Questions Quantum boards

Posted by: @bubblehok

Posted by: @gonzo333

Whats the difference between like my FC4800 light & a quantum board?

So a quantum board will be all on one big flat board like the SF4000 and the fc/se are bar light LEDs so you will get a more even coverage with the bar style over a quantum but quantum boards tend to be better options for home growers. The big commercial style bar lights can require you to use C02 and that's a whole other kettle of fish. 

cool thanks, so the hlg lights are quantum boards, with some pieces cut out to more resemble bar systems (i.e. the "hlg blackbird")

Posted by: @woodi2

Thanks @bubblehok, so you are still hooked to the grid and sell back to the electric company? and they supply you with what you come up short on? Hey you know me I gotta thousand fucking questions but for you I'll knock it down to 500. lol

Probably the same world wide, but since you and I are in MERICA, this is what I know- 

Fundamentally two types of setups, off-grid (most expensive up front) or grid tied.

off-grid, exactly what is says, you’re completely disconnected from the grid. Here you need lots of batteries and a generator, and a plc control system. Your house runs off the batteries, panels charge batteries (although never 100%). The generator serves two purposes- if your batteries run out of juice, gen set kicks on. Also, monthly or weekly, your control system will fire up the gen set to top off the batteries 100%.

grid tied, you’re connected to the grid and you have a two way meter, when generating more solar than you’re using, the meter feeds back to the grid (you’re selling to your utility company). Then they typically reconcile quarterly. Depending on your utility company, they will charge you extra monthly for the two way meter, go figure!! 

Posted by: @bubblehok

The big commercial style bar lights can require you to use C02 and that's a whole other kettle of fish. 

High PAR levels is what dictates the need for Co2, not the style of light, or are you suggesting only bar style light can only achieve those higher PAR #’s ?

cuz there are plenty of bar style lights that come in under 1000 PAR. But, admittedly I know nothing about quantum board lights (cuz I have bar style  ). 

@sevans1965, yeah I've got all that covered. Now I want to know how many batteries and how many panels for those batteries to just run my different grows. Completely off grid. Start small and see what I can power and what I need for storage. Just trying to find someone with hands on experience to answer some questions.

I'm just trying to get a working knowledge of this, not a degree in solar. But their not making it easy by hiding this info behind the all mighty dollar.  

Posted by: @woodi2

@sevans1965, yeah I've got all that covered. Now I want to know how many batteries and how many panels for those batteries to just run my different grows. Completely off grid. Start small and see what I can power and what I need for storage. Just trying to find someone with hands on experience to answer some questions.

I'm just trying to get a working knowledge of this, not a degree in solar. But their not making it easy by hiding this info behind the all mighty dollar.  

You need to figure out the total power consumption of your grow and work backwards to figure out system size.

Posted by: @sevans1965

Posted by: @bubblehok

The big commercial style bar lights can require you to use C02 and that's a whole other kettle of fish. 

High PAR levels is what dictates the need for Co2, not the style of light, or are you suggesting only bar style light can only achieve those higher PAR #’s ?

cuz there are plenty of bar style lights that come in under 1000 PAR. But, admittedly I know nothing about quantum board lights (cuz I have bar style  ). 

Yes I'm just saying that for a home grower a quantum board is usually more than enough to produce a quality harvest. The bar lights I'm referring too are aimed at commercial growers and have the ability to dial up that par level past what you can achieve with a standard quantum board, I'm not saying ones better than the other, just that there are a few options on the market that require c02 supplementation to make full use of their intensity. 

@bubblehok how many panels do you have going?

@greenplanet so it's a 15kw system with 40 panels split 20-20 over both sides of the pitched roof. On a good day it will average about 60kwh, an average a/c unit running full blast for 24 hrs a day eats roughly 14kwh. The system feeds both the house and the business and the business isn't power hungry, but If I have both tents running and a/c on for a majority of the grow I'm looking at about $80 per quarter, but that also depends on how much sunshine we have had, cloudy days or heavy rain will effect the panels ability to generate anything so that's why we feed back to the grid. If I just run one tent in winter I don't even notice it on the bill. 

I would recommend getting someone to come out and have a look at what your home can realistically have installed, no point going for a big solar system if you can't put the panels anywhere, you can also look into batteries so your completely off grid but expect anywhere around $15,000aud per battery. 

I would calculate what type of consumption your setup is pulling from the wall and make sure the system you choose can handle that ontop of the rest of the house plus 10%, that way you won't have any issues if you need to pull more power etc. 

1. I think I’m going to go with one ,the spider farmer lights look good and a ok price then  build the solar around it . It’s nice to hear about other people doing it and all is cool . It’s always taking that first step in to something new but I’m not alone !🌱🪴🌱