If you had a good budget what would your method be for a secure mid size indoor grow?

[moreindoorporfavor]

This is hypothetical question of course...But lets say a friend of mine has a decent budget of around 60k to invest in an indoor grow...He lives in an illegal state unfortunately and is looking for ideas on the best methods for staying safe and off the radar while pursuing an op like this...Looking to do 20 plans on steadily with two cycles of lighting for quickest results two 1000 watt black dog leds, one for each grow cycle..What would your suggestions be on the type of place to do this? Residential, commercial, etc..I'm thinking his best bet would be to own the spot he does it at as this way there's no landlords nosing around in the affairs.. My other thought was that if the spot purchased was commercial space there would be no standard amount of utility use as every business has a different amount of electricity use in comparison to households which definitely have standard amounts in relation to how many bedrooms i believe...I'm figuring if my friend is the owner of the spot the only other real concern would be the power companies getting suspicious given excessive use? Any good excuses for high utility use? In either residential or commercial scenarios? Given a decent budget is solar power worth considering to avoid the problem entirely? Any thoughts advice or input is much appreciated..Thanks!

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

commercial real estate is expensive, a small building could easily eat up your whole 60k.

How many solar panels do I need for my house?
If the average household consumes about 11,000 kWh per year and we assume 250 watt solar panels, we can use the high and low panel production ratios to calculate how many solar panels needed on average. Thus, the typical homeowner will need 28 – 34 solar panels to cover 100% of energy usage (dependent on location and roof size).......thats for a home, i'd double that for a good grow facility. you got a building you can put around 60 solar panels on?

Solar panel pricing in U.S. states table

State Solar price range (6 kW) Solar price range (10 kW)
Arizona $10,332 – $12,096 $17,220 - $20,160
California $11,928 – $15,204 $19,880 – $25,340
Colorado $11,676 – $14,952 $19,460 – $24,920
Connecticut $12,222 – $15,078 $20,370 – $25,130
Florida $9,198 – $11,970 $15,330 – $19,950
Illinois $11,424 – $13,944 $19,040 – $23,240
Maryland $10,332 – $12,768 $17,220 – $21,280
Massachusetts $12,264 – $15,372 $20,440 – $25,620
New Hampshire $12,096 – $14,868 $20,160 – $24,780
New Jersey $11,802 – $14,574 $19,670 – $24,290
New York $12,264 – $16,044 $20,440 – $26,740
North Carolina $10,500 – $14,196 $17,500 – $23,660
Ohio $10,374 – $13,062 $17,290 – $21,770
Oregon $11,802 – $15,162 $19,670 – $25,270
Pennsylvania $11,634 – $14,490 $19,390 – $24,150
Rhode Island $13,104 – $15,792 $21,840 – $26,320
South Carolina $11,886 – $14,574 $19,810 – $24,290
Texas $10,962 – $13,818 $18,270 – $23,030
Virginia $10,416 – $13,356 $17,360 – $22,260
Washington $9,954 – $13,650 $16,590 – $22,750
NOTE: These ranges are system prices after the 30 percent federal tax credit for solar.
you aint gonna get the 30% tax credit, unless you come up with a really good story.
so you'd need double what the average home needs, so going solar would eat up at least 40k of your 60K


the only way i can think of for you to pull this off with any hope of privacy is to find a home that needs a lot of repair, ideally a secluded house, and buy it as cheap as possible. make any repairs you HAVE to make, refurbish the electrical system, slap a coat of cheap paint on it, mow the lawn, and put up no trespassing signs. then spend the rest of your money turning the basement into a facility

 

[Kingrow1]

If someone is looking to spend 60,000k on weed and has all these questions the answer would be stop dreaming and go learn how to grow first.

 

[stoned-monkey]

for 20 plants? drive out to California pick up several keys and drive back. done and done. you wont have to look hard to find a seller either, they have a pretty saturated market.
but really 20 plants and 2000 watts aint much. if its cold area say youre running electric heaters, a small one easily pulls over 1000 watts, hot area its extra ac's. and 1000 watt black dog probably aint pulling 1000watts.
I never had power company question my usage, in fact I am sure they love the extra usage. I use more then 2000 watts fyi.

 

[moreindoorporfavor]

If someone is looking to spend 60,000k on weed and has all these questions the answer would be stop dreaming and go learn how to grow first.

These arent growing questions these are environmental and strategic questions my friend is not a first time grower either

 

[rkymtnman]

He lives in an illegal state

move to a legal state would be my recommendation. or put half that 60K aside for attorney fees

 

[moreindoorporfavor]

commercial real estate is expensive, a small building could easily eat up your whole 60k.

