HOW MUCH electricity constitutes an alarm with authorites or the electric company?

hope full

hope full

Active Member
ya man a buddie of mine tiped me on the whole smart grid thing and thats why i am going with flours, he said by them seing the spike due to hps mainlt wich will cause the bill to jump a great deal the elct company can break down your kw to how many your using per fucking hour.... shit is crazy man
 
DankShasta

DankShasta

Active Member
LOL at this thread, I know we should all be a bit paranoid, but look at the facts guys. If your at even 2k-3k watts, and fans we're only talking 100 to 130 dollars or less including fans. A thousand watt bulb only costs like 30-36 bucks just about anywhere a month. 1-1.65 ampere fans use a minimal amount. Pumps are also negligible. If you turn your water tank down to 119-120, your fridge down to 39 or 40, and all your house bulbs to 13watt CFLs you won't even see much of an increase at all. Also do yourself a favor and get energy efficient. After I got into the indoor heavily I was finding ways to trim my personal electrical use to around 50 dollars a month. 50+130 is 180 dollars. That's high for my 1k sq foot house, but would that raise anyone's eyebrow? Hardly.


edit- in the winter i feed the exhaust from my lights (2x600,1x1k) back into my home's duct system after carbon filtration. I don't want to waste all that heat I just paid for. Get creative, get smart.
 
collective gardener

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
hope full said:
ya man a buddie of mine tiped me on the whole smart grid thing and thats why i am going with flours, he said by them seing the spike due to hps mainlt wich will cause the bill to jump a great deal the elct company can break down your kw to how many your using per fucking hour.... shit is crazy man
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Have you read anything posted here? Wake the fuck up, man. Your buddy is an idiot. Do you have any idea how many customers the power company has? They are not law enforcement...they sell power. I assure you that if law enforcement asked them to spy on our electrical habits without a warrant, the power company would tell them to go fuck themselves. The power company's job is to make $$$, and spying costs $$$. Please, stop spreading false fear. Show me one news article where the power bill got someone busted.
 
Heisenberg

Heisenberg

Well-Known Member
collective gardener said:
Have you read anything posted here? Wake the fuck up, man. Your buddy is an idiot. Do you have any idea how many customers the power company has? They are not law enforcement...they sell power. I assure you that if law enforcement asked them to spy on our electrical habits without a warrant, the power company would tell them to go fuck themselves. The power company's job is to make $$$, and spying costs $$$. Please, stop spreading false fear. Show me one news article where the power bill got someone busted.
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If you watch the never get busted videos from barry cooper, he says that high electric use can be noticed by company workers, and it is not uncommon for law enforcement to pay them to watch for and report the information. I personally don't see what they could do with this information, since it wasn't obtained through legal procedure, but the DEA is far from fair and if there is a system which can provide them with detailed use that would reveal a 12/12 pattern, you can bet they are looking to take advantage of it. Because of history and logistics, I tend to agree that electric use is most often an unrealistic fear, a fear which may distract you from other important risk areas, but there is precedence for keeping it under control, and no justification for calling someone an idiot.

Now to downgrade a setup to CFL simply because of the electric use being noticed does seem to be a poor, unrealistic choice. Especially if you are inconsistent and take risks in other areas, like bragging or odor. You will essentially use the same amount of nutes, equipment, and time while getting a fraction of the yield which makes taking any risk for your garden that much less justified. You are giving up much produce for the sake of reducing your risk by a negligible amount. If it is the smart grid that worries someone, it doesn't matter if the lights are cfl or hid, the 12/12 pattern can be seen. What saves you is the fact that while a 12/12 pattern may strongly suggest growing, it does not suggest cannabis anymore that it does strawberries, but this is predicated on having a fair system. More so what saves you is law enforcement incompetence, general disinterest from the electric company, and the fact that electric use is weak evidence at best. It simply isn't feasible to investigate every home that has high electric use, as cannabis is only one, uncommon, reason for such use. It is not the only thing they look for, it is not the first thing they look for, many times, it is not even looked at.

