Lighting Suspicious wattage?

[Learner]

Hey all, scoured the internet n found many posts but none too specific or recent so would like to ask fellow members hopefully with experience with serious watt usage

How much can we actually pull without arousing any suspicion from our electric companies, I am talking bout a one off 80 day period which would obv work in our favour however is pulling anything over 2kw gonna flag? Would multiple 600w hps or fewer 1000w make a difference? Would switch to a new electric company just b4 setup to try help

all advice, experience or links much appreciated however if possible feel advice from a uk grower pulling above that wattage would b ideal obviously, thx all

 

[Son of Hobbes]

I think it may vary depending on where you live and who your electric company is. I've heard some countries monitor it quite closely; others don't care as long as you're paying your bill.

I do know that there are certain parameters that can cause a flag to be raised on your account with your power usage; but I have no idea exactly what they are because it's most likely set by the electric company. Remember, they aren't sitting at their desks looking at large power consumption going, "OH GEEZ SOMEONE IS GROWING CANNABIS;" it's quite possible your meter is failing, someone is stealing power, there's an electrical/wiring problem, etc. That being said; I would very much think an investigation would be launched by the elec company.

An acquaintance of mine was busted awhile back and part of the article was a LEO officer talking about how they contacted the electric company and saw the house busted was using over 3 times the average amount of similarly sized houses in the neighborhood. That's pretty much common public knowledge too; you yourself could call on an address and ask them what the average electric bill ran in the winter and summer months (I used to do it all the time when I was thinking about renting a new apartment/house.) No hiding from what's considered public domain.

On the flip side; 2000 watts may be a lot if you're in an apartment or smaller house where you may not typically have equipment that draws that kind of power 24/7, but if you live in a larger house or have multiple electronics... :dunno: I have a 22 year old air conditioner that cools a couple thousand square feet. I have four PC's running (most gaming machine specs) running all the time. Multiple tv's. I have multiple window A/C units. I draw a lot of power. Grow lights are the least of my electricity woes.

Multiple lights aren't going to save you any money on the bills necessarily; the type of light used may though when you consider HID lights like HPS/MH need more ventilation/cooling versus say LED lighting, which may get by running less electrical in the way of ventilation and cooling.

Take a look at your electric bill and see how much you're using/averaging per month. Then figure out the calculations of running your lights for however many hours per day and multiply that by whatever rate you're getting charged and you'll have a rough idea what your daily/monthly costs will be. If you literally double your bill when you have a history of a constant average, well... would YOU find that questionable?

Just my two cents brother! Be safe! :karma Cloud:

 

[Waximus]

I just tell them I have one of these... And, ask 'em if they'd like "the Cage" tour.... lolol

 

[Learner]

Thx u made a lot of sense wat i kinda gather from that is u feel aslong as there isn't any suspicion around the house giving police reason to call em there shouldn't rely b any reason the electric company shud contact the police, it was gonna b as I move so the place has been empty for months n would just b for the first 2 months then shut down so short time span shud would in favour however u say u feel 2kw is quite huge? I was thinking 4x600w hps as it was but was hoping to have sum responses that make me feel comfortable with 6x600 or 4x1000 although 4000w does sound massive to me and why I wanna look into it a lot more, thx a lot for ur reply

 

[Learner]

Lol wax although I feel calling the company n making any excuse for high usage it's quite suspicious lol

 

[Waximus]

That's a key point, Learner. If a cop doesn't have any reason to look twice at your place, then he isn't going to look. That said, one fly over from a FLIR helicopter and every heat leak and hot spot on that house/apt is going to go bright red. Where I'm at, its harvest season for guerrilla growers, and the copters have gone overhead 3-4 times. I rigged my tent exhausts to a dryer vent. Nothing suspicious about that, so long they don't fly over at 3AM.. lol
And, Son of Hobbes, what an informing post! Thank you! That pretty much gets to the Zen of it, methinks.

 

[Waximus]

I just figured out that I have 2600 watts of available lighting, usually only using 1600 of it (max) at any given time. I'm guessing my power company wouldn't blink if I went to 3000. But, I have a big house and lots of electronics. Now, if the history of this place was 100kilawatts/month, and it bumped to 6000 Kw/month, SOMEBODY is going to wonder whas'up! That said, if I'm adding 1000 watts of light, I might start using more electricity 2-3 months prior- keep the AC running, keep a couple PCs as servers, turn on the Christmas lights after Labor Day (kidding)- so that the added electricity is metered up over a bit of time. Then, when I go live with the 1000 watts, I stop using the other stuff, and its barely a blip on their meter. I've heard stories of grow houses prepping by doing just that. It can get expensive.. Since I only grow for myself and trade with other medical patients, its not flagging 'em. But if you were outfitting a house like a Weeds/Silas grow, it would.

 

[wwwillie]

SoH summed it up well. I could add that if you were able to produce receipts for a couple of 1500 watt heaters, then you could produce those receipts as a reason to use 3000 watts for your grow.
I live in a small town and pay my electric and water via telephone. We talk all the time, I complain about how high the bill is and she laughs a bit and tells me I should cut my consumption and we talk about the kids home from college extra rooms, heaters a/c units. So now my grow room excess is blamed on my son being home from school...

 

[Learner]

Thats a bit of comfort knowing ure pulling 1600 with no probs although I'm surprised u manage to consume all that urself lol i dont have the balls to properly kit out a flat big style n risk ruining my life but see an oppurtuntiy in moving to a fresh quiet location with time on my side n over here aslong as u have no previous convictions and in category D (up to 9 plants) sentences tend to b quite light and with the only strain ive ever grown (TD) ive had v impressive yields and feel its possibilities r only restricted by its available light so wanna do a 1 off beefy grow with cheap disposable lighting lol thanks for the input and advice

 

[Learner]

I would much prefer sweet talking sum woman over the phone lol however faceless companies n long hold times if ever theres a problem lol