Cost comparison of LED VS HPS indoor plant lights
This Cost Comparison between LED and HPS indoor plant lights shows the amount of money you can save by choosing to grow with LED. While LED may have a higher initial cost, the costs will be lower in the long run. We have compared the Upfront Costs, Electricity costs, and the HVAC costs of LED versus HPS on a 5-year basis. This is because on average your LED grow lights will have a lifespan of 5 years.
WAVE UV+FR
- Horticraft Holland WAV UV+FR
- Power: 740W
- Efficacy: 2.7 µmol/J
- Spectrum: Full Spectrum + Ultraviolet + Far-Red
- PPF: 1760 µmol/s
HPS (DE)
- Generic Double Ended High Pressure Sodium
- Power: 1000W
- Efficacy: 1.7 µmol/J
- Spectrum: Mostly yellow/orange/red
- PPF: 1700 µmol/s
Costs upfront
The table below shows the upfront costs. It includes the initial cost or the price of one (1) LED grow light and one (1) HPS light. It also shows the price of a single bulb and the labor cost for replacing a bulb. Since HPS bulbs should be replaced every year, the costs should be taken into account. While the initial cost for a LED light is higher, after 5 years you’ll have saved €125 compared to using HPS indoor plant lights.
And while upfront costs are higher in the first 3 years, take note that electricity costs should be added to these costs. Since electricity costs are a lot lower when using LED, it outweighs the upfront costs.
| Costs upfront | WAVE UV+FR | HPS (DE) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Cost | €825 | €400 | |||||
| Bulb cost | €0 | €90 | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
| Replacement cost | €0 | €20 | €-315 | €-205 | €-95 | €15 | €125 |
Electricity
The next table shows the annual savings on electricity bills when using LED grow lights compared to HPS bulbs. The WAVE UV+FR pulls 740W, while a 1000W HPS actually pulls 1100W once the ballast is factored in. When using LEDs you could save €386,90 each year on your electricity bill when using the grow light daily for 14 hours each day. Furthermore, you will save 1.839,60 kWh each year per light!
| Electrical Costs | WAVE UV+FR | HPS (DE) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 740 | 1000 | |||||
| Total kWh | 0,74 kWh | 1,1 kWh | |||||
| Daily usage (hours) | 14 hours | 14 hours | |||||
| Annual Operating Hours | 5.110 hours | 5.110 hours | |||||
| Annual kW usage | 3.781,4 kWh | 5.621 kWh | |||||
| Electricity cost per kWh* | €0,21 | €0,21 | |||||
| Daily Electricity Costs | €2,18 | €3,24 | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
| Annual Electricity costs | €795,70 | €1.182,60 | €386,90 | €773,80 | €1.160,70 | €1.547,60 | €1.934,50 |
HVAC
HVAC stand for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning and are all things to regulate your temperature and air conditions. If you are using any kind of system to regulate the temperature within your grow area, or a fan to ventilate the room, it will add to your costs. Below is an example for the use of one full spectrum LED grow light and the HVAC costs.
Keep in mind that this calculation is excluding the installation cost of the HVAC system (for a commercial grow this may add up to €6.820 to €12.350 per system). As a home grower you may decide for a cheap HVAC or none at all, but this may hurt your plants and consequently yield when temperatures get hotter or colder, or when you develop diseases or a mold infestation due to a lack of ventilation.
| HVAC (cooling) | WAVE UV+FR | HPS (DE) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 740 | 1000 | |||||
| Total kWh | 0,74 kWh | 1,1 kWh | |||||
| Daily usage (hours) | 14 hours | 14 hours | |||||
| Annual Operating Hours | 5.110 hours | 5.110 hours | |||||
| Annual kW usage | 3.781,4 kWh | 5.621 kWh | |||||
| Daily HVAC Costs | €2,06 | €4,15 | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
| Annual HVAC costs | €752,19 | €1.515,57 | €763,19 | €1.526,76 | €2.289,95 | €3.053,14 | €3.816,33 |
Other savings
Apart from saving money on electricity and HVAC, and paying less upfront costs in the long run, LED grow lights will provide more benefits. Because LED produces 80% less radiant heat and 40% less overall heat, you will need 60% less water and nutrients. Furthermore, you will actually save 50% on your HVAC system, since there is less heat. Less heat from LED also means the lights can be hung closer to the plants without damaging them AND providing a better light intensity for your plants, which will result in a higher yield.
An added bonus of using LED is that full spectrum LED grow lights produces 90% usable PAR light, compared to only 65% usable PAR from HPS indoor plant lights. This means that 90% of the light energy can be used for photosynthesis, and thus growth.
