How can i tell how many lamps i can run?

[blunted]

I am curious as to how many lamps can be run on my electrical system, i checked my fuse box it says 125 amps max but says it is a 100 amp system. my house is outfited with GFI outlets witht he test/reset buttons. The house is divided into 2-3 seperate fuses. (i apologize if i am using the wrong terminology to explain myself im unfamiliar with electrics) I am curious how many lamps i can run? can i atleast do 3000 watts?

 

[GanjaJedi]

I dunno by the looks of it maybe you should just run some flouros and turn em on and off at randoms times because "you can tell thats what the plant wants" but that's just what one of my friends suggested. Hope someone has some more usefull advice for you!

 

[Tokin White Guy]

I dunno by the looks of it maybe you should just run some flouros and turn em on and off at randoms times because "you can tell thats what the plant wants" but that's just what one of my friends suggested.

WTF!?! What the hell are you talking about?!?
I dunno enough about electricity to give u sound advice on this, blunted, but i dunno wtf GanjaJedi is smoking, must be some heavy shit

 

[NiteTiger]

Sounds like your breaker panel has a 100 amp main, divided into 3 sub breakers. These are usually 15 amps each, it should say on the breaker. 1 15 amp breaker is generally good for one 1kw light, which draws ~9.5 amps.

The thing to keep in mind is most breakers aren't run to one outlet, they're run to rooms. So Every outlet and light socket in that room is likely run off 1 15 amp breaker. So you can't plug a 1kw per outlet, but per breaker. Also keep in mind that your other equipment (fans, air pumps, water pumps, etc.) are likely running off that same breaker, so you have to take that amp draw into consideration.

Speaking from experience, I've had no problem running a 1kw light, an 8" Fan, and air pump off one breaker. Dunno how much farther I'd push that though.

 

[medicaluser420]

I aint no electrician either but I agree with NiteTiger and his principles cause they are the same for me I would not run more than a 1k light in any room cause by the time you add fan and other random shit there are not enough amps so go for a couple of 600 on a light rail or you might be able to use
3 x 1k lights one running off eack 15amp breaker. Good Luck

 

[Blunt_69]

Of course if you run some direct lines from the breaker box, you can run 3 lights np. May need the help of an electrician for this.

 

[Jnugg]

This is what you do.Go to your breaker and start switching panels off to see which one(s) control the room(s) you plan on growing in.Once you have found that out you can move to the next step,How many amps is the fuse?

Once you have found the amperage of the fuse you can decide exactly how much electricity you can use on that fuse in that room.

to run 3,000 watts of light plus the exhuast fans you will need a 40 amps circuit that you can use 32 amps from safely.

Hre is a amperage overload chart.It displays the amps rating first then the available amperage and finally the overload amperage.

For example:A fuse rated at 15 amps will allow you to safely use 13 of those amps but the fuse will be overloade if you use 14 of those amps.

AMPERE OVERLOAD CHART

RATING AVAILABLE OVERLOAD

15 13 14

20 16 17

25 20 21

30 24 25

40 32 33
----------------------------------


To find out how many watts can be run from the save/available amount is simple.

POWER (WATTS) = VOLTS x AMPS.


Example:A room is powered by 20 AMPS at 120 volts
and we want to find out exactly how much power (watts) we can use safely without overloading the circuit.Remember that you can not use the whole amp but only a percentage of it (listed as available in the chart above),so with a 20 amp circuit we can safely use 16 of those amps.

16 amps x 120 volts =1920 watts total.If you go beyond the 1920 wattt limit you will overload a circuit and could possibly burn you house down.This 1920 watts is not just for lights but for the total wattage of the room.

To use
So we take the two knowns,the voltage and the amps and multiply them.

In you're case you want to use 3k watts of light but you need to be able to pull more power for the fans and any other electriconics to be in the grow room.

In your case you will need a 40 amp circuit and nothing less.

40 amp circuit has 32 amperes available and 33 amperes would be an overload.

so 32 safe amperes multiplyed by 120 volts = 3840 watts total power draw.This gives yu enough to run three 1k watt lights and a fan to ventilate the area plus some other things,just be sure you do not overdraw the circuit/amp or you can burn the house down.

 

[Blunt_69]

Don't fuck around, run dedicated lines or a subpanel box.

peace. good info^^^^

 

[Kiefer]

very good and helpful info here, will be referreing to some of you more knowledgable electitians within the next week or two, as I'm setting up my first full room grow.