How much is too much power use?

[monsterkilla]

Id like to set up a grow room and wanted to know how much electricity use is too much? Also i dont want to call in an electrician so wanna know how many wts is safe to run in a 2bd rm house. also how much is too much that the electric company starts noticing?

 

[slapboo]

Check out and Google : amount of electrical power used in Sodium bulbs .
Then check out power used in HP bulbs , ditto the other kinds .
Use a basic 500 watt bulb for all bulb power or something like it then do the math .

Your OTHER ENEMY is the HEAT and not just the amount of electricity , the Cops now have hand held FLIR heat sensing cameras and don't need the Helicopters airborne FLIR to detect heat coming from homes that much anymore . ( In the USA anyway )
Those High Sodium bulbs glow like a volcano in FLIR .

 

[weezie]

a 1000w light at 12/12 in northern cal. is about 120.00 a month. at night its cheaper. you need 10 amps per light. you will need an electrician, but that can be you after you read up on adding new circuits. It's kind of a big deal setting up a whole room. I receive notices in the mail ever time I move my electric usage up into a new "level"; it just reminds me how much MORE growing im getting done. The smart thing to do is get on PGand E site and find out by looking at the consumption charts vs. devices you want to use and how long. All devices say on them how much they draw.
I'm pretty sure you need a warrant these days to helo or hand held detectors unless you are on a watch list then you have no right thanks to bush.

Careful with the wires, don't loose your house and go to jail same day.

 

[hashboy]

Check out and Google : amount of electrical power used in Sodium bulbs .
Then check out power used in HP bulbs , ditto the other kinds .
Use a basic 500 watt bulb for all bulb power or something like it then do the math .

Your OTHER ENEMY is the HEAT and not just the amount of electricity , the Cops now have hand held FLIR heat sensing cameras and don't need the Helicopters airborne FLIR to detect heat coming from homes that much anymore . ( In the USA anyway )
Those High Sodium bulbs glow like a volcano in FLIR .

About FLIR: it only reads the heat on surfaces. It can't see through anything solid except glass. If your lights are showing bright spots outside with FLIR then it's because you have no insulation. The stealthiest way to grow to avoid FLIR detection is to build a grow room within your basement (a separate stand-alone "box" with at least a foot of air space on all sides including the top) and insulate it. Vent it down the sewer (put a one-way valve on the roof vent to allow air in but not out - this will allow the vent to work in preventing airlock in the sewer lines during draining, and force the air from the grow room down the sewer instead of out of the roof vent where everyone can smell your skunk) Monitor the air surrounding your grow room and cool it if necessary. Cops can point all they want right at your house with FLIR and not see anything... theoretically. (the only air touching the outside walls is cooled) It should work but you might want to rent a FLIR device yourself from Home Depot and test it out.
About electricity usage (lights mostly but also fans and AC if necessary): sorry can't help you there... still trying to figure out how to reduce the $12/day it will cost me to run just my lights)

 

[hashboy]

Somewhere I read that the general rule-of-thumb for light coverage was 50-70w/sq ft. I have over 560sq ft I'd like to use as a veg room and a flowering room. At 70w/sq ft, that comes to about $30/day @ .065/kWh, or about $900/month. Am I doing something wrong in my calculations? How do you calculate this shit?! Dividing up each of the 2 rooms into 4x4 areas for each 600w light and calculating for total kW x 12hrs/day in one room and 18hrs/day in the other x the appropriate rates in kWh comes out to over $30/day. I know I'll have a big crop but after buying all the equipment and supplies (assuming I could afford them) I don't know how I could do it.

 

[Weed420]

Here in Washington it costs me $45 a month for all my growing. A 1000w hps flower room with 3 fans. A veg room with an 8 bulb T5 setup and a clone room with 10 cfl bulbs. If you're on one of the new digital power meter systems its handy to have most of the growing going on at night when you're not using much in the way of electricity in the rest of the house. Some power companies just don't care. I've personally known people who went from spending a $100 a month right to spending $1200 a month and all that happened was a tech came out and checked the meter for failure.

 

[too old]

hashboy - your calculations are probably correct. Not sure how many your using, but for one 600w on a 12/12, I get $14.50 a month (600w X 12hrs X 31 days X $0.065/kwH / 1000 = $14.508). If you figure you are going to use $900/mon, that's a lot of power! Nice crop!

 

[209 Cali C.G]

a 1000w light at 12/12 in northern cal. is about 120.00 a month. at night its cheaper. you need 10 amps per light. you will need an electrician, but that can be you after you read up on adding new circuits. It's kind of a big deal setting up a whole room. I receive notices in the mail ever time I move my electric usage up into a new "level"; it just reminds me how much MORE growing im getting done. The smart thing to do is get on PGand E site and find out by looking at the consumption charts vs. devices you want to use and how long. All devices say on them how much they draw.
I'm pretty sure you need a warrant these days to helo or hand held detectors unless you are on a watch list then you have no right thanks to bush.

Careful with the wires, don't loose your house and go to jail same day.

12/12 mine was $50?

