How to Calculate the Costs for Your Grow
Learning how to calculate the costs for your grow is a very helpful tool for deciding whether or not you should start growing your own cannabis. Figuring out the costs of growing cannabis indoors is quite easy once you know how. So, let’s get started.
Electricity Costs for Your Grow
Is growing your own really worth it? Learning how to calculate electricity costs can help answer that. So, it’s good to know there’s a way you can calculate exactly what it will cost you. First, you’ll need a recent bill that has the rate you pay per kilowatt hour or kWh. Then, you can calculate the cost of each item in your grow room and then add them all together to get a final cost.
How to Calculate Electricity Costs
Follow these steps to calculate your cost of electricity:
1. Find the wattage label on your piece of equipment to find out how many watts it uses. (ex. 600W light, 65W fan, 50W humidifier)
2. Multiply the wattage by the number of hours it runs in a day (ex. 600W × 18hrs = 10,800W per day)
3. Divide the wattage per day by 1,000 to get the kWh per day (ex. 10,800W ÷ 1,000 = 10.8 kWh per day)
4. Multiply your answer by the number of days you want to measure (ex. 10.8 kWh × 30 days = 324 kWh per month/billing cycle)
5. Finally, multiply the kWh from previous answer by the cost per kWh (ex. 324 kWh x 0.34/kWh = $110.16) Note: There may be multiple rates for kWh for ON peak, MID peak and OFF peak hours/Tier 1 and Tier 2 pricing
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for all equipment in your grow room and add it all together to find out how much your grow will cost you
Add the Remaining Expenses with the Electricity Costs
Now, simply add the remaining expenses with the cost of electricity. Any supplies you needed to buy for the grow can be added together to track spending. You can add all your expenses together so that you can track when you break even. Once you break even, you will be growing cannabis for a much lower price than purchasing it from the legal stores. I broke even after my very first grow and have been growing my cannabis for less than $20CAD an ounce. You cannot beat that!