Electric bill

[GreenGreenie]

You're already neck deep, wee bit late to throw your hands up.

Mind sharing the name of your electrical firm? Would certainly cut down on more than a few dodgy insurance claims.

Nice, thanks for getting nasty.

Are you always a prick or do you only have balls when you have a crowd at your back?

As for me, I treasure my anonymity, and refuse to deteriorate into a pissing match with someone like you.

Really appreciate your assault, it lets the whole community know what a shallow ass you really are.

Peace.

 

[soserthc1]

The op questioned security not efficiently

I know nothing about power but wouldn't most homes have 240 lines all over if the savings were there ?

In the grand sceem of things the few extra dollars kinda means nothing. Were growing weed it's as valuable as gold. I never sweat my bill on dollar amount but I do question the usage as a security issue

Let me spin this thread another way , I'm going to soon revamp my entire room and go from 18oo watts in flower lights to 3000 / 3200
My question is what's the max people can push in a illegal state without causing interest to there usage if that actually happens. I would be willing to bet power co don't really care as it would be kinda stupid to not want the consumer to pay out the ass. It is a business correct ?

I see people running rooms with upwards of 8k in illegal areas, so I'm looking for someone that does this and if there concerned about it ?
Hell I'll pay the bills to grow this stuff with a smile. It's paying the bills from a cell I'm worried about


Edit : thinking the bill will only be used against ya if your all ready on the radar and the authorities go to the power co ?

 

[Bud Green]

This is getting ridiculous...

And if you have 110 volts on one bus bar in your panel, you're gonna be running 220V if you use both bars..not 240V

And the cost for the electricity you use is the same either way...

 

[dr-dank]

240 lets you get the same watts with less amps, and this allows more power through a given wire gauge. The bill is the same as its a function of watts.

Regards

 

[snake11]

lol.
With the higher voltage you have doubled the efficiency.
I own and operate an electrical construction firm. I design and install electrical systems for a living.
Did a large commercial grower in Seattle, and built a 3 phase system.
With the increased voltage, along with the 3 phase power factor( π), the monthly bill was less than the owners home monthly cost.
Please do look up efficiency, you will be amazed how much money you have been pissing away.

I'm not going to get into a squabble about this.
Believe what you want, and keep on paying the higher bills.


Peace

Efficiency is greater when you move to 240 but only slightly definitely not double. A home owner with 2 lights is not going to notice a difference between 120 and 240. A commercial grow at 3 phase should see a little difference due to efficiency.

 

[the gnome]

running your equipment on 220V does NOT cut your bill in 1/2 or anywhere near it.
your gear runs a lot more efficiently on 220
I think where you come out a head is your equipment can last longer.
for 3 yrs I ran 2-1000w on 110v,
when i went to 220V my bill didn't drop.

searching the net i found this out when running a 3-phase set up.
220v motors, using 3-phase current is cheaper to operate
of course how much saving and what items running on a 3-phase sys. is debatable.

lol.

I own and operate an electrical construction firm. I design and install electrical systems for a living.
Did a large commercial grower in Seattle, and built a 3 phase system.

seems like you owning/running your big elc. company and all that
would be able to figure out the OP here is NOT running a 3-phase system in his house
and everyone else posting is not talking about a 3-phase either.

if your the owner something is very wrong with the way you laid all this out as if 3-phase is the same as a reg.
residential elec panel.
realistically you sound more like a wire puller working for an elec.company that knows a bit of this and some of that
trying to bring some of what you know about 3-phase that doesn't apply to this conversation

 

[DrFever]

Yes the math says it's the same, and I was trying to not techno babble to keep it simple.
And got called out, rightly so.
Try this yourself if possible.
Light up 3 1000W fixtures on a 20A 110V circuit.
Put an amp probe on it, you will read at 16.2 - 17.4 A minimum.
Then put 6 fixtures on a 240 V circuit.
You will read 7.0 to 7.2
Yes that is per leg.
While the actual load is only slightly less, the monthly savings is significant.
Mine went from $225 to $150 a month.
While heaters and motors operate about 4 times more efficient at higher voltage, and you should see about the same load for lighting, there will be a noticeable drop in your bill.
I haven't read the start up load for a ballast, but at 240 they strike almost instantly, while it takes a few minutes to get the full arc at 110.
For me, I already had a bunch of equipment sitting around when I built the greenhouse.
The first crop I ran on 110.
After harvest I rewired to 240 and was amazed.


Really didn't intend to start a conflict here.
Just tried to help a person save some money.

lol yes i have run 2000 watts on 20 amp it worked for like 2 - 3 hrs then poof breaker went once it got to hot no breaker is rated for 100 percent continuous load shoot for 80 percent and life is better and safer ,, on 120 V 1000 watt is 40 bucks month on 18 hrs a day

There is absolutely no difference in power costs 220 or 110 only obvious difference is your able to double up the lighting per that outlet Convenience of course

 

[Ph-patrol]

A wonder how many AMPS to run this dudes setup

A wonder how many AMPS to run this dudes setup

 

[mojave green]

View Image

220 or 110?

