Power consumption

im running 1800 watts of light and 1200watt air Conditioner two osculating fans and a inline fan with speed control total room is about 3500 watts on a 12/12 schedule should I worry about power company , I live in a 3 bedroom house two baths +living room and front mud room.
 
Bills always payed on time , I smoked some pink kush last night and got super paranoid and almost pulled the plug on half my grow to reduce about a1100 watts but not sure what to do maybe I'm just being to paranoid and need to relax and stay off the killer
 

Flagg420

Well-Known Member
Ur fine, even better if most/all is running on 220/240 lines..... Power companies actually WANT you to have a high bill and pay on time.... they aren't looking to close a paying account...
 
I ordered the lights for 240v it's supposed to be more efficient, they are 315watt Argo Cdl Philips bulb full spectrum light , not as hot as the metal halides, Im running 6 lights, 2 4x8 tables with 3 lights over each table
 

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
If i remember this crap rightly then 1000watts is equal to 1Kilowatt hour which means that if you run a 1000w hps for 12 hours then youve used 12kilowatts. With every electricity tariff and bill they will tell you how much you pay for each kilowatt, currently my power company charges me 17pence a kilowatt, so for that 12hour period ive used 12kilowatt hours x 17pence which gives me a grand total of £2.04 a day cost to run a 1000watt hps.

Now weekly i just multiply that £2.04 by 7 to give me a weekly cost of £14.28 for my 1000watt hps, which is pretty damn cheap considering how much weed it produced and at a street value of £10 a gram and a flowering period of ten weeks thats just under 15grams of lost profit from a potential crop of 600 to 1000grams approx 2-3% of your final yeild.

Firstly check what im saying is right then go do some maths and get back here and answer your own question.

Cant find what they are charging you for a kilowatt hour then just call them up and ask, by right this information must be given to the customer and absolutly no one will suspect your a weed grower.

This buissness will turn you into a semi skilled electrition, biologist, chemist, physisist, geneticist, builder and most of all a fucking ninja ass clever mofo :-)
 

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
...attorney, psychologist, plumber, engineer, and the guy who has all the tools everyone else wants to borrow.

And my yard STILL looks like shit, lol
Haha, crazy the stuff you have to find out over the course of growing weed and the stuff you neglect in its pursuit.

Not knowing what you pay on your lights is like filling your car at the gas station and not checking how much you put in or what the price on the litre/gallon is until you pay.
 

Alaric

Well-Known Member
im running 1800 watts of light and 1200watt air Conditioner two osculating fans and a inline fan with speed control total room is about 3500 watts on a 12/12 schedule should I worry about power company , I live in a 3 bedroom house two baths +living room and front mud room.
1800 sf house------$1000 a month during summer----never any "heat" for several years.

If you can't control your demons, they will make your life NOT fun.

A~~~
 

Flagg420

Well-Known Member
Please explain?

A~~~
halves the amperage pull, its not connected with authorities or billing, just gentler on your power system. Thats why all large appliances (central air, dryer, heater, etc.) run on a double pole breaker... All my grow lights are one my 240 line, only my 125w CFLs are on the reg 110/120v line. I run 2800w in flower room, plus a 250 n 400 in veg all on the 240.

Also prevents it from ever popping a breaker trying to share with a pre-run line.... nothing like turning on a vacuum and seeing the grow lights shut off....
 

Alaric

Well-Known Member
halves the amperage pull....
Yes that is correct----but the voltage is doubled.

Unless ohms law has changed recently--- power (watts) is voltage times current.

The power companies charge by kilowatt hour.

Example:
If I run a 1000 watt light for one hour----that would be 1 kilowatt hour.
My kilowatt hour cost me 15 cents---so it cost me 15 cents to run a 1K for one hour.
Powered by 120 volts or 240 volts.

The primary reason large appliances run 240 volts is reduced wire size (cost) is used.

That's why the power companies use step-down transformers.

Thank you Mr Tesla for alternating current.

A~~~
 

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
halves the amperage pull, its not connected with authorities or billing, just gentler on your power system. Thats why all large appliances (central air, dryer, heater, etc.) run on a double pole breaker... All my grow lights are one my 240 line, only my 125w CFLs are on the reg 110/120v line. I run 2800w in flower room, plus a 250 n 400 in veg all on the 240.

Also prevents it from ever popping a breaker trying to share with a pre-run line.... nothing like turning on a vacuum and seeing the grow lights shut off....
I always find vacum cleaners to be the tipping point in blowing the breaker, i think their initial inductive load is a lot higher in amps than their rating, same problem with hid lights and those crappy 3amp timers that cant handle the initial inductive load.
 

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
Yes that is correct----but the voltage is doubled.

Unless ohms law has changed recently--- power (watts) is voltage times current.

The power companies charge by kilowatt hour.

Example:
If I run a 1000 watt light for one hour----that would be 1 kilowatt hour.
My kilowatt hour cost me 15 cents---so it cost me 15 cents to run a 1K for one hour.
Powered by 120 volts or 240 volts.

The primary reason large appliances run 240 volts is reduced wire size (cost) is used.

That's why the power companies use step-down transformers.

Thank you Mr Tesla for alternating current.

A~~~
Yer that sounds right :-)
 

MeJuana

Well-Known Member
I think it's smell or dumping chemicals on the dirt/sewer that will get you popped. Also telling people. I do run my lights at night even in the winter so I bet my electric company appreciates my business lol I am technical legal tho
 

Flagg420

Well-Known Member
Licensed legal grower here too, makes life so much nicer...

Smell tho... damn, I had to run a 6" stove pipe w/ chimney cap above roof level to exhaust...... otherwise the wind just pushed it right at my main entry door/driveway....
 

Friction1957

Well-Known Member
I think it's smell or dumping chemicals on the dirt/sewer that will get you popped. Also telling people. I do run my lights at night even in the winter so I bet my electric company appreciates my business lol I am technical legal tho
Running lights at night puts it in off peak hours. Depends on where you live, but many utilities have a tiered pricing scheme that makes off peak electrical usage cheaper. Peak is at different times depending on the season and where you live. Here in the PNW big peak is usually in the winter and about 6:00 AM until 8:00 AM where as in the midwest and east coast peak is generally in the summer and in the afternoons.
 

cat of curiosity

Well-Known Member
The primary reason large appliances run 240 volts is reduced wire size (cost) is used.


Thank you Mr Tesla for alternating current.

A~~~
half the amps, twice the voltage is technically correct, although 240v is slightly more efficient than 120v. it can save you a dollar or few a month. the reason for that is the OPPOSITE of what you just said. higher voltage means LARGER wire, which means less impedance/resistance. a 240v recep is wired with no less that 12/2 wire, where as your 120v/15-20a breakers run on 14/2.

12/2 has half the resistance of 14/2, and so 240v is more efficient (though not by twice, separate issue).
 
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