New Grower How much electricity is considered too much?
- Thread starter BillyWu
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Thank all of you for your repliesAll this info is very useful.
Why are LED's safer to run? If the wattage output is still the same, (i.e.: running a 250w LED panel would use the same amount as a 250w HPS, correct?) then how come LED's are better? Is there something I'm missing here?
leds using up the same amount of power will use it more efficiently, less gets wasted ending up as heat. hps is very efficient so much more so than cfl but its a common misconception that hps are hotter as people dont compare light output just energy use. this is why you should go by lumen/par ratings as this is comparable across lighting types.
im in ireland too (think i remember you saying...) using 600-800+watts along with a big ass pc and tv on most of the day. esb cant see the difference between someone who grows and someone with a load of games consoles/space heaters/tvs imo. its been freezing recently so just say heating if anyone asks which they most likely wont.
i doubt theres many ir cameras around either, theyre looking for warehouses sized grows if theres any tech like that even in the country...
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The top 2 rules of growing indoors.
1- always pay electricity bill on time
2- keep your mouth shut.
1000w is nothing these days. Electric companies don't look at every single bill. And for them to actually look at just your house under a microscope is highly unlikely. Only reason for them to pull up your record is if you don't pay the bill. Cops can ask for your usage, but they would only need to do that if they suspect suspicious activity, wich brings it back to the second rule - keep mouth shut!
1- always pay electricity bill on time
2- keep your mouth shut.
1000w is nothing these days. Electric companies don't look at every single bill. And for them to actually look at just your house under a microscope is highly unlikely. Only reason for them to pull up your record is if you don't pay the bill. Cops can ask for your usage, but they would only need to do that if they suspect suspicious activity, wich brings it back to the second rule - keep mouth shut!
Muddy
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I'm running four 240 watt LEDs, one 250 watt CFL, four 23 watt CFLs, two extraction fans, five circulation fans, two 1,500 watt space heaters, a heat mat, an aquarium heater and an air stone. I've added up the the wattage on everything and computed the cost, about $90 a month. Been doing this for 4 years now and never had an issue with the power company. As a decoy I keep an electric welding unit in the garage and a few pieces of scrap metal laying around. If anyone asks, I've been welding.
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I keep a welder handy too .
Electric heat and hot water cook my power bill up way more than ANY grow light setup I have...
Electric heat and hot water cook my power bill up way more than ANY grow light setup I have...
The only thing that concerns me is light schedule. If something came up and they were to look at your bill, wouldn't it be suspicious that you pull more wattage 12 hours per day everyday (if on a 12/12)? Especially concerning, if you have a digital electric meter! Thanks JM for posting that video to AFN tube. :thumbs:
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That's one reason people doing big photo grows will do a flip. Two grow rooms, light on in one, off in the other. When one goes out, the other comes on, so the usage is constant.
S
stonemaster
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I read somewhere for every bedroom u can run one 1000 watt halide without drawing attention. That made sence to me, you might be run a heater for every bedroom. My bill is never under $350/month for a 3 bedroom house. Should I worry?
BillyWu
Dutch Passion enthusiast
Well I've definitely had my question answered, thank you fellas!
I have one more, if you'd be so kind as to answer it for me. If I were to remove my 250w HPS and put a 600w LED panel (Chinese import, not paying the ridiculous prices other places charge) in there, as well as growing hydro, would it be a substantial step up from my current set up? Is 600w too much, and are the Chinese import lights much different from retail ones elsewhere?
Surely the Chinese import ones work the same as the normal ones? They emit the same wavelengths, light is light regardless of how it's packaged
I have one more, if you'd be so kind as to answer it for me. If I were to remove my 250w HPS and put a 600w LED panel (Chinese import, not paying the ridiculous prices other places charge) in there, as well as growing hydro, would it be a substantial step up from my current set up? Is 600w too much, and are the Chinese import lights much different from retail ones elsewhere?
Surely the Chinese import ones work the same as the normal ones? They emit the same wavelengths, light is light regardless of how it's packaged
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