Electricity

[Hogdady]

what about in the ballast itself, is it more efficient to run it at 220 vs 110 if it supports it or is there no real difference?

Magnetic ballasts that are switchable from 110v to 220v are much less efficient @ 110v because they are essentually 220v ballasts. If your ballast is NOT switchable, it is designed to run at the voltage it is. This does not apply to digital ballasts.

 

[Steve McStoferson]

Magnetic ballasts that are switchable from 110v to 220v are much less efficient @ 110v because they are essentually 220v ballasts. If your ballast is NOT switchable, it is designed to run at the voltage it is. This does not apply to digital ballasts.

awesome, thats pretty straightforward.. Thanks dude!

 

[Hogdady]

awesome, thats pretty straightforward.. Thanks dude!

 

[Red-Cricket]

Hey folks, If im using 10 HO T 5's at 54 watt each...am i really using 540 watts? The meter does not seem to be running that much faster. Thanks Red

 

[Hogdady]

Hey folks, If im using 10 HO T 5's at 54 watt each...am i really using 540 watts? The meter does not seem to be running that much faster. Thanks Red

Yes you are. Thats only 4.5 amps..hardly enough for you to see a difference on the wheel speed of your meter.

 

[CTLeotattoo420]

How much electricity is everyone using above "normal" growing their bud?

Im running my lights at 220 volts, at a 1000 watts, figured it isnt gonna bring on a whole lot attention, since its only puling about 6-7 amps max, with fans and pumps running....

What does "at 220 volts" mean? I am reading a grow book and trying to figure what electricity to run to my closet. Does the closet need its own circuit? I am considering running a 15 amp line to it, but with a tandem two-32 watt bulb, florescent light the only other fixture on the line. I will run to a double gang in the closet. Might I be able to run another up and over to the other side of the closet. Will four outlets be enough? Already there is a switch light in the ceiling that will be the veging portion and a CFL will be there. That is on a different circuit.
Help?

 

[10gal]

What does "at 220 volts" mean? I am reading a grow book and trying to figure what electricity to run to my closet. Does the closet need its own circuit? I am considering running a 15 amp line to it, but with a tandem two-32 watt bulb, florescent light the only other fixture on the line. I will run to a double gang in the closet. Might I be able to run another up and over to the other side of the closet. Will four outlets be enough? Already there is a switch light in the ceiling that will be the veging portion and a CFL will be there. That is on a different circuit.
Help?

220 volt is like a stove outlet

basically the higher the voltage, the lower the amps you draw

I dont know what you are using for lights but you need to do the math or explain what you are using so someone here can help you out

 

[Elvin]

What does "at 220 volts" mean? I am reading a grow book and trying to figure what electricity to run to my closet. Does the closet need its own circuit? I am considering running a 15 amp line to it, but with a tandem two-32 watt bulb, florescent light the only other fixture on the line. I will run to a double gang in the closet. Might I be able to run another up and over to the other side of the closet. Will four outlets be enough? Already there is a switch light in the ceiling that will be the veging portion and a CFL will be there. That is on a different circuit.
Help?

220 volts reference is really not anything you need to know; either you have 220v (Europe) or 110v (US); your circuit will be whatever you have in your house depending on where you live. If it's 110v you wire for that and vice versus. As to if you need a dedicated circuit, the question you need to answer is if you will overload an existing one. For me, the circuit I'm on (15 amps) is using well under that even with 2 tents, so I'm tripping over extension cords. I do run power strips with their breakers to be safe and they do have power surge protection so that will protect my lights from surges from lightning strikes on power lines.
You can easily use an existing one as long as it is not going to be overloaded (just add up the draw of everything on the line). If it will be, I'm sure you have space in your breaker box for a new breaker to be able to run a new circuit. It's not that much harder to add a breaker as opposed to just adding more wire to an existing one.
As to how many outlets; I'd run all four and possibly run more if I might want to expand.
Youtube videos on house wiring will help a lot more than most weed grow books. Given you have questions after reading the grow book about wiring tells me the book was a little wanting on the subject

 

[CTLeotattoo420]

220 volt is like a stove outlet

basically the higher the voltage, the lower the amps you draw

I dont know what you are using for lights but you need to do the math or explain what you are using so someone here can help you out

I havent decided on lights vet. I have a 97 cubic ft space, the top 29 cubic feet will be a veg portion(think freezer on top of fridge.) That portion already as a switch light on a differnt pre existing circuit.
I will run the best most effiecint LEDs I can buy in the bottom 69 cubic feet.(62x62x31...inches). Not sure what lights I will need for that, but then I have intake fan, outake fan, various timers, dehumidifier, circulation fan. Right?

 

[10gal]

I havent decided on lights vet. I have a 97 cubic ft space, the top 29 cubic feet will be a veg portion(think freezer on top of fridge.) That portion already as a switch light on a differnt pre existing circuit.
I will run the best most effiecint LEDs I can buy in the bottom 69 cubic feet.(62x62x31...inches). Not sure what lights I will need for that, but then I have intake fan, outake fan, various timers, dehumidifier, circulation fan. Right?