 

[dragontoker]

A 600w light and a 208w T5 unit running 12 hours each day costs me $13 a month. (.0458 cents per kwh)

 

[Buckshot]

Unless you know about your wiring or are willing and able to check it out you need an electrician. You need to know how many amps your sockets are rated and if they are properly grounded. If you are planing on using a lot of lights you need an electrician. You will need to know if your service and electrical system can handle it. You need to be safe first. You should not come close to the amps of your sockets so you have to add all electrical devices you have plugged in.

be careful

 

[Hey Buddy]

A 600w light and a 208w T5 unit running 12 hours each day costs me $13 a month. (.0458 cents per kwh)

How are you guys getting such cheap rates with power? Where I am its 0.14 euro cents / 0.19 dollar cents per KWH

Is this table accurate?


Rank State Price (in cents)
1 Idaho 8.0
2 North Dakota 8.1
3 Washington 8.2
4 Arkansas 8.7
5 Utah 8.8
6 Louisiana 8.9
7 Wyoming 8.9
8 South Dakota 9.0
9 Nebraska 9.0
10 Kentucky 9.0
11 West Virginia 9.2
12 Oklahoma 9.2
13 Oregon 9.4
14 Montana 9.6
15 Missouri 9.7
16 Tennessee 9.8
17 Indiana 10.0
18 North Carolina 10.2
19 Mississippi 10.3
20 Iowa 10.5
21 Kansas 10.5
22 Virginia 10.5
23 New Mexico 10.7
24 Minnesota 10.9
25 South Carolina 11.0
26 Arizona 11.1
27 Georgia 11.1
28 Alabama 11.1
29 Colorado 11.2
30 Ohio 11.2
31 Texas 11.3
32 Illinois 11.7
33 Florida 11.7
34 Nevada 11.7
35 Michigan 13.0
36 Wisconsin 13.0
37 Pennsylvania 13.2
38 Maryland 13.7
39 District of Columbia 13.7
40 Delaware 13.7
41 Massachusetts 14.8
42 Rhode Island 14.9
43 California 15.2
44 Maine 15.5
45 Vermont 16.1
46 New Jersey 16.3
47 New Hampshire 16.5
48 Alaska 17.5
49 Connecticut 18.1
50 New York 18.1
51 Hawaii 33.2

 

[Hosebomber]

That list is relativity accurate. California is on a sliding scale. The more you use the more you are charged based on a tier system. For teir 3 (the highest) it is $.246 per Kw Hour. Each energy company charges their own rates and they vary depending on a number of factors. I believe those numbers you posted are avg. cost per state. Rural areas generally get charged more because line repair and maintenance cost more. Some cities and counties charge extra taxes etc.

A few things to note from this thread. FLIR can detect heat through walls. Very few if any local cops will have a FLIR due to the cost. Handheld FLIR is not a true FLIR and will not give you any true readings like the military/aircraft based system will. The true FLIR systems cost a minimum of 700k and then there is the cost of installation and modification of the systems to use it. This generally cost another 150-300k and takes at least 6 weeks. It is illegal to use a FLIR on residential areas without a warrant. Even If they do use one it can not be used in court due to the fact that so many items can give off a heat signature. If they already have a warrant to use a FLIR, you are already busted and they are just building more charges.

As for your wiring... You want at least a 10% buffer on the normal power draw of a piece of equipment. An example of this is: If you are using a 1000 watt HID light, it will draw ~6.6 amps. Add 10% to that and you get 7.26 amps. Normal household circuits are 15 or 20 amp lines (check the breaker to see what it reads). This means with nothing else drawing power from that circuit you should be able to safely run two 1000 watt lamps.

Hashboy, If you are growing in a 24'x24' area a $900 electric bill should be the least of your worries. You will easily be bypassing any state legal amount and be firmly in the 100+ plant range that the Feds will be interested in.

 

[Javahead]

The quick math that I used as electrician, was watts/100=amps this will be off, as the true formula is watts/120=amps, but dividing by 100 is easy, and gives you a number on the high side, by 20%.

 

[oldman60]

I run a 400w hid, 200wT5, circulating fan, two air pumps, 6 inch exhaust fan, submersible pump, and a space heater
set on low on one 110 outlet. The water pump and heater don't run 24/7. Been doing it for years and it has never
popped a breaker.

That blow drier in your bathroom uses more watts than a small grow set up.

 

[Javahead]

You might want to ask it as how many lumen per foot, that would be per cubic foot. What I recall is 10k-20k lumen per cubic foot, but I am the new kid here.

 

[Hosebomber]

I'm not sure how many times I have said this before (and it's really starting to get old). Lumens have nothing to do with how much light is in your area or how plants use that light. It is a measurement of brightness skewed to the human eye. Stop asking about lumens using it as a measurement for plants or a guide to grow plants. Radiometric flux or Photosynthetically active radiation are the only measurements of light output you should be using. If you are comparing 2 bulbs with the exact same spectral distribution you can use lumens as a general term for how bright it is to people but it has nothing to do with plants.

 

[Javahead]

It would appear you need to say it a few more times, and thank you.

I had only been calling for legal marijuana for 40 years when two states made it that way, and we still have a battle in DC. Go on tell me again how old repeating yourself is getting.

 

[TaylorMade420]

could always use light movers and cut the amount of lights needed in half and instead of 600w lights use 400w lights with parabolic reflectors as thes are designed for the kind of grow you are going to be doing should save you a load of cash in electricity

 

[Boba]

So with what I know T5 light is the way to go for larger crop?

 

[Hosebomber]

No, HPS is the way to go for a larger crop. The problem with using T5's for a large crop is the fact that you would need a large number of lights per plant. For more basic information on lighting check out the link in my signature.