How many solar panels do I need for my house?
If the average household consumes about 11,000 kWh per year and we assume 250 watt solar panels, we can use the high and low panel production ratios to calculate how many solar panels needed on average. Thus, the typical homeowner will need 28 – 34 solar panels to cover 100% of energy usage (dependent on location and roof size).......thats for a home, i'd double that for a good grow facility. you got a building you can put around 60 solar panels on?

Solar panel pricing in U.S. states table

State Solar price range (6 kW) Solar price range (10 kW)
Arizona $10,332 – $12,096 $17,220 - $20,160
California $11,928 – $15,204 $19,880 – $25,340
Colorado $11,676 – $14,952 $19,460 – $24,920
Connecticut $12,222 – $15,078 $20,370 – $25,130
Florida $9,198 – $11,970 $15,330 – $19,950
Illinois $11,424 – $13,944 $19,040 – $23,240
Maryland $10,332 – $12,768 $17,220 – $21,280
Massachusetts $12,264 – $15,372 $20,440 – $25,620
New Hampshire $12,096 – $14,868 $20,160 – $24,780
New Jersey $11,802 – $14,574 $19,670 – $24,290
New York $12,264 – $16,044 $20,440 – $26,740
North Carolina $10,500 – $14,196 $17,500 – $23,660
Ohio $10,374 – $13,062 $17,290 – $21,770
Oregon $11,802 – $15,162 $19,670 – $25,270
Pennsylvania $11,634 – $14,490 $19,390 – $24,150
Rhode Island $13,104 – $15,792 $21,840 – $26,320
South Carolina $11,886 – $14,574 $19,810 – $24,290
Texas $10,962 – $13,818 $18,270 – $23,030
Virginia $10,416 – $13,356 $17,360 – $22,260
Washington $9,954 – $13,650 $16,590 – $22,750
NOTE: These ranges are system prices after the 30 percent federal tax credit for solar.
you aint gonna get the 30% tax credit, unless you come up with a really good story.
so you'd need double what the average home needs, so going solar would eat up at least 40k of your 60K


the only way i can think of for you to pull this off with any hope of privacy is to find a home that needs a lot o sf repair, ideally a secluded house, and buy it as cheap as possible. make any repairs you HAVE to make, refurbish the electrical system, slap a coat of cheap paint on it, mow the lawn, and put up no trespassing signs. then spend the rest of your money turning the basement into a facility

k

ok so when you say refurbish the electric you're referring to switching to solar panels? Just making sure I understand your suggestion which is buy dirt cheap somewhere so I can afford to switch 100% solar which would diffuse the power concern

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

i'm saying i woulnd't trust the wiring in a house i can get as cheap as i'd want, and would have an electrician check it all and make sure it's not going to burn down the first time i flip the breakers on. as well as a qualified installer hooking up any solar panels you would use. although i wouldn't worry about solar panels. lots of businesses use a lot of power. tell them you weld metal sculptures for a hobby and will be using a lot of juice, tell them what ever....the electric company doesn't volunteer information about their customers to the authorities, that would leave them open to endless law suits. they do cooperate if the authorities have a warrant. so don't get noticed and you don't have to worry about it. if you do get noticed, electric records are just icing on the cake.
and enough solar panels to make a difference are going to be noticeable from a good distance away. the authorities are more likely to wonder why you need that many panels than they are to notice you're using a lot of power.

 

[Ryante55]

These arent growing questions these are environmental and strategic questions my friend is not a first time grower either

If he's planning to use blackdog led he doesn't have enough experience to be spending 60k on a grow

 

[Kingrow1]

These arent growing questions these are environmental and strategic questions my friend is not a first time grower either

Someone with 60k dosent bother with leds they simply use hps and grow trees.

You wont fit a 60k grow in your average residential property.

If your not versed and have these questions the wise man would start at 10,000 buck investment and learn this stuff rather than asking on weed sites.

I dont mean to sound so negative but you both seem like green grass in a very hard business.

 

[Rakin]

I don’t think a couple of 1k lights is going to raise a lot of suspicion. Especially if everything else is efficient. I would build a shop building and put a couple of sealed rooms and minisplits just for the rooms that way your not cooling an entire building.

 

[moreindoorporfavor]

Someone with 60k dosent bother with leds they simply use hps and grow trees.

You wont fit a 60k grow in your average residential property.

If your not versed and have these questions the wise man would start at 10,000 buck investment and learn this stuff rather than asking on weed sites.

I dont mean to sound so negative but you both seem like green grass in a very hard business.

