250hps vs Electric Company

Ok Im just wondering.. if a 250 hps running is enough for the electric company to tip off the police ?

not no but hell no!

no uses about the same as two televisions not that much use a MH 250w for veg then a 250w HPS for flowering ,

Dude you could run a 1000watt in the summer and no one would know. AC costs money, my smallest AC unit is 525watts. people get caught cause they sell, talk, or don't cover up the smell.

Use cfls in every light in your house and you might not even see a larger bill.

abudsmoker said:

Super-Grow Electricity Costs Calculator

Click to expand...

that link was very helpfull thanks

Average computer power source = 400w
Halogen tower light = 500w
Hair Dryer = 1250w
4-Bulb Light Fixture = 240w to 400w
Microwave Oven = 800w to 1400w
Electric Stove = HUGE

Like mambokabui said... Use CFL's everywhere else in your house. That's what I did when I put in a 400w HPS and my bill went down by a few bucks.

As far as the light goes... You're safe!

XReddiWipX said:

Average computer power source = 400w
Halogen tower light = 500w
Hair Dryer = 1250w
4-Bulb Light Fixture = 240w to 400w
Microwave Oven = 800w to 1400w
Electric Stove = HUGE

Like mambokabui said... Use CFL's everywhere else in your house. That's what I did when I put in a 400w HPS and my bill went down by a few bucks.

As far as the light goes... You're safe!

Click to expand...

a hair dryer is serious 1250W ? holy fack

socom3riot said:

a hair dryer is serious 1250W ? holy fack

Click to expand...

My wife's got one that, before we switched to all CFL's in the house, would blow the breaker for the bathroom every single time when it was on at the same time as the three 60w bulbs that were in there. Hair Dryers, Toasters and Electric Space Heaters are unbelievable.

This thread is reassuring. Generally speaking, electricity wise this household is fairly frugal and the running of a 400w hps actually doubles the useage. Wouldn't the timer, especially switching on at night on a regular basis, look a tad suspect? All my damn bulbs are cfl as it is so I don't know where I could feasibly cut back.

You're assuming that the electric company has a team of people watching the electrical usage of all of its customers 24 hours a day just in case someone is growing weed. Seriously, there is no problem. Pay your bill on time and you can use all the power you want with no problems. The electric company wants your money pure and simple. They are not under any legal obligation to report anything to the police, and it doesn't suit their goal of generating profit to question what you are doing with the electricity. Consider also that a 400w HPS is the equivalent of running 4 standard household light bulbs, or one computer. It's a non-issue.

Thank you rolla8. I keep forgetting who is really in power in this capitalist system. It's probably just paranoia from all the big brother measures this government keeps bringing in. Still, paranoia keeps you one step ahead in the game so it's probably best to err towards caution.

CuriousSoul said:

This thread is reassuring. Generally speaking, electricity wise this household is fairly frugal and the running of a 400w hps actually doubles the useage. Wouldn't the timer, especially switching on at night on a regular basis, look a tad suspect? All my damn bulbs are cfl as it is so I don't know where I could feasibly cut back.

Click to expand...

Like Rolla8 said... it's non-issue... But, I know that worried feeling you have all too well. If you want a little peace of mind... time your light to run during the period when your Central Heat A/C unit is running the least. that will even things out and it doesn't have to be timed exactly perfect. Another way is to compare the power consumption from 30 minutes before you wake up to 30 minutes after you wake up. You'll find a spot to put it in... and I'll be that comparison will represent a much bigger spike than a 400w HPS.

But, again... like Rolla8 said, it's non-issue. I've never really seen anyone worry much about a spike when the light come one with anything less than a few thousand watt bulbs... and even then, all that did was to stagger the on times about five minutes a bulb.

Oh, one other note on this issue... There was a thread a while back where someone was discussing how the power company had sent an electrician out to their house to make sure everything was alright... It took him using 6000w worth of lights plus fans, heaters, water pumps and air filtration for that to happen and even then, I think he completely explained it away by telling the guy he had been doing some welding.

Here ya go... This is best electrical explanation I can come up with...

Buy a bunch of fancy looking pots and if anyone asks, tell them you fire pottery in an electric kiln.

Here's an average sized kiln ... that pulls 6400w! That excuse would cover a grow room that takes up the better part of a two-car garage.

TnF1613-3 KILN 240V 1PH

all my friends who grew before me say the cops are looking for big opperations not closet growers. if you had lets say 6 or more 1000watt hps you whould have a problem but i run 600watt hps and 2 x 4' t5s in my flower room and at the same time have around 200watts and two x4' t5s running 24/0 in my veg area with 4 fans 3 off witch never turn off
and no drastic differenses in my bill i just started having to turn off lights t.v.'s after my room mates to make up for the differense and set my thermastat on the house a little more energy friendly