So in short, is someone an idiot for considering their electric use, nope. Is the decision to use CFL, for the sole idea that the dea is less likely to notice, a decision based in reality, nope. The problem with paranoia isn't that it makes you constantly consider risks, it's that it tends to spread you thin and leave you unfocused.
 
V

Vache123

Active Member
If you're concerned about smart grids detecting patterns, try balancing your consumption with other loads so that there aren't any real spikes. So run that CNC mill and 52" plasma during the 6 hours of lights out during veg. And like others said, try doing thing to reduce energy consumption overall. You'd be surprised how much can be saved (or in the case of RIU members, offset) by measures like replacing bulbs with CFL, getting energy efficient appliances, etc.

When I get paranoid about my little grow I like to think of any way I can possibly improve odor control.
 
collective gardener

collective gardener

Well-Known Member
Heisenberg said:
If you watch the never get busted videos from barry cooper, he says that high electric use can be noticed by company workers, and it is not uncommon for law enforcement to pay them to watch for and report the information. I personally don't see what they could do with this information, since it wasn't obtained through legal procedure, but the DEA is far from fair and if there is a system which can provide them with detailed use that would reveal a 12/12 pattern, you can bet they are looking to take advantage of it. Because of history and logistics, I tend to agree that electric use is most often an unrealistic fear, a fear which may distract you from other important risk areas, but there is precedence for keeping it under control, and no justification for calling someone an idiot.

Now to downgrade a setup to CFL simply because of the electric use being noticed does seem to be a poor, unrealistic choice. Especially if you are inconsistent and take risks in other areas, like bragging or odor. You will essentially use the same amount of nutes, equipment, and time while getting a fraction of the yield which makes taking any risk for your garden that much less justified. You are giving up much produce for the sake of reducing your risk by a negligible amount. If it is the smart grid that worries someone, it doesn't matter if the lights are cfl or hid, the 12/12 pattern can be seen. What saves you is the fact that while a 12/12 pattern may strongly suggest growing, it does not suggest cannabis anymore that it does strawberries, but this is predicated on having a fair system. More so what saves you is law enforcement incompetence, general disinterest from the electric company, and the fact that electric use is weak evidence at best. It simply isn't feasible to investigate every home that has high electric use, as cannabis is only one, uncommon, reason for such use. It is not the only thing they look for, it is not the first thing they look for, many times, it is not even looked at.

So in short, is someone an idiot for considering their electric use, nope. Is the decision to use CFL, for the sole idea that the dea is less likely to notice, a decision based in reality, nope. The problem with paranoia isn't that it makes you constantly consider risks, it's that it tends to spread you thin and leave you unfocused.
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Once again, very well put. I agree with you that switching to a less productive lighting (CFL) is a bad choice. We look at it like this: The more time spent growing, the more the risk. I would rather go big...real big, for a lesser amount of time. I would feel safer growing 500 plants with 20.000 watts for a year, than growing 100 plants with 4,000 watts for 5 years. Same overall yield, right? Time is not our friend in the grow op. The more time the more exposure. The more time the better the chance that something unforseeable will happen that could get you busted.

How long to grow n one location presents an interesting problem. On the one hand, if you've had no problems in one location, it seems logical to stay there. Everytime you move the op there's the neighbors to consider, a possible insurance or fire marshall inspection (warehouse grows), and a new landlord to figure out.

On the other hand, too much time in one place tends to make us get lazy. We start getting too comfortable. Also, sooner or later, every location has a close call. Maybe you walk out the door with a 5 pack in a bag and the cops are right there, taking a police report next door, or something. Or, you have a water leak that floods the neighbors shop (been there).

All things considered, if I'm in a location with cool neighbors (meaning not nosey), a cool landlord (meaning they just want the rent on time and no complaints), and an op big enough to suit my needs, I'm inclined to just stay put. You can always upgrade your security...more carbon filters, noise reduction, and doing nioce things for the neighbors.

On the smart meter topic, theses things bug me. If I was a cop, I could find every grow op in the city by just looking at usage patterns. Now, we all know that the Man isn't combing through usage patterns. But, for those concerned, a flip is the way to go. Cut your bloom room in half, and run half for 12 hrs and the other half for 12 hours. This also aloows those with amperage limitations to essentially double their grow size without buying more ballasts. Every large op I deal with runs a flip (except me!). When we double our bloom size, we'll be buying flip boxes, not ballasts.
 
dapio

dapio

Well-Known Member
Non-violent crime 1st amendment right to privacy 4th amendment protection from illegal search and seizure and common sense will save you.
 