Im the wrong guy for your led questions, but they usually pull higher amps than electronic hid
for that size space id keep the ight on a 15 circuit, and the rest on a separate circuit
but you need to figure out your peak amp draw, and do the math from there(my rule is to never go above 75 percent of your amp rating/ so 15 amp breaker should see 10 amps at most)

if you ran a 1k in there on 120v
you would be able to run 1 per the 15 amp circuit
led will be about the same, because it might have a lower wattage it will pull more amps

 

[Tony Urban]

I had a 20 amp dedicated circuit installed for my little 3’ x 3’ tent. Probably dont use 6-8 amps total.

 

[Elvin]

I would use your existing lines if they are not overloaded (be sure to add the room lights and make sure other rooms are not on the line using amps) if you want to install outlets for your grow like you were asking. It is doubtful those circuits are overloaded and that is fairly easy to do correctly with patience.
As suggested youtube videos are great resources to complement that book (or other resources) to help you with the project.
If the circuit will be overloaded then, of course, you will need to go the route of a new complete circuit. That involves a new breaker in your breaker box plus a new line. That is not fun to do the first (or second) time and most just run extension cords from an underload circuit instead.
Also given that you are using "cubic feet" I'm pretty sure you are in the US and that means you have 110v in your walls (Except your dryer and possibly a wall air conditioner will use 220v)

 

[CTLeotattoo420]

Im the wrong guy for your led questions, but they usually pull higher amps than electronic hid
for that size space id keep the ight on a 15 circuit, and the rest on a separate circuit
but you need to figure out your peak amp draw, and do the math from there(my rule is to never go above 75 percent of your amp rating/ so 15 amp breaker should see 10 amps at most)

if you ran a 1k in there on 120v
you would be able to run 1 per the 15 amp circuit
led will be about the same, because it might have a lower wattage it will pull more amps

One, onethousand watt light is all that would run on one 15 amp circuit. Or I could only run one LIGHT?

 

[10gal]

One, onethousand watt light is all that would run on one 15 amp circuit. Or I could only run one LIGHT?

one 1000watt light is all i would run per 15 amp circuit

 

[Elvin]

one 1000watt light is all i would run per 15 amp circuit

Be sure the light actually pulls 1000 watts from the wall when you figure out how much is being used. Most "1000 watt" LED grow lights (the famous Blurples) barely use 200 watts (and a lot of that is used by their fans, not the LEDs BTW).

 

[CTLeotattoo420]

I would use your existing lines if they are not overloaded (be sure to add the room lights and make sure other rooms are not on the line using amps) if you want to install outlets for your grow like you were asking. It is doubtful those circuits are overloaded and that is fairly easy to do correctly with patience.
As suggested youtube videos are great resources to complement that book (or other resources) to help you with the project.
If the circuit will be overloaded then, of course, you will need to go the route of a new complete circuit. That involves a new breaker in your breaker box plus a new line. That is not fun to do the first (or second) time and most just run extension cords from an underload circuit instead.
Also given that you are using "cubic feet" I'm pretty sure you are in the US and that means you have 110v in your walls (Except your dryer and possibly a wall air conditioner will use 220v)

Yes..US. I am pretty good with electrical; it is my plan to run a dedicated circuit for the grow. 15 amps or 20?

 

[CTLeotattoo420]

220 volts reference is really not anything you need to know; either you have 220v (Europe) or 110v (US); your circuit will be whatever you have in your house depending on where you live. If it's 110v you wire for that and vice versus. As to if you need a dedicated circuit, the question you need to answer is if you will overload an existing one. For me, the circuit I'm on (15 amps) is using well under that even with 2 tents, so I'm tripping over extension cords. I do run power strips with their breakers to be safe and they do have power surge protection so that will protect my lights from surges from lightning strikes on power lines.
You can easily use an existing one as long as it is not going to be overloaded (just add up the draw of everything on the line). If it will be, I'm sure you have space in your breaker box for a new breaker to be able to run a new circuit. It's not that much harder to add a breaker as opposed to just adding more wire to an existing one.
As to how many outlets; I'd run all four and possibly run more if I might want to expand.
Youtube videos on house wiring will help a lot more than most weed grow books. Given you have questions after reading the grow book about wiring tells me the book was a little wanting on the subject

Well, the book apparently was published in '09, so there is NO information on LEDs.

 

[Elvin]

Well, the book apparently was published in '09, so there is NO information on LEDs.