 

[xavier7995]

A couple of 600w lights/cooling/etc will not raise any red flags for the average house in the burbs. A powerful computer will pull over a 1000w, i don't think video game enthusiasts are worried about the man coming o get them, even when all their buddies come over.

 

[stihgnobevoli]

i wouldn't worry about the elctrical co's in this day and age with everyone doing indoor ilegal and legal and a lot of states being med or legal or close to it. biggest risk is still and always will be snitches.

 

[mowood3479]

The op questioned security not efficiently

I know nothing about power but wouldn't most homes have 240 lines all over if the savings were there ?

In the grand sceem of things the few extra dollars kinda means nothing. Were growing weed it's as valuable as gold. I never sweat my bill on dollar amount but I do question the usage as a security issue

Let me spin this thread another way , I'm going to soon revamp my entire room and go from 18oo watts in flower lights to 3000 / 3200
My question is what's the max people can push in a illegal state without causing interest to there usage if that actually happens. I would be willing to bet power co don't really care as it would be kinda stupid to not want the consumer to pay out the ass. It is a business correct ?

I see people running rooms with upwards of 8k in illegal areas, so I'm looking for someone that does this and if there concerned about it ?
Hell I'll pay the bills to grow this stuff with a smile. It's paying the bills from a cell I'm worried about


Edit : thinking the bill will only be used against ya if your all ready on the radar and the authorities go to the power co ?

Imo it depends a lot on the area you live in... the elec co.. The size of the grow house and other houses in the neighborhood.. Whether or not you have a welding shop in the garage..
There are more than a couple legitimate reasons for very high residential power usage. But mileage may vary..and that is the thing. I know people doing 15k In a residential setting in an illegal state, do I think it's a great idea? Not really but they haven't had a problem yet.
So who knows?
I do know of a guy who got busted cause he cussed out the meter reader for being on his property (meter guy called cops n said it stank like herb) boom guy gets popped.
So in summary I have no idea how to answer that ? N I wouldn't want someone to go to jail by hazarding a guess.

 

[InGhostgrower]

Just installed a cap controller bout to cut my electric bill in half....... wonder why they wouldnt advertise that?

 

[DrFever]

lol

 

[Mikell]

Nice, thanks for getting nasty.

Are you always a prick or do you only have balls when you have a crowd at your back?

As for me, I treasure my anonymity, and refuse to deteriorate into a pissing match with someone like you.

Really appreciate your assault, it lets the whole community know what a shallow ass you really are.

Peace.

Feel free to browse post history, I'm pretty much always a prick. If you look close enough, you'll see I mention it frequently.

But nasty, shallow, assault? Bit of a stretch friendo. This place isn't a love in. Say something stupid and you'll likely get called on it. I add my own smart ass twist.

 

[NEGT1]

It's very very doubtful unless a landlord pays and one pays him or her, but that is an odd situation.

 

[sidewing]

Yes the math says it's the same, and I was trying to not techno babble to keep it simple.
And got called out, rightly so.
Try this yourself if possible.
Light up 3 1000W fixtures on a 20A 110V circuit.
Put an amp probe on it, you will read at 16.2 - 17.4 A minimum.
Then put 6 fixtures on a 240 V circuit.
You will read 7.0 to 7.2
Yes that is per leg.
While the actual load is only slightly less, the monthly savings is significant.
Mine went from $225 to $150 a month.
While heaters and motors operate about 4 times more efficient at higher voltage, and you should see about the same load for lighting, there will be a noticeable drop in your bill.
I haven't read the start up load for a ballast, but at 240 they strike almost instantly, while it takes a few minutes to get the full arc at 110.
For me, I already had a bunch of equipment sitting around when I built the greenhouse.
The first crop I ran on 110.
After harvest I rewired to 240 and was amazed.


Really didn't intend to start a conflict here.
Just tried to help a person save some money.

i think i understand what you're saying and i understand what everyone else is saying.. on paper you would think its the same.. and when things first start up the power usage peaks to get it fired up.. but its extremely subtle unless you're running everything off a generator. generators are notorious for power spikes when firing up.

that being said. on the west coast with pacific gas and electric they have the 'new smart meters'.. which means that what you're saying doesnt come into effect nearly as much as it used to.. because the smart meter measures more accurately so it reflects paper math.. the old meters would support what you're saying, the smart meters void what you're saying.. so depending on where the person lives, it could be true.. easy way to tell, go look at your meter, is it the old style spinning circle meter? then you might save slightly.. (but you're not only saving on your lights, on EVERYTHING electrical, because the old meters cant meter the initial electricity spike it takes to power up a device).. if your meter has a digital readout and no spinning circle.. its not going to make a difference.