Jack Harer

Jack Harer

Well-Known Member
collective gardener said:
Thank you Hellraizer. What in the fuck does everyone think is going on at the power company? They fucking sell electricity. Be not afraid. If someone ever asked me about my electric bill (which was $1,840 last month), I'd tell them to go fuck themselves. Which is why nobody ever asks you. But, for those of you out there that are gonna start selling lies about why you use so much power, at least use good lies...NOT a big TV and some computers.

Here's some big draws:
1 or 2 big ass freezers in your garage. You have alot of frozen meat. You're a fucking big game hunter.
An electric sauna that runs around the clock. You injured your back big game hunting.
An arc welder that you use all day. You weld aluminum tent frames for big game hunters.
An automated CNC machine that runs around the clock. You make parts for big game hunting riffles.
HID lights. You have an indoor garden that you grow herbs in, to serve with...you guessed it...the big game you eat every day.

Bottom line, worry about the real reason people get caught...telling other people. In 20+ years of commercial growing, hanging with commercial growers, reading every grow publication out there, and scouring the web...I have NEVER heard of an op's cover being blown by an electric bill. Heisenberg is absolutely correct...If they suspect that you are growing (because someone you told, told them), them will pull your power bill to add to the evidence needed for a search warrant. Once you're suspected of growing, you're done. These days judges give warrants out like candy. The idea is to never be suspected.
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Absolutely. If you're gonna get popped by the power co., it'll be by an employee getting paid by some detective to tell him about elec. usage patterns that conform to a certain "profile". (High usage for 24, then 12/12. It's a dead giveaway. But only the smart grid can tell your usage patterns) The power company will NOT rat you out as long as you A) pay your bill, and B) don't steal. These common sense things are what you should be doing anyway if you wanna do this.
If an employee DOES hip a cop to you, it will only cause the cop to put you under the microscope for further probable cause. Your power usage is not of itself probable cause for a warrant.

CG is right. Don't draw attention to yourself (Shop at the local hydroponics store, sell weed at street level, etc) and Tell NO ONE!!!!

The new smart grid can tell when you turn on a computer, an LED or anything. It senses immediate draws and reports that back to the elec co in real time. Research the new smart meters in Texas and Cali.
 
RawBudzski

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
If you have EDISON no need to worry, GOVERNMENT RUN ELEC COMPANIES are the ONES who will look into your Usage if its HIGH, even if you pay your bills.. Avoid using elec from a Government Run company.. and NEVER STEAL POWER. from any company.


EDISON sent me a letter regarding my high usage but I said its ok & i run alot of elec. alls good.
 
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phatbuds

Member
Why not just use LED my 90w is equal to 400w hps. Also less heat to get rid of and hide. Because unlike electricity heat signatures that ur lights give off are a way many people have got attention and eventually caught. DEA has helicopters that do fly bys with infared cameras.
 
mr2shim

mr2shim

Well-Known Member
phatbuds said:
Why not just use LED my 90w is equal to 400w hps. Also less heat to get rid of and hide. Because unlike electricity heat signatures that ur lights give off are a way many people have got attention and eventually caught. DEA has helicopters that do fly bys with infared cameras.
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It's illegal to use those in the states so it wouldn't be the DEA flying around with them in hand.

Also, I'm not EVEN trying to start a "LED is more pro skillz" debate but how many lumens does that thing put down?
 
RawBudzski

RawBudzski

Well-Known Member
90w LED same as 400w HID.. never in a million years.. 1st it cant cover the same space or penetration so saying that is misleading.
 
