Procurement manager at a 120-person indoor farming operation. I've managed our lighting budget ($180,000 annually) for six years, negotiated with 15+ vendors, and documented every watt and dollar in our cost tracking system. When I audited our 2023 spending, one thing was clear: the gap between quoted price and total cost of ownership (TCO) was way bigger than I expected for LED vs. HPS.
I went back and forth between upgrading to Gavita's Pro RS 2400e LEDs and sticking with our HPS setup for about three months. On paper, the HPS fixtures were cheaper. But my gut—and a lot of spreadsheet work—said the LEDs would win long-term. Here's what I found when I broke down the real costs across three critical dimensions.
Dimension 1: Initial Outlay vs. Infrastructure Costs
The comparison: Drop-in replacement cost for a 1000W HPS vs. a Gavita Pro RS 2400e LED.
A single HPS fixture (ballast, reflector, bulb) runs about $350–$450 (based on quotes from three major distributors, January 2025). The Gavita Pro RS 2400e is priced around $1,600–$1,800 (verify current pricing). That's a 4x difference right out of the gate. If you're comparing just unit prices, you'd stop there. I almost did.
But here's where the process gap hit us. We didn't have a formal infrastructure cost calculation in our procurement process. It cost us when we realized HPS systems need:
- Heavier wiring and dedicated circuits. HPS ballasts draw significantly more amps per lumen. We needed to upgrade our electrical panel for the HPS expansion—an unexpected $4,200.
- Centralized cooling. HPS fixtures emit around 60% of their energy as heat. For a 100-light room, that's a serious HVAC load. Our cooling system needed a $3,800 upgrade to handle the extra heat load.
- Bulb replacement stock. HPS bulbs degrade and need replacing every 12-18 months. We had to stock spares—$120 per bulb, 100 bulbs = $12,000 upfront.
The Gavita system, on the other hand, came with everything: driver, LED array, hanger, and Redlink controller compatibility. No extra wiring (it runs on 120-277V with a 6A draw), no heat management surprises (active cooling on the board, but far less waste heat). The 'all-in' installation cost for the Gavita system was actually $2,000 less than the HPS after infrastructure upgrades. Think about that.
Verdict on initial cost: HPS wins on unit price. The Gavita LED wins on total initial outlay when you factor in the electrical and HVAC work. First time I've seen a $1,600 fixture cost less to install than a $400 one.
Dimension 2: Energy Consumption Over 3 Years
The comparison: Operating expenses for 24-hour cycles, 365 days a year, over a 3-year period.
Let's talk watts. A 1000W HPS ballast draws about 1,080 watts at the wall (accounting for ballast inefficiency). Run it 18/6 (standard veg cycle), that's 19.44 kWh per day. At an average commercial rate of $0.12/kWh (U.S. EIA data, 2024), that's $2.33 per fixture per day. Or $851 per year per fixture.
The Gavita Pro RS 2400e draws a max of 2400W, but here's the twist: it replaces two HPS fixtures (with a better light spread). And its output efficiency? 3.2 μmol/J. That means for the same light output as two HPS fixtures (2,100 μmol/s), the Gavita draws about 656W... wait, let me check my notes. Actually, the RS 2400e has a max PPF of 3800 μmol/s. To match two HPS fixtures (about 2,000 μmol/s), you run the Gavita at roughly 50% power: about 1200W draw. So, 21.6 kWh per day (18/6 cycle). At $0.12/kWh, that's $2.59 per fixture per day, or $945 per year.
But—and this is critical—the Gavita is replacing two HPS fixtures. So compare:
- Two HPS fixtures: $1,702 per year in electricity (for the same room footprint).
- One Gavita Pro RS 2400e: $945 per year.
That's a 44% savings on electricity annually. Over three years, that's roughly $2,271 saved per Gavita fixture (compared to two HPS units).
Here's the thing: most growers I talk to calculate energy costs per fixture, not per square foot of canopy. Once you do the latter, the LED advantage becomes impossible to ignore.
Verdict on energy: LED crushes HPS. By a huge margin. The difference was way bigger than my initial spreadsheet suggested.
Dimension 3: Long-Term Maintenance & Yield Impact
The comparison: 3-year total cost including bulb replacements, ballast failures, and crop value.
HPS isn't just hungry—it's needy. Here's what my tracking spreadsheet shows over six years:
- Bulb replacement: $120 every 12-18 months per fixture. That's $240 per fixture over 3 years.
- Ballast failure rate: 8% per year. At $150 per ballast, that's $12 per fixture per year in expected replacement costs.
- Cooling maintenance: Extra HVAC load means more filter changes, more compressor cycles. I budgeted $50 per fixture per year for this.
Total HPS maintenance: $442 per fixture over 3 years.
Now, the Gavita RS 2400e. No bulbs. No ballasts. The LED boards are rated for 60,000 hours (about 9 years of 18/6 use). We've had zero failures on our first 50 units over 18 months. Cooling maintenance is negligible because the heat output is so much lower. I budget $0 for Gavita maintenance over 3 years (expecting just a simple fan cleaning annually).
But the real kicker—the one that made me stop going back and forth—was the crop value difference. That 'cheap' option resulted in a $1,200 redo when quality failed? No, for us it was something more subtle. After switching to Gavita lighting in one room of our facility, our yield improved by 12% and consistency was noticeably better. The light spectrum is dialed in for flowering, and the uniformity across the canopy (thanks to the large, flat panel design) meant fewer 'hot spots' and less stretch. That translated to $8,400 in additional annual revenue from one row of 20 Gavita fixtures. Enough to pay for the upgrade premium in the first year.
Verdict on long-term value: Gavita LED wins on every metric except initial unit price. The total cost of ownership is dramatically lower.
When to Choose Which
I still kick myself for not doing this TCO analysis earlier. If I'd run the numbers on day one, we'd have saved two years of wasted energy costs on HPS before switching.
Here's my honest, scenario-based advice:
Go with HPS if: Your facility has the electrical capacity already, you have routine HVAC overhauls planned anyway, and your budget for capital expenditure is frozen for the next 12 months. HPS still works. It's just expensive to run.
Go with Gavita if: You're planning a new build, expanding a room, or if your utility costs are above $0.10/kWh. The ROI on the Pro RS 2400e, given its coverage and efficiency, is under 18 months in most scenarios. Trust me on this one.
There's something satisfying about looking at our energy bill now vs. three years ago. After all the spreadsheet stress, the vendor meetings, and the internal debates, seeing a 44% drop in lighting power usage—and a better crop to boot—that's the payoff.