Hydroponic tower: how much does it cost per month?
How Much Does It Really Cost to Grow a Plant in a Hydroponic Tower?
Clear, home-tested numbers: here’s the full monthly breakdown for a 36-slot tower.
The Question Everyone Asks
“But how much does it actually cost to run?” Let’s look at the data. No theory here — just numbers calculated from our own direct experience.
The Final Results
With 80 W grow lights running for 16 hours a day, an 18 W pump working for 8 hours, and a 2 W air pump always on, the tower’s monthly energy cost is about €6.
Add to that the TriPart nutrients, used at the recommended average dosage: about €3.50 per month. Water, even at 15 litres per week, costs only a few cents.
Total monthly cost: around €10.16 to keep the entire tower active and productive.
With 36 growing slots, this means that each plant costs about €0.28 per month, all included.
And since each slot can produce 100–500 g of fresh vegetables in 30 days, the benefit — in terms of yield and self-sufficiency — is clear:
THE MONTHLY YIELD is at least €40/80.
| Item | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Electricity (lights, pump, air pump) | ~€6.00 |
| TriPart nutrients (the best in the world) | ~€3.50 |
| Water | ~€0.10 |
| Total monthly cost (36 slots) | ~€10.16 |
| Cost per plant (36 slots) | ~€0.28 |
Where These Numbers Come From
Energy: this is the main expense. The lights do most of the work (80 W × 16 h = 1.28 kWh/day). At €0.142/kWh (national average rate), that’s about €5.50 per month. The pump, running in cycles, adds less than €0.60, and the air pump about €0.20.
Total energy cost: roughly €6 per month.
Water: 15 litres per week × €0.0015/L = €0.10. Basically nothing.
Nutrients: the TriPart mix, used carefully, adds up to about €3.50 per month. It’s what keeps plants growing strong and fast, without waste.
Final total: the tower runs steadily for about €10 per month. Hence the cost per plant: €0.28 monthly (nutrients + energy + water).
What This Really Means
With 36 active slots, the tower can produce an average of 3.5–6 kg of vegetables per month, depending on the crop (lettuce, herbs, or small fruiting plants).
Translated into “store value,” that’s €40–80 of fresh produce each month. And the best part is, you grow it at home — continuously, cleanly, sustainably, and with a quality equal to (and often better than) organic greens.
For Those Who Want to Go Deeper
All this data comes from the “Hydroponic Tower Costs” Excel file, available for download here:
👉 Download “Hydroponic Tower Costs” file (placeholder link)
A second file, “Vegetable Cost and Savings”, is updated regularly and includes comparisons with real market prices — both supermarket and organic.
👉 Check the updated file here (placeholder link)
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