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phatbuds

Member
180 Watt LED Grow Light UFO MegaPower XF180 This is the Mega Power 180 Watt LED Grow Light model XF180. This model is the 5th generation (newest model) and features the only full 7 BAND light spectrum on the market. LED Grow Lights vs. HPS/HID Grow Lights Are LED Grow Lights Better than HPS/HID (high pressure sodium or high intensity discharge) Grow Lights? Let's take a look at the facts... SIMPLE TO OPERATE LED -No ballasts, reflectors, or seperate cooling fans needed. HPS/HID -Requires a ballast. Gets very hot. Need cooling fans. Uses reflector hoods. LONG BULB LIFE LED -rated at 50,000 hours and have up to 15 year life span. HPS/HID -24,000 hour life under optimum circumstances, but in my real life tests, the bulb burned out after just 3 to 6 months. Ballasts may also go bad and need to be changed.

COMPLETE 7 BAND LIGHT SPECTRUM LED -produce a more complete spectrum of light including Red, Blue, Violet, Orange, and Infrared wavelengths that plants can best use in photosynthesis. HPS/HID -produce very little blue and red light which are required for optimum flowering or fruiting. HPS/ HID overall produce less colors of the light spectrum. MINIMAL

HEAT LED -grow lights are warm to the touch. They won't scorch your hands or young and tender plants. Does not require extra ventilation air air conditioning. HPS/HID -extremely hot. Can burn your hands and scorch young plants.

HIP/HID lights require added ventilation due to the heat produced. POWER EFFICIANCY LED -use only 20% to 30% electricity compared to HPS/HID lighting. This means much lower electic bills for you. HPS/HID -consume 70% to 80% more electricity and generate high heat. HPS/HID style lights will leave a large "electrical footprint." Now that we've covered the differences in HPS/HID vs. LED, you should know that not all LED lights are created equal! Here's why... Most sellers are offering a cheaper 2 band, 3 band, 4 band, 5 band, or 6 band models. These models only cover a few bands of the light spectrum, meaning you will be missing your plants full potential. The MegaPower XF180 is the only LED grow light featuring SEVEN (7) BANDS of the light spectrum. I've included a full description of each one of the light spectrums below: 400-410 Nanometers VIOLET -this band stimulates the overall growth of the plant. It promotes longer stems, and multiplies branches and buds. Improves the amount of protein and vitamins. 440-470 Nanometers BLUE -this band promotes synthesis of protein and vitamins 610 Nanometers ORANGE -this band helps the formation of chlorophyll synthesis and carbohydrates 630-660 Nanometers RED -this band is what started it all. Most popular for overall growth from seedling to flowering and producing fruit. If you had to choose just one growth band, this would be the one to pick! 740 Nanometers INFRARED-this band produces the thermal effect and provides necessary plant growth. Also promotes sprouting for seedlings and flowering for mature plants. So what does 7 BAND technology mean to you? Faster growth, faster and longer flowering, bigger and higher quality plants. In fact, our testing on tomato plants produced fruit in just 24 days! Specs: MegaPower XF180 LED UFO Grow Light 7 Full Band Light Spectrum 180 Watts Full Power Round UFO Style Bridgelux USA LEDs Red 660nm, Red 630nm, Blue 470nm, Blue 440nm, Orange 610nm, Violet 410nm, Infared
 
mr2shim

mr2shim

Well-Known Member
phatbuds said:
180 Watt LED Grow Light UFO MegaPower XF180 This is the Mega Power 180 Watt LED Grow Light model XF180. This model is the 5th generation (newest model) and features the only full 7 BAND light spectrum on the market. LED Grow Lights vs. HPS/HID Grow Lights Are LED Grow Lights Better than HPS/HID (high pressure sodium or high intensity discharge) Grow Lights? Let's take a look at the facts... SIMPLE TO OPERATE LED -No ballasts, reflectors, or seperate cooling fans needed. HPS/HID -Requires a ballast. Gets very hot. Need cooling fans. Uses reflector hoods. LONG BULB LIFE LED -rated at 50,000 hours and have up to 15 year life span. HPS/HID -24,000 hour life under optimum circumstances, but in my real life tests, the bulb burned out after just 3 to 6 months. Ballasts may also go bad and need to be changed.

