Need help with lighting?

[green7]

This is my first grow and im trying to figure out if I should go with a 600 watt or 2-400 watts. which one would produce more plants and which one is more safe to operate in a residental home. Im trying to get as much plants as possible but at the same time be safe. Need advice, growing in a spacious 2 bedroom attic but have neihbors on the first and second floor.

 

[Screwnuts33]

Re: Need help with lighting???????????????????

What is the size of your grow space?

 

[Proliferation]

Re: Need help with lighting???????????????????

Twhich one is more safe to operate in a residential home. I'm trying to get as much plants as possible but at the same time be safe. .

I've recently been given some help on the subject of electricity here on 420 so will try and pass it along. Assume a 600watt light running on a typical household 120v outlet will pull approx 5.5-6amps of power. If you're using an 120v outlet it will probably be connected to a 15 or 20amp breaker on your service panel. You need to understand what else is on the circuit you are plugging your light into to be sure you do not exceed amperage load. In other words, you need to understand what other outlets, etc are on that same circuit, and what is plugged into them, as the outlet you plan to you use in your grow space. Best case scenerio is that you have a dedicated circuit to your grow space with nothing else in the house running off of it.

You do not want to exceed approx 12amps if connected to a 15amp breaker or 16amps if connected to a 20amp breaker in order not to max out that circuit and create any risk of fire.

You should also consider fans, blowers, timers, and other misc equip that will be used in the space and how much electricity it requires. At this point if I were you I would get a handle on what the electrical situation is in the space you'd like to grow in and understand what else (if anything) is on the circuit you plan to plug equipment into. Good luck! And like screwnuts said, what size is your space?

 

[FrostyBuds]

If you got the space two lights will almost always work better then one. Two sources of light verses one so you can get more coverage. But there are many other factors to consider.