but I live in a 4 unit building and I dont know if thats 2 much...

*jamesgang* · 12-22-2002, 09:53 PM

ohms law. A 1000 watt bulb at 120 volts pulls 8.3 amps. A 1000 watt bulb going at 240 volts pulls 4.1666 amps. Do not try this at home if you do not understand electricity.

**bobbooty** · 12-22-2002, 11:14 PM

If you rewire, what lights do you use? Does the ballast have to be rated for a 240? What if I already got lights that are rated for 120? How do I convert them? Do I have to buy all new lights/ballasts? Is 240 really the way to go? (not that I would do this myself...I still need a cool stoner electrician to help me.

)

-BB

*jamesgang* · 12-23-2002, 05:40 AM

You need a ballast that can be wired for 120,208,240. Just use the correct wire for the voltage you have and presto. If you measure the voltage at the socket, you shold have about 340 volts. The transformer steps up your voltage from 120, 208, or 240 to the 340 volts needed for the bulb. 120 takes more power, thus more money to operate. 240 is the most efficient and less noticable to the power company.

12-23-2002, 07:30 AM

just a quick note,,,
you CAN NOT save money by changing the voltage from 120 to 240.
the power company charges for power by WATTS, which is amps x volts, a 1kW lamp will burn 1kW regardless of input voltage...

LordRaven · 12-23-2002, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jamesgang
ohms law. A 1000 watt bulb at 120 volts pulls 8.3 amps. A 1000 watt bulb going at 240 volts pulls 4.1666 amps. Do not try this at home if you do not understand electricity.

Alright here we go again... I'm not big on E theory but I know enough to have rewired most of my house and I put in a 20 amp dedicated circuit for my room. Anyway the subject came up before and I asked the 120 vs 220 question and got mixed responses. Some claim maybe 3% savings at 220 and some say wattage used is the same either way.

I do know this much... Just about any appliance, tool etc will operate more efficiently at 220. So my theory with a ballast is that at 220 (or Euro 240) it uses less amperage, runs cooler and more efficient and therefore uses slightly less E.

*jamesgang* · 12-23-2002, 09:13 AM

I will update this when I see my bill. Less amps means less power draw and thus a smaller bill, I am curious now.

LordRaven · 12-23-2002, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jamesgang
I will update this when I see my bill. Less amps means less power draw and thus a smaller bill, I am curious now.

Please do I am curious to see... One thought I left off though. A 1000 watt lamp is usually powered by an 1100 watt ballast which means it uses 1.1 kilowatts of E per hour. So... if you look at the various calculators you will see the only values used in consumption calculation are rate, wattage and hours. At the very least your ballast should run a bit cooler.

i.e. 1.1(kw) x 18(hrs) x .059(rate) = $1.1682 per day or $35.06 per month (30 days).

12-23-2002, 11:04 AM

spot on, LR,

there is actuall a very small savings in goint to 240v from 120v, but it's so small you'll never see it in your bill.

it's what's called the I²R losses...it works like this...power is related to the the resistance of the circuit and current flowing. Power (lost) = I² (current squared) times R (resistance of the circuit).

so, by going to 240v, as JG has already stated, the current is halved. so 1/2 the current squared is 1/4...which means the power lost is 1/4 of whatever it was originally (assuming the circuit resistance stays the same).

sooooo.....your ballast will run cooler (less power wasted and dissipated as heat) and the losses arising from your circuit resistance (which you pay for, albeit very small) are also reduced to 1/4th.

but you still pay the full price for every watt used by the light...
Power=Volts X Current
1000W=120v X 8.3 Amps
1000W=240v X 4.2 Amps

hope that helps

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