Let's begin in the beginning, I assume you are in North America so your voltage is going to be 110v (Europe is 220v or the book could have been referencing using Bulbs which can be 110 or 220v) US grow lights (LED/QB's etc.) are 110v so there is obviously no need to run 220v.
I believe your original question dealt with whether you can just add outlets to an existing line without overloading the circuit and tripping a breaker.
Blurple lights (I won't give names, 420 has too many advertisers of these lights to keep track of and not bash an advertiser) but one here that advertises 1000 watts really only pulls 205watts =/- 3%. (which is why it is under $70) That means the light requires under 1.7 amps to run. Be aware that a 120-watt Quantum board produces better light than a 205-watt Blurple and will grow a much denser flower.
So for 2 "1000 watt" Blurples (410 actual watts and don't forget a lot of that is running cooling fans unlike QB's) you will need around 3.5 amps to run.
You'll need ventilation fan(s) (you can forgo the dehumidifier in a lot of cases with good airflow) which adds amps usage but I use 2 tents and just one fan (6" iPower) to save power. I have the fan on the intake of the flower tent which does puff it out a bit, but that does give me a little more space ;-) I then run a 10-foot length of ducting for exhaust that keeps the light out of the tent and enables me to hook it up to the veg tent if I want to zip it up and turn it into a flower tent. Otherwise, I just keep the door on the veg tent mostly unzipped for ventilation. In veg one does not need to worry about light leaks obviously.
What I'm trying to share is there are ways to creatively do your ventilation to save money on power and 1 fan is a lot quieter than 2. Just don't figure this out later like I did 2 plastic 4 inch fans and 2-6inchfans later to be just using one of them, as I did.
Here is a watt to amp calculator Watts to Amps Electrical Conversion Calculator - Inch Calculator that will help you figure out the math.
You will need around 5 amps for 2 "1000 watt" Blurples (410 true watts) and 2 6 inch iPower fans (those are likely way too big for what you need BTW) and that ventilation fan (I've got three that I don't use because the iPower moves the plant enough; you might be able to forgo that as well). So if your breaker can withstand an additional 5 amps just use that circuit otherwise you'll need a new one; do not just put a 20 amp breaker on the line. You need 12 gauge wire to do that and they use 14 gauge wire on 15 amp circuits.
Given that book of yours is a weed grow book I'd ignore their wiring advise. The internet has many sites that will walk you through wiring and Youtube has great videos by professionals that almost hold your hand when they show you how to wire. So the answer for 15 or 20? I'd use 15 amps (why spend more on unneeded heavier wire?) or just do like most of us; extension cords and power strips.

 

[CTLeotattoo420]

Let's begin in the beginning, I assume you are in North America so your voltage is going to be 110v (Europe is 220v or the book could have been referencing using Bulbs which can be 110 or 220v) US grow lights (LED/QB's etc.) are 110v so there is obviously no need to run 220v.
I believe your original question dealt with whether you can just add outlets to an existing line without overloading the circuit and tripping a breaker.
Blurple lights (I won't give names, 420 has too many advertisers of these lights to keep track of and not bash an advertiser) but one here that advertises 1000 watts really only pulls 205watts =/- 3%. (which is why it is under $70) That means the light requires under 1.7 amps to run. Be aware that a 120-watt Quantum board produces better light than a 205-watt Blurple and will grow a much denser flower.
So for 2 "1000 watt" Blurples (410 actual watts and don't forget a lot of that is running cooling fans unlike QB's) you will need around 3.5 amps to run.
You'll need ventilation fan(s) (you can forgo the dehumidifier in a lot of cases with good airflow) which adds amps usage but I use 2 tents and just one fan (6" iPower) to save power. I have the fan on the intake of the flower tent which does puff it out a bit, but that does give me a little more space ;-) I then run a 10-foot length of ducting for exhaust that keeps the light out of the tent and enables me to hook it up to the veg tent if I want to zip it up and turn it into a flower tent. Otherwise, I just keep the door on the veg tent mostly unzipped for ventilation. In veg one does not need to worry about light leaks obviously.
What I'm trying to share is there are ways to creatively do your ventilation to save money on power and 1 fan is a lot quieter than 2. Just don't figure this out later like I did 2 plastic 4 inch fans and 2-6inchfans later to be just using one of them, as I did.
Here is a watt to amp calculator Watts to Amps Electrical Conversion Calculator - Inch Calculator that will help you figure out the math.
You will need around 5 amps for 2 "1000 watt" Blurples (410 true watts) and 2 6 inch iPower fans (those are likely way too big for what you need BTW) and that ventilation fan (I've got three that I don't use because the iPower moves the plant enough; you might be able to forgo that as well). So if your breaker can withstand an additional 5 amps just use that circuit otherwise you'll need a new one; do not just put a 20 amp breaker on the line. You need 12 gauge wire to do that and they use 14 gauge wire on 15 amp circuits.
Given that book of yours is a weed grow book I'd ignore their wiring advise. The internet has many sites that will walk you through wiring and Youtube has great videos by professionals that almost hold your hand when they show you how to wire. So the answer for 15 or 20? I'd use 15 amps (why spend more on unneeded heavier wire?) or just do like most of us; extension cords and power strips.

I know all about wire and breakers, in that regard Im good. Its just a question of what I need. I am beginning to think a tent is a better idea, idk.

 

[10gal]

I know all about wire and breakers, in that regard Im good. Its just a question of what I need. I am beginning to think a tent is a better idea, idk.

get a tent bro, much easier to set up properly
and take down, should the need arise.