COMPLETE 7 BAND LIGHT SPECTRUM LED -produce a more complete spectrum of light including Red, Blue, Violet, Orange, and Infrared wavelengths that plants can best use in photosynthesis. HPS/HID -produce very little blue and red light which are required for optimum flowering or fruiting. HPS/ HID overall produce less colors of the light spectrum. MINIMAL

HEAT LED -grow lights are warm to the touch. They won't scorch your hands or young and tender plants. Does not require extra ventilation air air conditioning. HPS/HID -extremely hot. Can burn your hands and scorch young plants.

HIP/HID lights require added ventilation due to the heat produced. POWER EFFICIANCY LED -use only 20% to 30% electricity compared to HPS/HID lighting. This means much lower electic bills for you. HPS/HID -consume 70% to 80% more electricity and generate high heat. HPS/HID style lights will leave a large "electrical footprint." Now that we've covered the differences in HPS/HID vs. LED, you should know that not all LED lights are created equal! Here's why... Most sellers are offering a cheaper 2 band, 3 band, 4 band, 5 band, or 6 band models. These models only cover a few bands of the light spectrum, meaning you will be missing your plants full potential. The MegaPower XF180 is the only LED grow light featuring SEVEN (7) BANDS of the light spectrum. I've included a full description of each one of the light spectrums below: 400-410 Nanometers VIOLET -this band stimulates the overall growth of the plant. It promotes longer stems, and multiplies branches and buds. Improves the amount of protein and vitamins. 440-470 Nanometers BLUE -this band promotes synthesis of protein and vitamins 610 Nanometers ORANGE -this band helps the formation of chlorophyll synthesis and carbohydrates 630-660 Nanometers RED -this band is what started it all. Most popular for overall growth from seedling to flowering and producing fruit. If you had to choose just one growth band, this would be the one to pick! 740 Nanometers INFRARED-this band produces the thermal effect and provides necessary plant growth. Also promotes sprouting for seedlings and flowering for mature plants. So what does 7 BAND technology mean to you? Faster growth, faster and longer flowering, bigger and higher quality plants. In fact, our testing on tomato plants produced fruit in just 24 days! Specs: MegaPower XF180 LED UFO Grow Light 7 Full Band Light Spectrum 180 Watts Full Power Round UFO Style Bridgelux USA LEDs Red 660nm, Red 630nm, Blue 470nm, Blue 440nm, Orange 610nm, Violet 410nm, Infared
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So because that's what was written as the description of your LED Grow Light, that automatically makes it 100% truth? What if they wrote it makes the buds grow in 8 days from seed, would you believe that too? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying LED is complete crap it's not, but as a sole means to grow bud and yield decent amounts? No, the technology isn't there yet. It's best to use LED combined with a 400w HPS. It just doesn't flat out replace it and you can have huge fat dense nugs and yield ounces with it. Just not true.

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/74780-l-e-d-grow-lights.html

Read that. More times than not, when something is trying to be boosted as much as that description is trying to boos LED grow lights, it's bullshit. Then at the same time they try as much as they can to downplay and point out the negatives of HID. That would be called a marketing ploy and lots fall for that crap.

Like I said I am NOT even trying to get the "LED is more pro skillz" debate going because I've seen it many times and don't want to wreck someones thread for the sake to prove that LED is not as great as it's lead on to be.
 
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phatbuds

Member
Im not by any means a bro i just saw the huge difference it made when i switched from cfl to the LED on my plant. Its still a small 1 month plant but its thriving currently with the 90w LED.
 
mr2shim

mr2shim

Well-Known Member
phatbuds said:
Im not by any means a bro i just saw the huge difference it made when i switched from cfl to the LED on my plant. Its still a small 1 month plant but its thriving currently with the 90w LED.
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nice, got a pic? Would like to compare it to my plants. They are close to the same age if yours is about a month.
 
mr2shim

mr2shim

Well-Known Member
No offense at all, but that compared to mine (is on day 17 today) mine is a lot bigger than that is. That's what I was telling you earlier about those LED gimmicks, "better than 400w HID" not today, maybe in 10 years they will be. If it were me I'd invest a few more bucks and get a proper pH tester and some more lighting, buy six 23w cfl bulbs 6500k.. or if you're flowering 2700k

My first grow was all cfl, I think I had nine 23w cfl bulbs. How many were you using before you switched to the 90w led?
 
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