for example my window air conditioner has a 'energy efficient' mode that it fires up for 10 seconds every 15 minutes.. it checks the temperature, and if the temp is too high, itll fire up and cool it down to what is set on the thermostat, then turn off.. on the traditional meter, the 10 seconds it fired up wouldnt even register on the meter because it takes more than 10 seconds to make the meter spin faster.. but on the smart meter, it registers the 10 second spike, and i pay for it..

anyway, what he is saying holds some validity. like i said it depends on your meter.

when a light first boots up, it spikes its energy usage, then when its fully powered up (a few minutes later) it mellows out, and drops down to its labeled 'average' usage amount aka on paper usage amount. a 240v is going to have less spike because the amps are cut in half. and yes it may 'warm up' faster, having less time in the spike time frame.

the traditional meters have a delay in how long it takes for the meter to spin faster. so they dont register that initial spike INITIALLY.. so in theory getting thru the warm up stage faster would save you money because the meter spins slightly slower.. talking about amounts not even visible to the naked eye.. it can add up over a month over a large amount of usage. but the important thing to take away from what he's saying is A SMART METER NEGATES ANY SAVINGS... this is why PG&E has been pushing so hard to replace your old meters with smart meters for free.. and why a lot of people report higher bills after moving to a smart meter, becuase all electronics act in this way, not just a grow light. so we're paying more accurately, because we're paying for the boot up energy that all our devices are using.

you can go back to a traditional meter but you have to pay a fee to do so every year.. basically paying back any money you might be saving. but your monthly bill will be lower no question.

like i said i understand both sides.. but real world application doesnt apply perfectly.. electrical math on paper does not factor in all elements.. electricity is not perfect, just like anything else in life. and i have my degree in electrical engineering just FYI.

 

[sidewing]

anyway, to answer the original question.. 600w is not shit and will not raise any flags.. any idea how many watts your TV uses? look at the back.. a microwave? a strong blender? a refrigerator? an oven? a fish tank and light? a computer? look at how many watts all these things use. the electric company doesnt care as long as you pay your bill on time and dont cause any problems..

but here is another issue. smart meters vs classic meters.. classic meters just give a grand summary of how much usage per month.. now the smart meter you can log into your account online, and see an hourly break down. its not just a monthly grand summary.. so you can see from 6pm to 6am your electricity usage jumped up 2kw (your two 1k lights you are running for flower).. for an exact 12 hour period.. they arent stupid they know what this is, but as long as you're paying your bill they dont care. especially if you're in a medical legal state. another reason why the smart meter is bad.. they're able to break down exactly how much you are using per hour. and even show you in a nice little graph.

but like i said they dont want to lose a paying customer. pay your bill on time.. dont stress if you're running a couple of lights. control your smell and keep your mouth shut and you'll be fine. ive only told 2 close friends that i grow, one of which grows himself. and the other i trust, but i still regret telling him because if he doesnt grow i feel like its not an equal playing field. regardless ive know this person for like 15 years and they just know i do it, they havent seen it, and ive taken real good care of this person and helped them when they were having medical issues when nobody else would, so they have a great depth of loyalty. ive never had anyone in my grow space though. trust nobody and keep your mouth shut is the best advice. dont worry about the electric company.

also with the new smart meters they dont have a meter guy come out anymore.. they dont need one. a lot of growers were trippin over the smart meters when they made it mandatory to switch it out. but people continued on. ive grown for over 5 years with a smart meter with a single 1k in flower and 400w in veg and been fine. i always pay my bill on time..

 

[sidewing]

A couple of 600w lights/cooling/etc will not raise any red flags for the average house in the burbs. A powerful computer will pull over a 1000w, i don't think video game enthusiasts are worried about the man coming o get them, even when all their buddies come over.

once again, with a smart meter they can tell the difference IF THEY CARED.. you going to say your buddies come over exactly at the same time down to the minute every day and you play games for exactly 12 hours down to the minute?

but thats getting extreme and paranoid. they arent looking for small growers.. they want large scale grow ops.. warehouses. small scale is not worth their resources.

 

[George]

Really don't think they give a shit. You can run thousands of watts inside cause guess what? Indoor gardening is not illegal. Even if they pop you they'd have to have probable cause for even investigating you in the first place. High electrical use is not probable cause. Hydroponics is not illegal, you can have a whole house dedicated to it, they have ZERO proof that you are growing anything other than vegetables to be self sufficient. You get caught by dumping cannabis in your trash, smell from your grow, stealing power and snitches. That's pretty much it. Pay your bills on time, control your grow and don't worry about it. If their case on catching you all rides on high electrical use your lawyer will have a field day with them.

The snitch or power company power theft accusation comes first THEN they pull the electrical bill to solidify the snitches claim, not vice versa. That's how you get caught