how many watts is too much in a room?

[youngdro]

i have a good sized office inside my garage with a portable ac unit.
i was wondering how much light i could put in there without drawing any attention? i was aiming for 3k. would this be too much?

 

[Guest]

math my friend how can we do it when you give no numbers

 

[Guest]

watts x how many hrs using watts x how many cents per kwh you pay divided by 1000 = how much you pay for the hrs in the equation

 

[youngdro]

bleh im sorry.

the room is 7.5ft tall 12ftx10ft

i appreciate the help

 

[Pops]

youngdro, it depends on many factors. How many total amps does the house have, what circuits are in the office now and how many can you add from the main panel?

Your 3000w will take about 27-28 amps. You certainly aren't going to get that off one 15a circuit. Your portable a/c should be on one dedicated 15a line and each 1000w should be on a separate line if they are 120v. If you can use 220v, you could put all three on a 220v 20a line. As brainthor said, we need more info to be able to help you out.

 

[youngdro]

im not too concerned about the cost. i guess it might be more of a security issue. if the room is cooled there shouldnt be a problem right? cant LEO see if there is too much heat being generated in a single room? is there something i might be over looking?

 

[Guest]

120 sq ft perfect would be 120 x 50 watts per sq ft = 6000 watts at .15 per kwh = $10.80 per day x 30 days = $324.00 a month without any other usage just lights

 

[youngdro]

youngdro, it depends on many factors. How many total amps does the house have, what circuits are in the office now and how many can you add from the main panel?

Your 3000w will take about 27-28 amps. You certainly aren't going to get that off one 15a circuit. Your portable a/c should be on one dedicated 15a line and each 1000w should be on a separate line if they are 120v. If you can use 220v, you could put all three on a 220v 20a line. As brainthor said, we need more info to be able to help you out.

gotcha let me check on everything and ill get back with yas. thanks for the help. better get my brother involved when i start this project. im a fool with electrical things :X

much appreciated

 

[Guest]

pay your bill on time that is all the electric company cares about...they are in the business of selling electricity

 

[Pops]

Youngdro, a room 120 sf x 40-50 watts per sq. ft. would need 5-6,000w of light for a good grow. You may not want to use the whole space. What is your electrical situation in the room and how close is your main panel box? What type of grow are you doing, SOG, bush or tree?

 

[CarharttKidd]

You could cram 7200 in 600's and do a SOG with pretty much no wasted room. A room that size would take almost 30k btu of cooling to keep cool in a really hot location such as a desert. If your house is fairly large or your location is fairly liberal minded as far as cultivation goes, there is no reason you couldn't run this kind of juice. Just pay your bill on time.

 

[youngdro]

paying the bill on time isnt a problem.

im really thinking about doing a sog.
the main panel is 20 feet away max.

 

[Guest]

big balls is all you need and of course tight lips

 

[Pops]

youngdro, your best bet is probably going to be to run a 60a subpanel from your main panel to your growroom. That will give you the flexability to handle the electrical needs that you have.

 

[TGT]

I always advise to use the dryer plug. Purchase the plug and wire at Home Depot or any Hardware store and you can make an extension cord easily out of the proper gauge wire. Attach your timer box to this and your ready to go. Just make sure you use split-bolts (I think that is what they are called) to fasten the wires securely and properly. This is very important. Won't have to worry about blowing fuses as a dryer usually uses quite a bit of power and runs at 220. The only down fall is you can't use your dryer when the lights are being used unless you make two plugs available. This could be a good thing as you will be using less electricity and if you bring your clothes to your moms, you'll save on detergent also. My dryer plug is 40 amps, plenty of power. I have 5000 watts on it right now. I think this is the safest way to go. Working with 120 gives me the heebeegeebees, but people do it. I don't trust it though. If you have an old home with old wiring the insulation on the wire could be brittle and heat up. Smaller wires running 1000 watt bulbs scare me. That is why if you go with 220 you know the wires are larger gauge and not as prone to heating up. Just my 2 cents. I am sure I am just being paranoid as many people do it on 120, but I feel much better doing it this way. Good luck!

TGT

 

[yamaha_1fan]

im not too concerned about the cost. i guess it might be more of a security issue. if the room is cooled there shouldnt be a problem right? cant LEO see if there is too much heat being generated in a single room? is there something i might be over looking?

3k watts of lighting puts off ALOT of heat. I had a room 3 1000 watters and a big mac daddy 220 window ac unit and still couldnt keep that room cool.