Electricity concerns..

Ok, so I'm currently underway on building a new cabin style home that's approximately 1800 sq ft total; 1100 h&c. I'm wanting to build a pier & beam grow facility behind the home. I currently live in a state where it's illegal & don't want to raise any suspicion with the utility companies. I would like my grow to yield at the minimum 5lbs per harvest, use HPS lamps, run a hydro system, & maintain a good temp/humidity level. What's the max amount of power I can get away with & not cause any suspicion? By knowing this it will allow me to know how to scale my facility. Keep in mind I live in a rural area, & there will be no power spike due to starting my bill w/ home & facility from jump street. Also, I will have an option to have city natural gas so running on a generator could be an option, but then we have the same concern on gas bill suspicion too. Please give me some good feedback! Thanks in advance!

I would say that the moment you connect electricity up you use everything ya got so it looks normal without a huge spike in usage
But I'm stoned as fuk idk

backyardwarrior said:

I would say that the moment you connect electricity up you use everything ya got so it looks normal without a huge spike in usage
But I'm stoned as fuk idk

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Yeah, that would be ballsy.. But, I'm more of a calculated risk taker. I'm sure there's a limit to where the power company is like: holy fuck this guy is up to something! I most definitely don't wanna be that guy. I'd like to be greedy & grow 100lbs per harvest but it's just not feasible. I figure I could pull a grow off w/ potential yields of 5-10 lbs, I just needs some parameters to work with.

You could do a 14'w x 20'l x 8' minimum height shed. This would allow you to have plenty of space for 1-2 people working with the veg, flower, and drying/work room all housed within the same shed. Any smaller and you will be cramped.

Are you trying to pull 5 ps per cycle or have them on a staggered harvest? Sounds like a fun project, and lots of work..

CallmeTex said:

You could do a 14'w x 20'l x 8' minimum height shed. This would allow you to have plenty of space for 1-2 people working with the veg, flower, and drying/work room all housed within the same shed. Any smaller and you will be cramped.

Are you trying to pull 5 ps per cycle or have them on a staggered harvest? Sounds like a fun project, and lots of work..

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I'd like to produce as much as possible, 5lbs is worst case scenario. If I could get upwards of 10+lbs I'd stagger them so I could be more efficient. Just unsure how big I can go without bringing attention to myself as far as energy consumption goes.

J0N3SY_8 said:

Just unsure how big I can go without bringing attention to myself as far as energy consumption goes.

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I do live in a legal state and run a 1400 watt garden (400 veg) 1000 flower) and I get letters from the electric company all the time tellin me I use way more than my neighbors

but is not the amount you use more so than the timings of the lights that tell em what you are doin

What's the max amount of power I can get away with & not cause any suspicion?

in most cases 2-3 600w hps lights consume about the same as any other hobby

metal shop, mini train collecting, music band, pizza making..? etc etc

add up the numbers to find ur monthly elec costs and compare locally

of concern is that you are building a new 'home' and such will get a new meter

perhaps one of those smart meters,

now thats not to your favor

consider...?

good luck

I agree that timing of the consumption tells more than consumption alone. If you draw 12 hrs of 4000w watts every day at the same time like clockwork, that will tell more about what you are doing rather than just knowing you use a lot of juice at your home.

vostok said:

What's the max amount of power I can get away with & not cause any suspicion?

in most cases 2-3 600w hps lights consume about the same as any other hobby

metal shop, mini train collecting, music band, pizza making..? etc etc

add up the numbers to find ur monthly elec costs and compare locally

of concern is that you are building a new 'home' and such will get a new meter

perhaps one of those smart meters,

now thats not to your favor

consider...?

good luck

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Yessir, I have considered that. I believe I have the option of a smart meter or a standard, but I'm still unsure being I'm in the early stages of building. I'll need roughly 2,300Watts of lighting to produce 5lbs per harvest. That's considering I get .8g/1Watt of light. I wouldn't mind having 4,000watts.. Is 2,300Watts too much? If not, how close can I get to 4,000Watts without causing suspicion?

HydroRed said:

I agree that timing of the consumption tells more than consumption alone. If you draw 12 hrs of 4000w watts every day at the same time like clockwork, that will tell more about what you are doing rather than just knowing you use a lot of juice at your home.

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If that's the case... What's the recommended "staggering" of crop(s) to keep it as efficient as possible?

More rooms = offset/veg and flower times. Basically dont put all your eggs in one basket. Have 3 smaller flower rooms and one large veg room. Stagger the 3 flower rooms off a few hours from each other so it isnt one consistant heavy draw all at once every 12 hrs.

More rooms might not be in your building plans, but if power consumption being noticed is a real concern of yours this is an option.

