Figure it this way, every day a 400watt light on 12/12 cycle will use 4.8 kwh a day. A 600watt light on the same schedule will use 7.2 kwh a day. If you are paying 10cents a kwh, which is really cheap, the 400watt will cost you $.48 a day and the 600watt will cost you $.72 a day. So for the month, the 400watt light will cost about $14.40 and the 600watt will cost about $21.60 a month. Now 10cents a kwh is fairly cheap. My cheapest ones arel like 12cents and can go all the way up to like 30cents depending on what "tier" I end up in after the bill comes.
My 400watt light, with all the fans and everything running, and my 250watt veg cab going, would bring my bill up like $40. Now with the 600watt light, my bill goes up $60. That extra money is well worth it considering my average yeild went up about 4oz, and I was only using it in a 3'x2' area. I have it in a 4'x4' area, so I am guessing my yeild should be even better than before because I have more room for the plants.
As far as temps go, the 600watt runs quite a bit warmer. With my 400watt light, the glass on my a/c hood was cool to the touch. Now with the 600watt light in there with the same fan cooling it, the glass is not warm to the touch. I would say its just cooler than a cfl. The plants can pretty much touch the glass without burning from heat.
HTG Supply has ballast kits you can get and they are really cheap but work great. I used a 400watt kit from them for about 2yrs with no problems. I have since bought a 600watt from them and have been using it for about 4 months with no problems. The 600watt with a bulb was only $150 shipped. The actual ballast is only like $105, which is like $50-$200 cheaper than a pre fabbed ballast.