Hes looking to grow no more than 20 plants and the 60k budget was to include buying the space to do the project (house, building, etc) he was under the impression that LEDs would be my most efficient use (power wise) for grows this size and latest research he did pointed to the black dogs being best option for LEDs at the moment...Majority of the budget would be towards securing a safe space to do this in...only budgeted about 10k for the actual grow

 

[moreindoorporfavor]

Hes looking to grow no more than 20 plants and the 60k budget was to include buying the space to do the project (house, building, etc) he was under the impression that LEDs would be my most efficient use (power wise) for grows this size and latest research he did pointed to the black dogs being best option for LEDs at the moment...Majority of the budget would be towards securing a safe space to do this in...only budgeted about 10k for the actual grow

Not sure I understand the last statement regarding hard business

 

[Ryante55]

Hes looking to grow no more than 20 plants and the 60k budget was to include buying the space to do the project (house, building, etc) he was under the impression that LEDs would be my most efficient use (power wise) for grows this size and latest research he did pointed to the black dogs being best option for LEDs at the moment...Majority of the budget would be towards securing a safe space to do this in...only budgeted about 10k for the actual grow

10k is pretty good to start learning he needs to do alot more research if he thinks blackdog is the best option. Get like 2000w of chilled led

 

[Aolelon]

Someone with 60k dosent bother with leds they simply use hps and grow trees.

You wont fit a 60k grow in your average residential property.

If your not versed and have these questions the wise man would start at 10,000 buck investment and learn this stuff rather than asking on weed sites.

I dont mean to sound so negative but you both seem like green grass in a very hard business.

todays market LED's can compete with HPS easily. He didn't ask for your negative input. If you don't have anything to offer don't speak its as simple as that.
I would use a bunch of HLG 600's

 

[adower]

For 60k you’re going to need a warehouse. There is no way you’re spending 60k on a grown in a residential.

I would pick up a hydro system with 5 gal buckets minimum. 200+ gal reservoir and have at it.

 

[Potmetal]

60k, wow! 20 plants on a perpetual (40 total + clones rooting = approx 75 or so at one time one a regular schedule) isn't a very big op at all, certainly not a 60k op.

If only 20 in flower a 600w covering a 4x4 SOG will gen you about a lb with decent genetics and good growing techniques. I know more than a few who use that setup for their personal grows (ie not commercial). IMO you really need to give the educated and experinced folks here a bit more background. Is this a personal op or a commercial op? If personal I'd spend about 5k on growing, and invest the other 55k.

If your friend is doing this to make his money back it's gonna be a bit before he gets his 60k back flowering only 20 plants at a time indoors.
Lastly, if you're gonna drop 60k on a commercial indoor op in a illegal state, you should plan for unintended attorneys fees. I'm not trying to be a downer, but 20 plants just isn't that much for indoor perpetual grows. I'd say it's kinda normal for alot of SOG folks. Either way I hope your bud sorts it all out and grows some trees!

 

[Ryante55]

For 60k you’re going to need a warehouse. There is no way you’re spending 60k on a grown in a residential.

I would pick up a hydro system with 5 gal buckets minimum. 200+ gal reservoir and have at it.

He said he's only spending 10k on the actual grow and 20 plants I'm sure he's not trying to grow more than 5 lbs per grow a 200 gal res might be overkill

 

[coreywebster]

Tell your friend to start researching in the right places. Because I cant think of one growing forum where growers actual grow with LEDs where anyone would suggest using Black Dog rip off lights.

 

[Flowki]

You have 50k to spend on a property, if you can get that with a solid wiring system then sure. The solar thing is a mid term investment and I don't think your budget is anywhere close to what you'd need to cover. It takes around 5 years to pay for itself in a hot country, you may not be there in 5 year. You could use some solar to cover AC as you could hook that up to normal house AC if the time comes to sell the property. Pluss, AC will likely be most needed following a hot day, so you know you have good sun collection for it at those times. I'd not go into solar other than that, and certainly not at the cost of buying a cheaper place with bad infrastructure. Property infrastructure > solar.

Those dog lights will chew your 10k budget hard for very little gain over cobs. You can spread cobs more, they are cheaper watt for watt and you can sort your own uv for far less should you desire it.

I'm not sure on prices in your country but I'd look to spend something around 3-4k on cobs and then 6-7k on climate control and the rest of the setup. Then increase light amount after cycle. Climate > lighting will yield more than the other way around.

Hps is the cheaper initial investment but the canopy temps they create require a lot more climate control watts. Cobs run cooler canopy temps so use less AC on hot times, you can use thermo shut offs to better control lower temps in winter, saving some heating.

If you must get off grid look into a silent generator (still not cheap) if out in the sticks, then gradually invest in solar cycle after cycle.