HydroRed said:

More rooms = offset/veg and flower times. Basically dont put all your eggs in one basket. Have 3 smaller flower rooms and one large veg room. Stagger the 3 flower rooms off a few hours from each other so it isnt one consistant heavy draw all at once every 12 hrs.

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That's juicy! Good stuff man, hadn't looked at it that way. Would it work better w/ 2 flower rooms? That way only one is pulling at all times.. Just brainstorming, every piece of information helps tremendously!

they sell 2000w to 3000w heaters everywhere and aircon units that use 3000w

So, I`ve always though for 6 to 8 hours per day you can run at least 1000w to 3000w for each bedroom or room that would need heating or cooling to be used for sure

if you have a cover then you can use more, don`t some people "mine bit coins" ? what ever that means....... I hear it uses a lot of power ?

shit, it's perfectly legal to have grow lights. idk that anyone since the 80's has been busted from the power company. get some solar cells, charge controller, marine batteries, and a DC AC inverter, 6-10 awg wire and vuala, off grid

Yea man, run with the two flowering rooms so the power load is constant if your worried about the consumption. I wouldn't worry though, as long as you pay your bill on time. They like money too

A few things........first off, your consumption will be compared to others living in a similar size house in the area. The previously poster was correct as I too get quarterly letters from my power co. comparing my use to others close by. I use to be in the 99th percentile in usage- way, way above the others nearby. I became paranoid over time and reduced my lights down to two 1000 watters max. I swear I thought my home was being watched on occasion, but I won't go into that further. I believe the police may get reports on extremely high user locations, but that's just an educated guess.

Now, to answer your question- to produce 5 good lbs inside including fans, pumps, meters, etc., etc- you are looking at around 4000 watts minimum, probably closer to 5000 watts . You need to add this to your normal home usage- TV's, computers, A/C, etc., etc. You definitely will be on the way high side when all is considered., not a good thing.

Smart meters would definitely be a negative to growing, as some places can actually tell what the electric draw source is, i.e. grow ballasts, etc.

So, what to do? Grow a heavy yielding strain, perfect your skills, use CO2, use hydroponics instead of dirt and a long veg period all come to mind first.

I would say that the most stuiped thing to do is to steal electricity.

You wanna blind in the network not suck of it, any respectful power company will recognize that there is steal in electricity in block number((...........))

Not far till they send thier ppl to check on that block and the homes in that block.

I have a 30amp breaker in two bedroom appartment and I run 5x600w and 1x400w and 1 125cfl plus all the fans and equipments you think of.

Check midicropper on internet, this guy grows for over 6/7 years in various locations with various power consumption.

His last grow room at the momemt is more than 70K and he has always always payed in time no matter if he grow in facility or a home.

Just pay at time and they dont care!!

Power companys is not allowed to contact the police to give information about customers. However, police can ask the power company for details IF they SUSPECT ALREADY IN YOU

Keep it safe

Bubble

J0N3SY_8 said:

Ok, so I'm currently underway on building a new cabin style home that's approximately 1800 sq ft total; 1100 h&c. I'm wanting to build a pier & beam grow facility behind the home. I currently live in a state where it's illegal & don't want to raise any suspicion with the utility companies. I would like my grow to yield at the minimum 5lbs per harvest, use HPS lamps, run a hydro system, & maintain a good temp/humidity level. What's the max amount of power I can get away with & not cause any suspicion? By knowing this it will allow me to know how to scale my facility. Keep in mind I live in a rural area, & there will be no power spike due to starting my bill w/ home & facility from jump street. Also, I will have an option to have city natural gas so running on a generator could be an option, but then we have the same concern on gas bill suspicion too. Please give me some good feedback! Thanks in advance!

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The Voice of the generator and smoke will blow the area up over time.

Have you ever seen big grnerator working?

J0N3SY_8 said:

Ok, so I'm currently underway on building a new cabin style home that's approximately 1800 sq ft total; 1100 h&c. I'm wanting to build a pier & beam grow facility behind the home. I currently live in a state where it's illegal & don't want to raise any suspicion with the utility companies. I would like my grow to yield at the minimum 5lbs per harvest, use HPS lamps, run a hydro system, & maintain a good temp/humidity level. What's the max amount of power I can get away with & not cause any suspicion? By knowing this it will allow me to know how to scale my facility. Keep in mind I live in a rural area, & there will be no power spike due to starting my bill w/ home & facility from jump street. Also, I will have an option to have city natural gas so running on a generator could be an option, but then we have the same concern on gas bill suspicion too. Please give me some good feedback! Thanks in advance!

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60 amps should work for your shed. A small 60amp panel could be added as normal for most free-standing bldgs like garages and sheds. Peace